day 1371: WHEN THE BUCK STOPS!

"And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins.”

As leaders, managers, or in today’s world, even those who work someplace where we have influence over decisions that are made that could affect others, we need to be careful and constructive in those decisions.  We seldom see examples of leaders who step up when things go wrong.  Some will do it and admit that the buck stops with them, but they won’t accept the full responsibility, which many times would lead to a resignation or some other type of repercussion.  Last week we saw a leader do so though when South Korean Prime Minister, Chung Hong-won, resigned after the failed rescue of the ferry that capsized. I found this interestingly juxtaposed with the firing of a number of the GM senior execs, but not the CEO.  I know, she is new, but remember, she was on the senior team and has been with the company for 34 years. I’m not saying that she should have been fired, but when the buck stops, it must stop somewhere and the best of the best leaders know it stops with them. Anything short of that, can feel like lip service to leadership.

Who would take the sins of all the world and allow Himself to be crucified?  We know who and we also know that if in our work we are going to try and lead a life set by His example that we can’t not take responsibility and accountability when it is ours.  If we try and pass the blame or shirk our part of a decision or action, we are not worKING to His glory.  It’s not any fun when the buck stops with us, but it is what we have to be willing to do.

Reference: Romans 11:27 (New Living Translation)

day 1370: Consequences

"The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences."

As we are learning in the world of sports, there are consequences to word and actions.  When we are part of a larger organization, those consequences can reach far and wide and hurt many people.  We usually don't know how broadly, until it happens.  But, we can think ahead and imagine before we act or speak. 

The Bible is full of warnings to us to watch what we say.  But, still we speak without thinking.  We can't bring glory to God in all that we do, if we continue to allow ourselves to speak in ways that harm or damage others. Even when we think we are only talking to those who would never repeat what we have to say, we are setting the wrong examples.

Reference: Proverbs 18:21 (New Living Translation)

day 1369: Cubed

"I have never turned away a stranger but have opened my doors to everyone."

There is a new book out by Nikil Saval, called "Cubed".  I have not read it yet, but have read the reviews of it and I will be picking it up soon.  What Saval does in his book is give us the history of our current workplaces covering things like the drop ceiling, lighting, filing spaces, open door policies and yes, the "Cubicle". My total time working in corporations was 21 years.  Of those 21 years, as best as I can add up, I spent eight years in a Cube and two and a half years working in an open floor space. So, almost half, not in an office. The best of all of those years (including a couple of years in offices that were well beyond nice and totally not necessary), were the years in the open floor plan where there were no walls and I was out in the open with everyone else.  I learned new forms of boundaries (headphones on meant I was busy), shorter phone calls, discretion of conversation (loudness and content) and time management (there wasn't any hanging around with the feet on the desk shooting the breeze). Where we sit can make a difference in how we work.  Where we assign others to work, can make a difference in their productivity and motivation. Part of what we are to do, if we want to be good leaders and managers, is to be cognizant and sensitive to the environment that we ask people to work. If you have people begging to work at home, you might want to ask yourself if that cubicle might be part of their motivation.

There's an old adage; "Where we sit is where we stand". I think it is more true than we give it credit.  Consider the amount of hours we spend during the week and where that time is spent.  Do we need to wonder why work is the first thing we talk about in a conversation?  How many hours during the week do we sit with God?  God does not cube us in at all.  He allows us to spread out and hang out with Him as long as we like.  He was the first to create the "Open Door Policy". Are we taking advantage of it like we should?

Reference: Job 31:32 (New Living Translation)

day 1368: Any Other Day?

"On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again."

It's just an any other ordinary day.  Well, it is and it isn't.  We each are waking up and getting ready to go about today's business and responsibilities.  Among all of us there are those who are happy and excited about something that will happen today.  There are others who are anxious, frightened, sorrowful and pained about what the day holds.  We mark the days by these events and then we move on. For me, today is my birthday and all day long I will receive good wishes from friends and family.  These will come by phone, text, postal mail, and of course Facebook. And tomorrow, yesterday will have been my birthday and that special feeling will have passed. How might we figure out how to make our customers and consumers feel something special each and every day? Is there something we can provide to them that gives them an extra boost of energy, encouragement, optimism, hope, service or excitement? 

