day 166: Search Engines

Many of us who are working today can remember work before the times of voice mail, email, cell phones, air cards, wi-fi, and the internet. It's hard to think about work before all of these great tools. They have made us more productive and yes, probably because of the always connected nature of these tools we have added some stress to our working (and outside of work) lives. I also marvel at what we did for knowledge accumulation and knowledge dissemination before the advent of the search engine. Google is a verb and a household word today. We turn to Google first to find something we don't know, for quotes, for articles, yada, yada. We turn to Google and search engines for just about everything we need or want to know. What did we ever do before search engines? But search engines can't tell us everything we need to know. We are faced with decisions each day at work about what is right and what it wrong. We can't (yet) put a decision in a search engine and have the search engine run an algorithm that will spit out what the is the right thing to do in that situation. Fortunately, for us we have the ultimate combination of a search engine that leads us in what these right and wrong decisions should be. Between our prayers, the Holy Spirit, and the words given to us in the Bible we have our own algorithm that are built for each of us personally. And we can see in Galatians 6:4 that when we search to God for what is right and wrong that we can find what it is that we are supposed to do and find the outcome that we can expect; "Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well..." Today you may be searching for what is the right thing to do, the right decision, the right words to resolve a situation with a co-worker, or you may be looking for the right decision for what to do with your career. Today you can know that you have an even more powerful search engine to access for these decisions. You don't even have to be online as God is much closer even than that to you, if you allow Him to be so. A search engine even better than Google? Yes, you have it even closer to you than your fingertips.

Reference: Galatians 6:4 (New Living Testament)

day 165: Passion

One of the words we hear when we hire and evaluate people is the word “passion”. We want to work around and with people who have and show passion about their work, about their job and about their company. When someone is passionate about something it is contagious and we can see others beginning to rally and follow the person who shows the "fire in the belly". It is a great trait to have and we all could stand to take a look at ourselves and be sure that we are expressing (or have) passion for the work we do. If we don’t then we probably need to evaluate what it is that could create passion within us about our work. Even things we might not totally like to do, we can go after with passion and enthusiasm. There are certain tasks that none of us like to do but it is important that we perform them with passion that others can see. The other side of passion though can also create behaviors that are not so desirable. Many times people who are overly passionate about what they do are quick to anger and express emotions that are not becoming. With this I paint a delicate balance for anyone to achieve. We don’t want to be ones who are either too quick to speak, or lose our temper, or allow words and actions to come from us that show that we are not in control of who we are. So, how to find that balance between passion and the other side? James gives us straight forward direction in James 1:19 on how to ensure that our passion does not tip to the dark side: "Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: you must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” Passionate people are usually the first to speak and because they get so excited or invested in their point of view, they are not great listeners. Regardless if we have a problem with our tempers or not, we can still take in the great direction with James' principle of how to help us work successfully by taking in the words on how to first listen and then slow down and think before we speak. And if we are overly passionate, then the lesson is even that more important. Today, practice the skills that James provides. You may be amazed at what you learn about yourself and how others react and respond to you. Don’t lose your passion….just be sure that it is always in check.

Reference: James 1:19 (New Living Testament)

day 164: Service Awards

Almost all companies give some sort of recognition award for “service” or tenure. At small start-ups it is something special when someone is with the company for a year. As a company grows older we see, 5, 10, 15, 20 year awards. For those who have been around since the beginning we even see companies sometimes put up a plaque or wall of recognition once someone achieves a certain milestone. Service Awards are great things and an entire industry was created coming up with recognition gifts and items for these special occasions. There is the other side of long-tenure and service though. There comes a time when someone has been at a company too long and they get tired or burnt-out and everyone around them knows it is time for them to move on to something else or somewhere else, but it is so hard for them to recognize this need and change in themselves. I have seen too many times where this ends up with the company moving someone out and the person feeling like their life-line has been severed. Then question of the company’s loyalty to people rises up as a topic of conversation and the end of the story doesn’t turn out well. People change. Companies change. We can’t count on either to be the same over time and even though the plaque on the wall has the names of people who have served loyally for so long, we cannot put our faith in either the person or the company to be the same as they were before. There is only one place we can look for a constant and a name on the wall that never changes and that is to our Lord. We see this in Hebrews 13:8: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." If there is ever recognition for service to us all, it can be directed at Jesus without fail or worry that He will ever change his love and faithfulness and loyalty to us. As we work for our living, we are faced with many changes of people, strategies, instructions, and roles we are given. When our trust in companies, organizations and people around us let us down, we can know that there is One who will never let us down and we can count on to be the same today and as long as we live.

