day 1356: Bonus Money

"For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows."

 

End of Q1 just happened.  Annual bonuses for the prior year have been paid, or are readying to be paid.  Bonus time can be an awkward time because we distill down a year’s worth of work and results into one single payout formula or reason. Bonus payments can cause all kinds of consternation and mixed messages.  Not to mention that we need to be sure that bonuses are not just turning into deferred compensation for doing only what was expected in the job.  Bonus means something above and beyond.  Are we using our bonus program for such, or are we just allowing our people to become obsessed on an amount of money that doesn’t really drive greater than expected results and performance?

When everyone around us is obsessed on bonus time, it’s hard for us to not also become that way. But, we have to keep ourselves in check because we know that at its root, the love of money is not good.  We have to be careful to not allow ourselves to fall into this money trap.  There is nothing wrong with expecting and working towards earning what we think is commensurate with our efforts and performance, but there is a line and we need to be sure that we stay on this side of that line.

Reference: 1 Timothy 6:10 (New Living Translation)

day 1161: The Age of Business

"Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."

I was having a conversation with friends this past week who are both senior HR Executives.  We were discussing the pros and cons of different types of away-from-work policies.  Being from different sized companies and from companies of vastly different ages (one over 100 years old, the other around 30 years old), it was not surprising that the older company had just recently adapted to a more "modern" view of comprehensive Paid Time Off (PTO) versus the segregation of vacation time and sick days.  I popped in and mentioned that many of the newest start-ups have abandoned both approaches and just allow the employee to come and go as they need, without counting any days away.  I don't believe, like in many areas, there is any right answer, but it is obvious to me that, like chronological age, that it becomes harder to try the new and/or change the older we get.  How to keep our old company youthful, is the same challenge that we get to overcome in life.

The Bible speaks of age in the terms of both chronological and spiritual youth.  We are reminded that just because we are young, in either definition of age, that we should not be timid or worse, not cognizant that we can make an impact through our example.  Sometimes, it takes the young person with the new outlook to be the one that creates the spark of creativity and action.  What approach have you been taking at work?  Are you still the youthful, optimistic, hopeful, encouraging person, or has something dampened your outlook?  Paul challenges us to be an example in all wed do. Let's not either be young and foolish, or old and crotchety, but instead always cognizant of the example of God's purpose for us.

Reference: 1 Timothy 4:12 (New Living Testament)

day 1014: #'s

"...Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."

We were watching TV the other night and while in the middle of the show up on the screen comes a random watermark set of words with a # in front of them.  It was so blatant and obvious that it was kinda obnoxious.  The Producers were trying to create a meme on Twitter, but in my estimation, didn't do so well or elegantly.  Everyone wants to # something these days.  Put a # in front if it and let's see if we can make it popular. But, there is the other side that we need to watch too.  That is the what our consumer and customers might # about us. If you are in the airline industry you know how important this can be and they are a good industry for the rest of us to learn from and about. One set of seats that come unbolted and there will be hundreds of #'s created to then be managed against. We might not have this level of problem, but even a handful of people can create lots of noise. So, let's watch the # and be ready to proactively and defensively create and respond.

I have been thinking recently about what would be the words that I would # to describe my example to others? In an earlier time we would have just said what is our, example, description, reputation, brand, elevator pitch, etc. So, its the same with the #.  What is it that we would want to have #'d about us? What I would like to add to the question too is are we ready for the immediacy of what the # could be created?  What I mean by that is that with each word, action and behavior we are creating a # and others are also creating them about us right now.  The power of the # is one for us to think about today.  Right now, ask yourself, what are the 2-3 #'s that would summarize a week well-worked for the Kingdom? Write them down and then at the end of this week go back and take a look to see if they would still hold up on Friday like they did today?

Reference: 1 Timothy 4:12 (New Living Translation)

day 1013: Memes

"...Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."

Having just come out of the political season, I learned much about memes.  I watched and participated in the creation of memes that went no where and a few that caught wind and became a part of the social media jetstream. But, it's not as easy as putting together a few words, sticking a hashtag on it and then getting a bunch of people to tweet or share it around.  There has to be much more thinking and consideration behind it before it will become something relevant.  Timing and personal adoption are two things that I learned are so important.  A thought before or after its' time goes no where.  A thought that others can't adopt and internalize also will be die before it gets going.  But, when the two come together, lightning gets caught in a bottle. Our internal and external messaging about our companies and organizations are the same.  Timing and personalization, if focused on intently can be the difference between a successful product launch and a failure. We should always be asking, what is the right time and what do we need to do to have people make this personal?  Get those two right, and there is no stopping.