In our faith we celebrate special days as a part of having milestone for our spiritual growth and development. This past weekend as the celebration of Easter, I always think of as the first day of my spiritual year.  Within  Easter I am filled with all that Christ represents and promises for us. That begs the question of how can we make every day, our own special day with Him?  We move through the workday and before we know it, the day and the week is gone.  Every now and then it is good to check our milestone days to be sure that we are making the most of what God has given us and that no day is just an ordinary one for the Kingdom.

Reference:  Zephaniah 3:20 (New Living Translation)

day 1367: Hunters and Farmers

"He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds."

Sales organizations are getting smarter in how they organize.  Well, actually, most have always organized in the manner that is most successful but today they are getting better at giving the organizations names that better describe what they do. Back in the day you had "New Account Teams" and you had "Existing Account Teams".  Now, we have "Hunters and Farmers".  Hunters bring in new business.  Farmers expand the growth.  Subtle, but big differences in the type of people to do these jobs and their responsibilities.  Some times just getting better at describing what someone does can make the difference in hiring and assigning the right person to the job. 

Jesus spends a lot of time giving us examples of what farmers do versus giving us parables about hunters. This makes sense to me in that Jesus already took care of all the new business for us and he left it to us, the farmers of the Kingdom, to expand it for Him.  In our humanity we tend to get our Kingdom roles confused. We like to become the hunter and recreate the Kingdom to our own liking.  But, we are not called to do that.  We are instead called to be God's farmers and to grow and expand the fields which we have been given. It's worth taking some quiet time today to evaluate which are we trying to be and where our work and actions are focused.

Reference: Matthew 13:3 (New Living Translation)

day 1366: Giving Back

"And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ."

Whenever a person, or a group of people, do well, others question if they are being generous enough in giving back.  We are seeing it clearly in the Tech industry as a group and I know many individuals who feel very much under attack only because they are doing well.  I have had that same attack from others and all that one can do is do what is right within themselves and then not listen too much to others.  That doesn't mean that we can ignore that we should be generous.  Blogger, Seth Godin, says this about the benefit of being successful and generous:



Here's conventional wisdom:
Success makes you happy. Happiness permits you to be generous.
In fact, it actually works like this:
Generosity makes you happy. Happy people are more likely to be successful.
A good lesson for us all.

Generosity is not all about financial giving. Generosity of spirit is just as important.  That generosity leads to good works, willingness to give time, energy and encouragement.  When others watch what we do, generosity of who we are can be a clear example of our faith.

Reference: Philemon 1:6 (New Living Translation)  

day 1365: Breaking The Tape First

"Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!"

This is not a sports blog, but I can't resist.  Yesterday, something amazing happened in the sports world and it couldn't have happened at a better time, a better place, or to a better athlete.  Yesterday, on April 21st, 2014, marathon athlete Meb Keflezighi, at 38 years old, won the Boston Marathon and became the first American winner in 31 years.  Why was this victory so sweet?  Sure, it was because he won on the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings.  Yes, it was great that he is an old guy as 38 is over the hill for marathoners.  And for sure, the American win is not the norm. But, his win was more than that.  I happen to serve on the board of runcoach with Meb and I have heard him talk of overcoming injuries and working his way back to his top form.  Marathoners are much like we are in business.  We get a couple of great moments a year and the rest of the time we are up early, logging the hours of training and doing our best to balance the rest of life, fueling ourselves for the next bit if competition.  And when we start to feel the pains and hurt, it takes time to get over them.  We'd be well served to bask in the win of Meb yesterday and remind ourselves that winning only comes because we put in the hard work, understand what it takes to win when we need to, and shut out the rest that keeps us from getting to our peak form.