Reference: Hebrews 13:8 (New Living Testament)

day 163: Inside Job

Throughout this Purposed worKING blog we have explored how we can bring glory to God as our purpose and how we can use our work that we do day in and day out to be a part of the work of the Kingdom. Each day we go to work and we do our best to represent what it means to be a follower of Jesus and we try and live the example and role model that God would want us to live. One day is better than another and regardless we continue to strive towards being the best we can be. The typical work environment does not assist in this and we find ourselves trying to go right and good in the midst of politics and lots of little bad things that can add up to making it really hard to live the life at work that we desire. It may be that this is harder than it needs to be because we aren't allowing God to do His work on us. What He wants to do is what I call an "inside job". He wants us to welcome Him into our lives and then allow Him to work from the inside out on us. We see this in Philippians 2:13; "For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him." What I love about this verse is that while we are going about our work, doing the best we can to please Him, He is doing His work inside of us to give us the desire and the power to bring Him pleasure. If ever there was a virtuous circle it is this one. As we continue to explore how we can turn our earthly work into God's purpose, let us never forget, and let us be daily encouraged, that God wants to work as hard at this in us as we will allow Him. As we head back to work this week after the long weekend, let's start with letting God do His inside job on us first and then we can pick it up from there for Him.

Reference: Philippians 2:13 (New Living Testament)

day 162: Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend is one of my favorite three-day weekends of the whole year. This break marks the beginning of summer and a new attitude and feeling around the office. Some companies swing into "summer hours", company softball teams start playing, the days are longer and it is more common to get together after work, etc. We all know the feeling when summer is in the air. When we go home we see green shoots on the trees, flowers poking up their blooms, green all around us. Memorial Day weekend is the kick-off of that period for me. It's like the caterpillar that was all bundled up for winter then can come out to fly and enjoy the outdoors like a butterfly. So, needless to say more, I really look forward to this time. The original purpose of the holiday in the United States was to stop for a moment and remember those who have served and died for our country. While this gets lost in the picnics, cookouts, beach, parties, etc. we should not lose sight of this remembrance and honoring of those who have, and who currently are, fighting on our behalf. I also think that Memorial Day is a great time of the year to also remember who we are in this world and the role that we play. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Romans 12:2: "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is." Read that again slowly and feel God speaking to you. This is a good time of the year to also feel like the spiritual caterpillar who can be transformed into the new spiritual butterfly. As we go into this long weekend and we have time to reflect on how things are going at work, at home, or in other parts of our lives, take the time to ponder the words of Paul and see if this summer season cannot be a time of allowing God to make a transformation in you so that as you come back to work the others around you see and ask about the change in you. It is a marvelous time to be living and better yet, to be alive in our faith and living out our purpose for God. Have a great long weekend!

Reference: Romans 12:2 (New Living Testament)

day 161: The Friendly Office

I have written before about the friendly office. The friendly office is the one that you can always find someone hanging around because it just feels good to be there. Usually the occupant of the office (or the cubicle/workstation) has done something to entice people to stop by. They have a candy dish or something topical like pictures or something that everyone else wants to see so they stop by during the day to check-in. Sometimes this feels gimmicky, but in most cases there is a sincere heart behind the action and someone is trying to make the office feel better and the people in the business happier and more at home. The great thing is that every office has one of these people, but usually only one. What would your office feel like if there wasn't only one person like this, but if there were tens or more who all felt like they had a hand in making the place better and people happier? I wonder if that is not part of our job too? In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul says, "We are Christ's ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you." Authors David Johnson and Jeff Van Vonderen describe being an ambassador this way: "An ambassador is the highest ranking representative of one country to another. In times of hostility between two countries, the ambassador is a representative of the "safe place" in the middle of an unsafe place. The embassy and the land it is on is the sovereign territory of the ambassador's home government. If you are trapped in unfriendly territory and can make it to the embassy, it's like being in a piece of your home country." While our work offices hopefully never turn into war zones, I suspect you can see where I am going with this idea. As believers we are not always in the most friendly of places when we are at work and yes there is a higher order warfare that is being played out around us and we are called upon to be strong in the midst of these challenges. There are others around us who may or not be a believer but who are also caught in the cross fire of untruths, gossip, rumors, backbiting, and sometimes emotional fighting. Where do these people run to for a friend or safety? Can they run to an ambassador and to an "embassy" where they can escape the unfriendly and find the friendly? Think about this today and evaluate how others perceive you and your office? Are you being an ambassador and are you providing the friendly office that they may need?