What is our own personal meme that we are trying to create?  If someone had to sum it up today what would it be?  What we need to know and recognize is that God's timing for us right now and always.  He wants us to be living out His example today, tomorrow and ongoing.  So, there is no debate on whether or not we should wait.  Sometimes we might feel like we are not good enough or ready to live for Him.  This is the same thinking that keeps us from starting to exercise until we lose a little more weight.  Irrational, but how we as humans think. So, if timing should be clear, then how is that we make this thing of our lives being lived with purpose something that is personal to others?  This is where Paul gives us the power of our example.  This is in some ways is our most powerful tool for the Kingdom. Our meme for God is in our words, our actions, our love, our grace and yes, the purity that we can pursue. Memes are infectious and memes are powerful. You are a meme for God, if you want to be.

Reference: 1 Timothy 4:12 (New Living Translation)

day 1012: Hard Fought and Long Fought

"...Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."

Business is full of hard fought wins and losses.  Good standing and long sought consumer and customer acceptance and adoption is always long and hard fought. In some ways, if it comes too easy and feels like it fell in your lap then it may well be that it will be short-lived.  I think back to the first internet bubble and so many companies were in this category.  Names that this new generation has never heard of were the darlings of the Valley, the internet and the stock market.  They came and they went, partly because these were not teams of people who had have to fight hard to win.  There is a character that is built through long-suffering, long-hours, long-thinking, long-hours, etc.  There is also power in ensuring that people in our companies have these kinds of experiences.  We can't depend or expect to be able to be take on the biggest and toughest challenges if we are not battle tested.  Consider whether or not the thinsg that matter and are being focused on today in your business are the ones that have to be hard fought!  They are the ones that do truly matter.

The life we will live today as we work will be filled with choices to focus on those things that are either easy or need to be hard fought to achieve. Our purpose to bring glory to God in all we do is also one that is hard fought.  We know that there are no shortages of reasons to take the easy path and to let ourselves wander off but if we are live up to the challenge and calling given to us we have to fight hard and fight long to be the good examples for others. Today it could be as simple as the words that you say when in the heat of battle. Let's be sure that we are fighting the right fight and that we work as long and as hard at being the right example to others as we do anything else today!

Reference:  1 Timothy 4:12 (New Living Translation)

day 1007: 110%

"Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress"

"She gave it 110%!" 

We love to put "110%" out there as the number that signifies that someone gave it their all.  I don't think it is physically possible to actually give 110% of yourself but that notwithstanding 100% of us would probably agree that if we are going to have our organizations achieving what we need to, that we need a large majority of the company who are willing to give 100% of themselves to the job at hand. No business or organization steps back and builds their products and work based on people giving 50% effort or some other low percentage.  We need the all of people to make significant and important strides forward.  The world we work in now is just too competitive for that not to happen. There are a number of major, well-known companies who are faltering today because their people are losing hope in the direction and leadership of the company and as such, I know they are not getting 100% because the market is flooded with the resumes of their employees.  It's a worthwhile exercise to sit and make a list of the people on your team and put a % next to their names as to how much you think they are "giving" of themselves to their jobs.  If you are honest and you have people who end up with %'s that are less than 80%, then it's time to take stock of what you need to do identify the problem and bring them back up in their contribution level. If you can't, then you run the risk of losing them all together.

As ones who are working daily to bring glory to God in all that we do (our purpose), we just can't afford to not give that effort 100%.  Paul tells Timothy to "throw" himself into his tasks.  We need to be willing to throw ourselves into God's will and way for us.  Read the second part Paul's statement for the result; "...so that everyone will see your progress".  The world is watching, evaluating and always monitoring our progress.  We may not think this happening, but it is, all around us, all the time. Today, take note and put your own % next to your name as to how much are you giving of yourself to the Kingdom.

Reference: 1 Timothy 4:15 (New Living Translation)

day 765: Standing up

"Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses."