Meb is also a faithful and strong believer.  He doesn't go out on the road alone.  Like Meb, we all race for the prizes of life, but also like Meb we know that the ultimate prize comes from the race of life that we need to finish well!  God wants us to run strong in all that we do.  He also wants to be there with us in the victories and the losses of life.  There are many races that we will run today and if we bring Him with us, our day will move along with wins along the way.  Consider this as you head into the office, ready and raring to run!

Reference: 1 Corinthians 9:24 (New Living Translation)

day 1364: Rising Up

"He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying."

The markets are in a bit of a tizzy because the tech stocks that rose so quickly last year are now falling. What goes up, must come down, correct?  It's hard from the inside to watch these stocks fall., but I know from experience what it means to watch the fall from within and have to manage against the pressures of, "Do something about it, now!"  Here is what we can all remember.  What does go up, does come down.  Maybe not all the way down, but everything adjusts and then can recover.  Business cycles are not elevator shafts that only have two directions. Business cycles are roller coasters that chug up the hill and then give us a thrill of speed as it goes up and down and twists and turns. And, if managed and powered correctly, they come back up the hill once again.  Few things can rise up and stay!

You know where this post is going don't you?  Nothing in our life rises and then stays, except for what we celebrated yesterday on Easter.  We are conditioned in life for everything to rise and then keep rising.  When it doesn't we get depressed, frustrated, angry, or lost.  That's the wrong take.  The right take is that we can give all those areas in our lives that fall, to God and He will pick them up and keep them with Him as He continues to rise. What are the areas at work that we just need to hand over to God because the more we hang on to them the more we are being dragged further down?

Reference:  Matthew 28:6 (New Living Translation)

day 1363: Permadeath

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."

A friend's child didn't get the summer job that was expected. It was the first time in a short life that a rejection that couldn't be changed happened.  Shock and awe, along with lots of questioning ensued. I was not surprised as we have a generation plus now who don't know what it means to not play on the team or to not be able to do things over until they reach satisfaction.  It seems that now, everyone, regardless if the team wins or loses, gets to get out on the field or court and play.  In videogames we let you start over and over and nothing really ended, or died...until now.  Games are making the turn to what is called "Permadeath".  That means that once the character or figure dies, they don't come back.  I remember this being experimented with in the late 90's only to receive outrage from customers who claimed that they had the right to bring the character back over and over. Who is to know what is best, but I don't see that much harm in teaching the next generation that loss and rejection are real and that we need to learn the lesson early, not wait until employers and business have to be the first to hand out the word, "no".

As believers we are no different than the rest of the world in experiencing loss, rejection and denial.  But, we can rest assured that in all that is lost, that there is much to be found in the belief and following of Jesus. What happens to us today will come and go, but in Christ is there is no "permadeath", there is "permalife"!  We are promised that!  So, don't allow the rejections of life to be major setbacks.  They are only speed bumps along the way.  The final great and real reward remains in waiting for us.

Reference: John 3:16 (New Living Translation)

day 1362: Service Wow!

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many."

I was so fortunate to have been able to attend four days of The Masters this past weekend in Augusta, Georgia.  I have been to lots of events, but nothing like this.  Beyond the beauty, the majesty and the tradition, the customer service at the event (for 200,000 people) was beyond anything I had ever experienced.  No matter where you went, what you did, or who you interacted with, every bit of how it could be the best for an attendee has been thought through and is executed upon daily. They have it right, and anyone who wants to send someone in their organization someplace to get their minds wrapped around how to deliver a service wow, should be working on how to get that person a ticket to next year's Master Tournament. 

What also happened to me while in the midst of all that great service was that I found myself wanting to emulate the same in how I treated other attendees.  And, with the way that each person was respectful to others property, space and goings about, proved to me that we can co-exist in a much more accommodating and serving way.  I was reminded more than once that our example in how we treat and serve others is a Christ-like example.  When everyone is acting in an attitude of service, it is obvious and the opposite stands out distinctly.  When we live out our actions with a heart and attitude of service, it stands out just as much and others will take notice.