Reference: 2 Corinthians 5:20 (New Living Testament)

day 160: Orientation

When we start a new job there is always some sort of orientation session that we have to go through to learn about the company. Most times it is not as thorough or as useful as we hoped, but at least we get the baseline human resources information that we need like how to fill our benefits forms, get paid correctly, and some understanding of the baseline policies, procedures and rules. What is usually missed though, unless the company's HR team is really good and have buy-in from senior management, is the information on how things "really work around here". That's the orientation that we really need. We need to know who is important, how communication flows, the unspoken rules and expectations, the buzzwords and language, etc. What we are looking for is the inside look at the culture and the behaviors that will make us feel, as quickly as possible, that we are "insiders". This kind of information is hard to obtain and for the most part even if we were told what these things were we would still have a hard time understanding what is what until we had lived and worked in the culture for awhile. Unfortunately, many companies are not very forgiving and the mistakes made in those first few weeks or days can be hard to repair. How are we supposed to know that you don't just walk into so and so's office without and appointment, or that such and such doesn't read his emails so sending him an email is like sending a message in a bottle into the ocean only to wonder if it will ever arrive. These are the unspoken things we need to know that we just don't receive in orientation. The same is true in the bigger scheme of life and how we are to deal with other people and conduct ourselves in situations that are presented to us. We learn throughout our lives from teachers, role models, trial and error and of course the Biblical teachings that we have at our fingertips but it is a life-long orientation in which we are enrolled. David gives us a prayer to God that helps us with this orientation. He says in Psalm 119:7; "Surround me with your tender mercies so I may live. For your instructions are my delight." What a great prayer for us to pray each and every day. Lord, give me your tender mercies so that I might experience life and let me delight in your instructions. If we were to say that prayer and then enter into His word each day with a spirit of learning and orientation He will fill us with those instructions so that we gain the knowledge and the "rules of the road" of life. You may be in a situation at work today where you don't really know which is the right path to take. When you go left, everyone else goes right. When you make a suggestion people look at you like you don't know what you are talking about. You wish you could just go back into orientation and start all over and this time be told everything you really need to know. Well, you do know by now that there is no remedial orientation so you have to now figure it out on your own, or so you think. You don't have to figure it out all on your own. God will help you understand what you need to know if you will only bring those questions to Him as well. He will open the ears and minds of those who can help you at work and he will show you the paths to take and give you confidence in the decisions that you make. Pray David's prayer today and and look for His instructions and then look to His orientation program. There is no better one that has ever been written.

Reference: Psalm 119:7 (New Living Testament)

day 159: Spring Cleaning

At least once a year it is a good idea to do a spring cleaning of our offices. We tend to accumulate, gather, and before long we can't get another file in a file cabinet or the IT person has to come over and show us how to archive our e-files and folders. Is it human nature to just "hang on" to stuff? I was once taught that the only way you can really clean out is to go get three boxes and put them on the floor in the center of the office. The middle box is for everything to go into before any decision is made. That means everything has to come out of the cabinets and drawers and go into the center box. Once all the drawers, cabinets and closets are totally empty and the center box is full (or overflowing) then you go through the center box with either the chosen file papers going into the trash box or the "out" box. At last resort the file goes back into the drawer or cabinet. The trash box is exactly what it means. It's the trash. The "out" box is a box for files to keep but they need to be out of your office and filed somewhere else. And then what is left over is put back neatly and there should be plenty of room to now spare...that is until next year. Our lives are like this as well. We go through times where we feel like we are all cleaned out and then things start creeping back in and before long we are filled up with the wrong stuff again. We then need to get out our proverbial boxes and do our spring cleaning. We are told in Philippians that we need to be sure and discard along the way in our lives if we want to be truly fulfilled; "For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ." It is springtime and a good time to take an evaluation on whether it is time to spring clean. I suspect it is. There are surely a number of relationships at work that need mending, habits that need to be broken, thoughts that need to be removed, etc. The garbage box is waiting and God has His hand on the "out" box as well to help you figure out what to do with those things that you don't know what to do with next. When you are spring cleaning the office this year, think about using that time to also do a thorough cleaning of all aspects of your life.