Standing up for what we believe, who we are, what our values and principles are, and being able to express confidently to others our core and our essence is just as important to a company as it is to a person. This week I am presenting at a conference where part of the challenge that companies face is how to deal with transparency and their branding, in particular, their employment branding. In today's world, it is impossible to say who you are and not be that, unless you want to spend a lot of time defending the contradiction. It is much better to truly know who you are, be that, and then operate daily that way, and then use examples and stories to reinforce the message. Too many companies are still trying to say what they want to become, while at the same time being something else and that is causing them problems. To secure the best talent, we need to have an employment brand that is truthful, clear and can stand up to the scrutiny of transparency.

God's Word tells us to fight the good fight for the true faith. Paul calls it a fight because he knows that it is a real fight and struggle that we have to have with ourselves (our nature) and with the forces that want us to fail and turn from our faith. Sometimes, those forces can be so strong, and all around us, that it is only with the support of God and the Holy Spirit that we can stand firm. In the news now is lots of discussions about "he said" vs. "she said". It is times like this that even the slightest word of untruth can ruin a reputation. You and I are faced with these kinds of challenges each and every day. It's easy at work to cut the corner, degrade another, shade the truth, etc. But, we must remember that when we are standing up, that all the messages and actions must match, as best we can. Let's today pray and ask for His support to allow us to stand up for Him with our best foot forward for others to see.

Reference: 1 Timothy 6:12 (New Living Testament)

day 656: Interceding

"I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them."

Business is filled with those who intercede on the behalf of others. We have managers and supervisors who intercede on the behalf of us to the next layer of management. We also have others in the organization who intercede on our behalf because they want us to do well and they want us to be recognized, etc. However, there are also people and times when we are interceded on by another that is not so positive or desired. We see this happen all too often don't we? Sometimes we can end up spending quite a bit of our time trying to be sure that others, when they do intercede, do so correctly. We can also call this staying on the right side of someone else. Regardless, when someone intercedes for us it can become disconcerting. The same can be said about us when we intercede for others. How and when we step in for others is an important responsibility that we carry. When we speak of others, we must ensure that we carry messages in a positive and encouraging way. If we can't, then it's better to not say anything at all. Interceding is never going to go away, so our best management is to not play into the games and to stay above the fray.

We are so fortunate to know that we have available to us the One who can intercede on our behalf as well as who we can ask to intercede for others, and NEVER be concerned that that there will be something bad or disparaging said. This is the gift that God gives us with prayer. We can ask God to intercede in anything, big, small, significant, or insignificant. And, God does not mind if we ask for that intercession to be about anything. He wants to be there for us and be in all aspects of our lives. Work remains an important part of most of our lives and there is no reason for God to not want to intercede there as much as anywhere. Today, is God coming to work with you? Have you invited Him into the middle of the conversation? If not, think about changing that up today and putting Him right there in the cubicle with you.

Reference: 1 Timothy 2:1 (New Living Testament)

day 556: Contentment

This time of the year when we start thinking about our results and progress for the year and more importantly, we start to think about next year's goals, we can start to get tough on ourselves and even more so start to look left and right and wonder why we haven't accomplished enough or more. Especially in the workplace there is the push to beat last year's performance with more, better, faster, and bigger. It is always good to have goals to strive to achieve and good to have goals that cause us to grow and stretch to new levels. Just by doing the assessment and writing our goals down, we become one of the 5% who actually do so. It's a small percentage of people who use goal setting and goal tracking to set their course. So, it is all good when we set those goals and start to measure. Where it becomes tricky is in the comparison of others and their performance, results and rewards. We must remember that the race we run is with ourselves. It is easy to start to look left and right and begin to see how we stack up and then either let that drag us down or sometimes worse, cause us to overcompensate and overreach to try and best someone else. I find that those who start from a place of being content in their own skin, knowing their limitations but still striving to expand and grow into those boundaries are not only the happiest people but also the people who just seem to have it more together than the people who are out there trying to prove to others how they are better. A good rule of thumb is to establish a level of contentment to work from and then push off from that place. Contentment is not always bad if put in the context of still moving and growing. I am not content with my Marathon running times, but I am content with knowing that I am in better shape than most and will never win a race or even place anywhere near recognition or reward. Paul told Timothy to establish his launching off position to be at the most simple level, "So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content." From that place and perspective, Timothy grew and became more but he didn't forget that there was a set of basics to be content. As we set our goals for 2011 let us find our place of humility and contentment and then strive to grow from that place.