Reference: Matthew 20:28 (New Living Translation)

day 1361: Tax Day Redux

"Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?' But Jesus knew their evil motives. 'You hypocrites!' he said. 'Why are you trying to trap me? Here, show me the coin used for the tax.' When they handed him a Roman coin, he asked, 'Whose picture and title are stamped on it?' 'Caesar’s', they replied. 'Well, then,' he said, 'give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

It's "Tax Day" in the United States  The traditional tax return filing deadline is April 15 of each year.. Tax Day always brings with it a lot of stress and emotion and in these recent times even more emotion and conversation about what we should or shouldn't be paying in taxes for our government. These discussions, at work, at home, at parties, or wherever can get us riled up and can cause us to lose control of our emotions and/or words. Our discourse about politics and government has an edge to it today that I cannot ever remember before. I find myself right there too and the conversations that I am most sorry for or ashamed of after are too often rooted in politics. As we work with with others it is important that we not let our politics taint or hurt what are otherwise great relationships. Also, politics in the workplace can be career damaging, so in this area it might be best to just keep it to ourselves unless asked and even then, to only share with the highest level of sensitivity and respect of the opinions, thoughts, and feeling of others.

Jesus gave us all we need to know about our priorities and actions as it relates to our government views. He said that we are to render to Caesar what is Caesar's and then give to God what belongs to Him. As we think about all that we have, it is a small part of our life that we owe back to our government. While no one likes taxes, what I hear Jesus saying is that to not let what has to be given back in taxes to be a focus or the overriding concern. What He wants us to do is instead focus on what is to be given back to Him and that is who and all we are. As we complete those tax forms let us do so with our hearts and minds in the right place and more ready than ever to render ourselves more to Christ and what He wants from us. Let's use April 15 as another marker and reminder of the gift that God gave to us in Jesus, the gift that comes without any owing, obligation, or tax and continues to multiply and multiply for each of us.

Reference: Matthew 22:17-21 (New Living Testament)

day 1360: Who Said That?

"The Man answered, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and, all your mind.', And, 'Love your neighbor a yourself.'"

We love Wikepedia and other sites where we can go and find quotes and find out who said what, when.  Many times we are amazed with what we find.  We think we know, and then we find out that we really don't know who said what, why they said it, nor when they said it.  But, we end up quoting and carrying the message when we don't really know.  The internet helps make that happen for sure, but we shouldn't be so lazy to not really know before we spread something that might not be true.  Businesses are scared to death of this.  A quote or attribution to a company, or a company executive that is not true can be devastating and take years, if not forever, to eradicate the untruth.  We must be careful in what we say and how we say it, both inside and outside our companies.  The risk is too high to be sloppy or lazy.

As believers, do we know God's Word well enough to know what Jesus, or others in the Bible said?  God encourages us to dig deep into His Word so that what is there becomes part of who we are.  Being able to quote Jesus, or the Bible can be powerful and an easy way to share our faith.  Not long ago, in the middle of a business presentation I was able to use a Proverb and after it was obvious that this was exactly what they needed to hear, I was able to say, "That comes from the Bible, by the way".  It was a great moment to see those who had written down the quote look up at me with that, "You got me" look.  I smiled.  God's Word and knowing who said what is how we can carry the Good News forward.

Reference: Luke 10:27 (New Living Translation)

day 1359: What Goes Around Comes Around

"The generous prosper and are satisfied, those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed."

When I was a kid I was fascinated by boomerangs. When I was finally able to buy one I learned how hard it is to throw one and to have the courage it takes to throw it so it comes back to you to be caught. Such is how we work. Work is full of moments that we do things for one way results and we do many things that if they were to come back to us we would be sorry. We have no fear to throw out something to someone else and to throw it hard and fast but if we thought it was going to come back to us, we would likely do as I would do with the boomerang; fall the ground and cover my head. In our work we expect that if we produce a result that favors us that an equal reaction will come back to us and we will get rewarded commensurately with the result. When that doesn't happen we are frustrated and become upset with our bosses and management and we decide that we are going to pick up our boomerang and go someplace else. The problem with this is that this is a pattern that once into will continue over and over until it becomes a way of thinking and takes over our attitude.