Reference: Philippians 3:8 (New Living Testament)

day 158: Routines

Mondays come and we find ourselves trying to get back into the routine of the week and each day. We all have our own routines and for the most part these are necessary for our forward momentum and predictability for how we will get our work done. It's funny how we will say we don't like these routines for fear that we fall into a rut but for sure a positive routine is better than not having one at all. There is nothing wrong with being seen as someone who others can count on and predict from us what the answer will be, or the course of action, or how to get a hold of us when we are needed. I have always been one where my routine was fairly well established and others could count on me following a similar course of action each day. I am an early morning person and being in the office early goes back to my morning radio disc jockey days. I like to get up before the sun comes up and get my day started when everything and everyone else is still quiet. Before long people who worked for me got to the point that they knew when I would be in the office, or available by phone, or on email. While I did not particularly like my quiet time being interrupted I always felt it was better that others knew when and where I was versus not. So, the early morning was part of of my routine. We all have routines and the more we can keep to them the better it is for our ability to stay focused and for others to know how to work with us. When we are variable in how we work and what we do we can create all kinds of havoc and anxiety in others. In thinking through this idea of routines it can be seen that God instructed many people in the Old Testament to follow their own routines and to be diligent in ensuring that they followed them religiously (pun not intended). There is example after example to follow. In Exodus 29 the instructions were given to the priests on how they were to go about performing ordinations. Listen to this routine: "Each day you must sacrifice a young bull as an offering for the atonement of sin. Afterward make an offering to cleanse the altar. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, make it holy by anointing it with oil. Make atonement for the altar every day for seven days." These verses and others in the Old Testament tell me that God likes routines. He likes that we become set on what it is that we are supposed to do and then we follow through and we perform our duties in such a way that excellence and continuity can be expected. It is also a great metaphor for the lives we are to live. God has given us our purpose to fulfill and he places us in human situations, like our work, to live out and fulfill that purpose. Within that life comes the opportunity to create the routines that can fulfill that purpose and bring Him glory. It begs the question today of what routines have we established and where does He sit within those routines?

Reference: Exodus 29:36-37 (New Living Testament)

day 157: Fill It Up

I have been in meetings the last couple of days where I was struck by either someones intense intellectual curiosity and insatiable appetite to learn and try new things or another person's complete opposite reluctance and unwillingness to learn. In one meeting I could hear both sides. The learner is asking, "Why do we do it that way?". The other person will say in the same conversation, "We have tried it that way before and why would we want to do it any differently?" It's fascinating to watch and listen. It makes me wonder why we slow down our learning and in some cases just allow our minds to calcify. As I write this I am with a group of people who are on the front line of changing the way we educate and retrain people using technology. They are all learners and open to new and different ways of getting things done. Even among themselves there aren't many of the people who resist the new. When you are with these kinds or people the feeling of the room is full of positive energy and optimism. It is almost palpable and certainly evident on the faces and the body language of each person in the room. it began to make me wonder why some people want to take in the new, have others reveal to them what they don't know, and then there are others who put up one barrier after another to other feedback or advice. The Bible tells us that we are to be open to the words and advice of others. As such, I believe that we are to be open minded to new ideas and ways we do our work. To close down and not accept advice and instruction is to be foolish. We see this in Proverbs 19:20;"Get all the advice and instruction you can, and be wise the rest of your life." So today when you are hearing from others that there is a "better way" and your first reaction is to shut them down and not listen then try listening and looking at what the others are saying in a different way; optimistically, with an open-mind, and with a positive reception. What you are likely to find is that not only will you feel more positive but that others will react to you by delivering back their own positive vibes. If we are open to this advice and instruction we can be filled up with all kinds of found wisdom. Yes, fill it up, please.

Proverbs 19:20, (New Living Testament)

day 156: Chief Legal Counsel

Most corporations today have either in-house or external legal counsel. With the litigious society we live in, it is almost a requirement. In public companies just the compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations alone can keep multiple attorneys fully-employed. I always had a great relationship with the legal teams I worked with. In most cases they weren’t too conservative or only about just saying “no”. Instead, they were wise about risk management, forward-thinking about potential legal moves that might be made against us and strong counsel when it came to internal issues on how work within the law with people. Way more than once in my career I have seen legal counsel keep the company out of legal problems or public embarrassment. Not everyone in business has had the same good interactions and experiences with their legal teams. Sometimes we can feel like the legal aspects of the business tie our hands and that we can’t get much of anything done because the advice and counsel is to not take any risks whatsoever. It would be wise to heed the advice and the counsel of your chief legal counsel. We all know that we must stay within the lines of the law and that when we don’t we run high risks. We have seen many examples over the past few years of executives who have broken the law and are now paying for their transgressions. We all are faced with choices within the gray and we need to ensure that we know the line between right and wrong and we stay within those lines. Not only because right is right and wrong is wrong, but also because we know that others are watching and following our examples. God has given us many laws that can keep us right within His eyes. Within His word we can find the lines that we need to ensure that we are not going awry or astray. But, we must pay attention. We are told this in Romans 2:13: "For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight." Today, you may need to call upon our legal counsel, I mean the true “chief legal counsel”, to guide you through a difficult choice or decision. Know that the counselor of all time sits on your side and you can, and should, call on Him at any time for the best advice and counsel that you could ever receive.