Reference: 1 Timothy 6:8 (New Living Testament)

day 479: Balancing Game

Much of how we think about our work,what we do, and why we do it has to do with a balancing game. There is the continual question of what is the balance between work and personal life or what we call "Work-life balance". There is the balance choice daily that we each make against the time and energy we put into a project or an assignment. There is the balance of what are we willing to give up to make more money and then how much is enough versus the other priorities in our lives. It is a large balancing game and it is really hard to know what the right balance should be. What we do know is when things are out of balance that is painfully obvious and usually it starts with being obvious to someone else first and ourselves last, but regardless if we are out of balance long enough, it catches up and it becomes obvious to everyone. Much of our imbalance may come from not having a good understanding or realization about the difference between our needs and our wants. If we could only learn to work and live to our needs then balance would come more easily. But, if we are always working and living beyond our needs and trying to satisfy all of our wants, then the balancing scales can easily tip in the wrong direction. Paul and Timothy shed light on this subject in their letter to the church at Philippi; "Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little". Paul and Timothy were talking about learning how to win the balancing game. The secret lies in knowing how to get along happily, regardless. As you think about how you are doing in the balancing game, factor in not your wants, but instead your needs and then find a place where happiness can occur first and foremost. After that, you may find that it becomes much clearer on how to find the balance that is right for you.

Reference: Philippians 4:11 (New Living Testament)

day 450: Working Hard To Relieve A Burden

Funny how most people don't mind working hard for something that will be of gain for themselves, but when it comes to working hard to help someone else, well, the emotions seems to shift a bit and reluctance rears its head. Call it what you will, I think it is also just in our human nature. Maybe it is our selfishness, but it is pretty evident that we will go well above and beyond for the things that will benefit us directly. We tend to shift our motivation when others ask us to help them out or to take some of the load off of them. I would like to think that we could all come from a place of others first and ourselves second but let's be honest, it takes us stopping and thinking about it and being very committed and mindful to do this consistently. How much better our work places would be if we could make this shift. Imagine if the day started with people looking for ways to lessen the burden of others before they took care of their own needs? These would be companies where everyone would want to work and I suspect they wouldn't have to push too hard to be on top of all the best places to work lists. This is an area where we as believers who are working to a purpose of bringing glory to God in our work can make a real difference each day. If we can shift our thinking and attitude to putting others first, we can be the beginning of what might just catch on with others. If we need an example, look no further than what Paul, Silas and Timothy said in 2 Thessalonians 3:8; "...We worked hard day and night so that we would not be a burden to any of you." They knew that they would not be accepted or respected to the level that others would follow them if they added onto their burdens. Instead they removed the burden and assured that others recognized this as well. What can we do so that others who we work with know that we are not people who add to others burdens or only watch out for ourselves? What can we do today so that others see that we are people who put others first and are not afraid to work hard to relieve the burdens of the others around us? It is in this attitude and approach to our work that the example of who we follow can shine through.

Reference: 2 Thessalonians 3:8 (New Living Testament)

day 284: Early Days

We each can remember our first day on a new job and what it feels like. We wake up early on that first morning with some butterflies in our stomach, not quite sure what to expect knowing that we are going to meet lots of new faces, hear lots of names that we will have a hard time remembering, and be assigned a workspace where everything will feel new and different. We spend the first part of our time of that day rearranging our workspace to make it more comfortable to how we work and what we expect and then meandering around to meet those who sit around us, etc. Even with all of the nervousness and anxiety, there is hope, a positive attitude and a high level of optimism that anything can be achieved. The early days are exciting days. If only we could harness the energy of the first day and bottle it up and hold onto it. In these early days we don't let others round us down or hold us back because we are young or new into the job. The best of the best find a way to not let the naysayers get in the way and the best know how to bring others along with them without alienating them or making other feel like they are stepping on their toes, etc. What is most important is that each of us when we are put in these new roles that we are positive and enthusiastic and we not let that enthusiasm wane. Timothy sends the same message to new believers in 1 Timothy 4:12: ""Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." Because we are new in our jobs, young in our careers or young in our faith does not mean that we cannot be good examples and strong role models. Many times it is the first days that we establish out long term reputations with others. It is so important that we are diligent on how we act, what we say, and how we behave any time and especially, in the early days.

Reference: 1 Timothy 4:12 (New Living Testament)