The Bible tells us clearly to not be that way. Everything we are taught is to not be one way in the way we live and work but to use the boomerang approach so that what goes around comes around is welcomed and received gladly. Proverbs 11:25 says to us, "The generous prosper and are satisfied, those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed." What is being said to us is that if we want to prosper, be satisfied and be refreshed, we have to throw out the same and like the boomerang the harder we throw it out there the better it will come back to us and land right at our feet. So pick up the right boomerang today and give it a good strong toss.

Reference: Proverbs 11:25 (New Living Testament)

day 1358: Controlling Ourselves

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.."

I've been at The Masters this week.  There are some very controlled golfers and then there are ones when they make one bad shot after another, they let those around them know that they have done so. Self control is one of the areas in life that others can immediately tell if you are good or bad at it personally. It is in some ways a trait that is quite different than others, as it is one that can allow for the others to either be affected by you, or not. Why I think it is important is that it is an area that is really about being human and if we don't have self-control we can end up messing up lots of good things. A few years ago the New York Times called out the CEO of Yahoo! for her continued use of expletives and then used their failing stock price and underlying business fundamentals as a way of saying, keep the four letter words in your mouth, because even if we did want to tolerate them, you don't have the business results to get us to turn a deaf ear.

Our language is a central area for our self-control (which is a fruit of the spirit) to either show itself or be hidden. It's a sure fire way yes, to let everyone know where you stand. One F-bomb in a meeting and if there was any doubt as to what we believe our actions have just settled the score. There are plenty of other ways to outburst that can cause the same reaction, but what comes from our mouth is clear and to the point. Good and bad. If today you are struggling with the language that you use, then fall back onto Galatians and go big with your prayers by asking God to give you the fruit of His spirit and especially self-control. From there, it will be up to you for that fruit to ripen to its fullest or for you to let it go spoiled. A little self control can go a long way.

Reference: Galatians 5:22 (New Living Testament)

day 1357: Seriously?

On our jobs we are constantly reinforced to be growing, developing and improving. In many companies each year we get set down with our boss or HR person and given an annual performance review. We have spelled out to us the things we are good at that we should continue and the areas we should improve. Together these become a grading of comparison of our peers and we get rated and ranked. If we do what we are being asked then we double down on ourselves and we take our talents and we try and become better and better. There is nothing wrong with that, to a point. When is it that the focus becomes too much on ourselves that it gets in the way of working well with other?

 There is a good lesson in C.S. Lewis' classic, "The Screwtape Letters" . The book is a set of instructional letters on how to corrupt and gain control of the soul of a man. It is written from one devil (Screwtape) to another devil (Wormwood). On the topic of our talents and focus, Screwtape tells Wormwood this: "To anticipate the Enemy's (God's) strategy, we must consider His aims. The Enemy (God) wants to bring the man to a state of mind in which he could design the best cathedral in the world, and know it to be the best, and rejoice in the fact, without being any more (or less) glad at having done it than he would be if it had been done by another. The Enemy (God) wants him, in the end, to be so free from any bias in his own favour that he can rejoice in his own talents as frankly and gratefully as in his neighbor's talents." Wow. Of course, that is what God wants. He wants us to be selfless and never to take ourselves and our talents so seriously that it gets in the way of our caring for others and our love and relationship with Him. When we start to focus so much on ourselves that we begin to get in the way of others or worse yet, we become competitive, envious or jealous, then we know we have crossed the line.

It's clear in the Ten Commandments that we are not to covet anything of others, that would be their talents and skills as well. So today, think through, just how seriously are you taking yourself? Is it healthy, or have you crossed over and begun to put yourself too far up the pedestal? If you find yourself making comparisons (position, title, salary) to others in your profession and fretting when someone else gets an assignment and you don't, or worrying about what it is going to be like if someone else gets promoted over you, then it is time to take the test of yourself and then stop taking yourself that seriously.

Reference: Exodus 20:17 (New Living Testament), C.S. Lewis, "The Screwtape Letters"