Reference: Romans 2:13 (New Living Testament)

day 155: "What's My Motivation?"

Actors are always looking for their "motivation". They draw upon the life stories they have seen and experienced to find themselves in the character that they are playing at the time. The best of the best can find motivation from the smallest of details and turn those into realistic actions that others will believe. In our work we many times find ourselves asking the same question about what is our motivation for the work we do; to make or support a decision, or to understand how to close a sale, or to have the difficult conversation with someone on our team, or to go to the extra efforts to complete a project, or to take a stand with our boss over something we might have a disagreement. We tend to try and seek our own "motivation" for those situations. Sometimes that motivation will come from our own instilled work ethic, or our desire to achieve and accomplish, or peer pressure, or guilt of letting someone down, or fear of failure, or fear of loss of our position or status, or a positive role model around us who we want to emulate. Our motivation to do what needs to be done can come from many places and those motivations can be situational and change over time. At certain points in our career we are motivated by achievement or progression and at other times that motivation is not there at all. Our motivations can come and go. Many, many factors influence our motivations and what is important is that we are in touch with what those are and we manage our emotions and actions against those motivations. Doing the right thing for the wrong reasons can sometimes be worse than doing nothing at all. As believers we have the greatest motivation of all. In 2 Corinthians 5:14, Paul says; "Whatever we do, it is because Christ's love controls us". That is a motivation that if we could find ourselves being able to tap into at all times and draw upon consistently then we would always know the right thing to do and we would do these things in the right way. It is easier said than done, but like the actor who spends many hours and hours working over even one single line of text, we must do the same to find that closeness to God so that we can draw upon His love for our lives. We have the greatest of all motivations with us at all times with a script that we can spend an eternity learning from. As you enter this workday take God's script and love with you and let the day play out in His love and watch how much more believable you will be to others and to yourself.

Reference: 2 Corinthians 5:14 (New Living Testament)

day 154: One Bad Apple

I can date myself and tell you that I remember the Osmond Brothers song, "One Bad Apple". The catchy hook was, "One bad apple spoils the whole bunch, girl..." Whether it be a song or an old adage, the truth is there, one bad apple can spoil a whole bunch or a whole barrel if it is allowed to rot and fester. At work we see and hear "bad apples" all the time. I am not just referencing specific people, although we know who they are too, I am also referencing the "bad apples" that we leave around with half-truths, mean-spirited words, manipulation of a situation or person, or even passive aggressive behavior that leaves other people not understanding the whole situation. The question to be asked is what are we supposed to do about these things when we see or hear them? Are we to turn our eyes and ears in the opposite direction and allow them to continue at the expense of others or ourselves? Or are we to stand up for the truth and reveal the untruths? It seems an easy answer; that we should always be like the super-hero and stand up in defense of the truth. But as we all know, it's not that easy. At work there are long-standing norms and practices that we have to consider along with accepted behavior and relationships. However, I think we all know when it is time to take a stand. We know this because that voice inside of us says, "this is wrong and you need to fix it". When that voice speaks then we should listen. Paul sends this same message to the church in Galatia. He speaks to them about those who bring too much legalism and distort the truth with their rules and practices. He says, that these practices must be removed. He doesn't use the "bad apple" metaphor but something much more relevant of their time; "But it takes only one wrong person among you to infect all of the others - a little yeast spreads quickly through the whole batch of dough". The verses goes on to say that God will judge that person as well. But for us, when we hear that untruth being spread, or that harsh word being levied on the undeserving, or that hurtful gossip being spread then we have our choice to either step forward and stop it or to allow ourselves to let the yeast pass through us to the next person and keep the infection going. I believe God gives us strength in these situations when we stand up for what is right. He looks to us to be the tent poles and beacons for truth and what is right and when we make that stand He will support us. Today, like it or not, you will be faced with one of these "bad apples" being passed your way. It might be small and you may not even notice it the first time, but when you do, don't pass it on. Pick it up, throw it out and make the stand. Others will be thankful and they will notice and maybe you will get the chance to tell them why you took the stand.

Reference: Galatians 5:9 (New Living Testament)

day 153: Strategic Planning

While some leaders don't believe that a company or organization should have a strategic plan, I do. After many years of bring in business and being also involved in non-profits and educational institutions, the ones that I have seen do the best and succeeded beyond others have been the ones who created, adopted, aligned the organization against, and executed to a 3-5 year forward looking strategic plan. These strategic plans consisted of an agreed upon vision and mission, an understanding of the strategic challenges and pillars that can drive the organization, a set of short-term goals that underpin the plan and a supporting culture, talent base and people practices to make it all come together. It is a lot of hard work to create a strategic plan but when it is completed well and made real to everyone in the organization so they know their role in making the plan come to life, then all the hard work and time becomes well worth the efforts. There are people who make a living from facilitating and leading these plans because it is not easy to see around the corner and conceptualize the future. Most can't do it without the help of someone else to ask the right questions and open our minds to new possibilities and potential. Any one of us might be one who is looking at the same problems in our business the same way and getting the same poor results, when what we really need to be doing is to zoom way out until we can see the whole picture and think strategically. Again, it is not easy to do. How we think about our roles (as believers) in our work is a similar challenge. We can get caught up in the details and the worries within our work that we forget to remember that we are to be living out the purpose of bringing glory to Go with our work. We have to be continuously asking God to let us remember to see the biggest picture so we can work within that visible picture. God gives us a verse to help with seeing the full landscape strategically. He say in Jeremiah that we can call on Him to help see the unknown: "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." It may be that today you wish you could see around the corner to the future, or see the bigger picture so that you know more to be better or to not make mistakes that could be avoided. God says that we can call on Him to help us in this area. This doesn't mean that any of us are going to for sure become great strategic planners and certainly He is not saying that we are going to become fortune (or mis-fortune) tellers. What I take from this verse is that when we get stuck and we need to see things from a different angle, perspective or vantage point, that when we call on Him to open our eyes and minds to new possibilities that God will provide us the vision that we need to be strategic in how we approach our work and our lives.

Reference: 33:3-4 (New Living Testament)

day 152: Silly Questions

Have you ever been in a meeting where the leader or the facilitator says, "There are no silly questions" to get the group to speak up? Of course, there are no silly questions if we are all committed to learning and there is no one in the room evaluating the knowledge level of people. But, how often is that? There is always someone of a higher level or someone who is sitting in the room leaned back in their chair watching and listening to who says what. So what happens is that we don't ask the silly questions. We leave the fundamental questions like, "Why do we do it this way?", "Isn't there a better way?", "Who does it better than us so we can learn from them?", "What does all of this mean?", or "I just don't understand what you said, can you please explain it again?". These are the "silly questions" that don't get asked but need to be asked, however because of fear of retribution, evaluation or embarrassment we just don't ask even when we know we should. Work is just not set up right for that so we walk around in the dark or acting like we know the answers to things we don't. One place I worked, the CFO was very focused on increasing cash flow so he was putting in systems, reporting, measures and incentives to increase cash flow. He was so conversant and knowledgeable on the levers that drove cash flow in the business that he would get going fast and there were others (myself included) who couldn't keep up. I remember a meeting where a whole bunch of senior people from many functions were there and the CFO was going on and on about what we were going to do to meet our cash flow objectives and in the middle of the meeting he was called out for a moment. As soon as he left the room, someone asked the group, "Do you all understand what he is talking about?". And to my relief, almost the entire room chimed in with, "I don't have a clue". When the CFO came back in the room, the courageous person in the room asked the silly question, "Can you explain this again to us, because we just don't get it". After the CFO took a deep breath, and likely made a mental note, he started over and most of us got it the second time around. So, while there are no silly questions, we can feel like there are certainly silly questions that we just don't ask. It's interesting that in work and life we are seeking knowledge and wisdom and we don't know where to go to ask. God tells us that He is one who we can reach to for these answers. In James 1:5 we read; "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking." Today, you may need to ask the silly question and don't know how to do it for fear of retribution or evaluation. Try going to God first for the wisdom needed on how to get the answers you need. We know that He will not rebuke us and that in the answers we get we will receive the wisdom we so need. To God, there are certainly no silly questions.

Reference: James 1:5 (New Living Testament)

day 151: Career Planning

Lots of us are spending extensive time and energy on career planning right now. Necessity is causing us to rethink the position we have as our companies shift strategy, costs, and talent needs. For many, the music has stopped and they don't have a chair and find themselves trying to figure out what the next job should and can be. For some, total career shifts are taking place as their jobs have been eliminated, made obsolete through technology or sent overseas to where the cost of labor is lower. While we hope that these jobs may come back, it is as good of a chance that they won't as they will return. This is causing people to think about retraining and rethinking their education and career choices. These can be frustrating, worrisome and scary times. When we get used to the work we do, the company that employs us, the people we work with and the location we live, and then these are taken from us, we all respond differently to these challenges. What I do know is that when this happens and one is faced with these difficult circumstances and choices, that we hurt. We hurt deep inside where our self-esteem and self-worth reside. We hurt because those who we love and depend on us have to go through this with us, at no fault of their own. When we are in this place and we are trying to see the future but can't because of the tears of the present are blurring our vision it is a lonely and frightening feeling. It is in these times that we need to lean into our relationship with God and call upon his promises. We can be encouraged with the words we read in Ephesians 2:10; "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago." We can rest assured that God has our career plan as part of the masterpiece that He has created in us. He had good things planned for us to do and those good things will be in His purpose, which is our purpose. I know that these are hard times and it seems trite to think that we can just grab a Bible verse and all will be okay, but with our continued and deepening faith we can find that God's promises are true, real, and playing out in real time, if we let Him do so. At this challenging time, those of us who personally may not be in the situation of having to rethink and replan our career and lives, do know someone who is in that situation and are hurting right now. Today would be the perfect day to reach out to them by phone, visit or email and let them know that you are praying for them, and that you are there for them if they need you. That encouraging word is part of the good things that you can do to help a brother or sister in need.

Reference: Ephesians 2:10 (New Living Testament)

day 150: Corporate Responsibility

We have been reading and hearing lots about "Corporate Responsibility" and what that means today. At one time, "Corporate Responsibility" was about financial integrity and philanthropy back to the community. Many companies felt good about what they did and how they operated if they were running the business in the right way for their employees and partners/customers, making money for their shareholders and giving back in some way to the community. All that made sense to me too. These were fundamental principles that got lost somewhere along the way. Shortcuts were taken and corners were cut and before we long we had financial integrity issues everywhere, abuse of employees (domestically and globally), disregard for customers and irreparable damage being done to the environment. Today, through both external and internal pressures from shareholders, advocacy groups, government and employees, companies are having to rethink their positions of the past. Senior positions are being created to lead "Corporate Responsibility" and prestigious universities like Stanford are partnering with other universities around the world to teach corporate executives how to be responsible. This is all good and we can see it trickling down in the workplace on how we think about recycling, waste, product sourcing, employee treatment and other activities. While it seems a little outlandish on the surface, I think it is kind of cool that Google has now contracted with a farmer to bring in hundreds of goats once a year to clear the grass on their properties here in California. No more power lawn cutting the grass at Google. Even with all of this "good" going on though we still seem to miss the " bigger good" that God is asking each of us to have in our jobs. We as believers also have our own "corporate responsibility" to uphold. We are examples, role models, beacons to the purpose that we live and work. And, as such we must do our own "good" and make our own sacrifices. We see this clearly set ourt for us in the book of Hebrews, Chapter 13:15-16: "Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to His name. And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God." While we do the good that we are to do in the world that comes from the efforts of man, we are also to be sure that we are striving for that higher purpose to bring praise and glory to God in our work and lives and when we do good we are to do so in His spirit and name, sharing and serving those are in need. I am encouraged and lifted up with all the "good" that our society wants to do right now. Let us each be additive in the good and corporate responsibility that we have by elevating our own game to be sure that we are also doing the best of all goods.

Reference: Hebrews 13:15-16 (New Living Testament)

day 149: Drawing Board

"We need to go back to the drawing board". This is a common phrase we hear around the office when something we have tried doesn't work, or there has been a shift in the business plan, or when the numbers don't add up, or when the competition just trumped us. We also use the phrase when are trying to figure out a problem with a team or person and everything we have tried comes up short. So, what we do is we "go back to the drawing board". The drawing board is where the early creations happen. The term comes from the a draftsman's large sketch board where ideas, schematics, pictures could be drafted and then torn off and thrown away without worry of wasted material or permanency. Usually these were large boards that were on easels or pedestals and you would stand up to work on them like standing at an artist's canvas. They were the precursor to a chalk blackboard or a modern day white board. The beauty was that you had the piece of paper to take with you to show others or to rip off and throw away (in frustration many times) as you were forced to go back to the drawing board once again. The imagery of having to go back to the drawing board again and again after unsuccessful attempts to try and achieve the task at hand is one that conjures up for me the feelings of not only frustration but ones of failure, helplessness and anxiety. If you have ever been told by your boss that you "need to go back to the drawing board", you know what I am talking about. That may be where you are today with a part of your job or career that you are trying to figure out. You have been at the drawing board multiple times but all that comes up is a blank piece of paper. I was struck by a verse in the book of Hebrews that tells us exactly the drawing board that we should approach when we need to figure out the most complex of complex problems. In Chapter 4:16 it says; "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." There is the drawing board of all drawing boards, the throne of God! We only have to step up to the throne to accept God's mercy and grace to help us through our problems and challenges. The answers and the full design for our work and our lives is already there waiting for us if we will only take that step towards the throne and look upon the drawing board that God has filled out for us. The next time you hear the phrase "let's go back to the drawing board" you can know that you have a supreme drawing board that you can approach not with frustration, worry or anxiety but with assurances, hope and promise.

Reference: Hebrews 4:16 (New Living Testament)

day 148: White Knight

My wife and I had dinner last week with a long-time friend who founded and has run his own advertising agency for the past 16 years. This past year he was approached about potentially selling his firm to one of the largest advertising companies in the world. He struggled with this for a long time to see if he was really ready to give up his own company to become the employee of someone else. He made the decision to allow the company to be bought and to date he seems really happy with the decision. Of course, he owns the company so it was ultimately his decision to do as he wanted. When public companies get acquired it is many times because the acquirer puts enough leverage on the shareholders of the target company that the existing management team has to take the offer, even though they may want to continue to operate independently. And then sometimes, being bought is just the best thing all the way around. That is what happened to my company a year ago and had we not been acquired we would not have been able to stand alone and survive. And in those cases, you do what is best for the company, the shareholders and the employees and you trust in God that the right things will happen. In all the above cases some party believes they are the "white knight" who has come riding in to save the day. To the other side it may not look that way, but there is truth that in most cases, they are there to make things better. There are many times in our work lives where we are no longer in control and someone else comes in and "takes over". It may be the new owners of the company or it may just be a new boss that we are assigned. Our ability to flex with the situation is many times the difference between our success and failure after the change. We are given a word on how to handle these type of situations when Jesus speaks in John 16:33; "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." Regardless of your situation at work and life, we have the true and ultimated white knight on our side. He not only gets to takeover, when we let him, he also "overcomes" all of the issues that we have, regardless of the situation. So, today if it feels like someone else is trying to "take over" on you at work, reach to God's Words and hold on to them tightly. He will overcome whatever it is you are challenged with today.


Reference: John 16:33 (New Living Testament)

day 147: Navigating Waters

I was talking with an entrepreneur recently and he was asking my opinion on where to focus the strategy of a new business. He asked if I thought it would be better to launch his business in the red water or the blue water. I had not heard those choice descriptions before so I listened as he described them both. Red water was launching into where there was already a proven business market that investors would be able to clearly recognize. But, it is called red water he said, because there is also already competition and the water is churning with the fights that occur when the sharks are already circling and feeding. That sounded pretty ominous so I was curious to how he would describe blue water. Blue water is beyond the competition and out in the waters where we don’t know if a business idea is viable or not. As I listened, I understood the metaphors and we talked about the pros and cons of both. As I thought more about this later many of the ideas we have to progress and grow our businesses can be categorized into either the red water or blue. While the blue water seems, on the surface, more attractive it can take a long time to get out to the blue waters and once you are out there, you have all the risks and dangers of being alone with no one else to learn from and you also burn a lot of fuel and expense to get there and back. Whether it be blue or red, it is a safe bet that the water is also deep and deep waters can create anxiety, fear of the unknown, and more chance that if something does go wrong that survival will be harder. While these all seem like extremes, take a moment and think about the challenges that are facing you at work right now, this week or this year? Anything that is worth doing is hard and comes with the waters that we may not want to have to navigate. It’s not hard to find someone in the office who would describe their past week as “rough sailing”. It happens to all of us and it happens often. When we are out there in the rough waters what do we have to grab onto and help us not capsize. God gives us his own promise about what we can expect if we are in the deep waters and we call upon him. He says in Isaiah 43:2l; "When you go through deep waters, I will be with you ". Today you may be heading out into the red, blue, rough and deep waters of your job and responsibilities. As you head there take the promise of God with you and know that even in the deepest of deep waters He is right there with you at all times!

Reference: Isaiah 43:2 (New Living Testament)