day 1156: Working From Where?

"They said, ‘Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.’"

Yesterday's TechCrunch covered the new irobot and Cisco In-the-office-out-of-the office-work-from-home-telepresence-robot-thing. We've seen these things in the GE ads where the robot-thing can allow the sick children to attend school, even though they are home or hospital bound.  But, this puts a whole new spin on things. Are we getting closer and closer to the autonomous worker?  My friend Fred says, "You must be present to win".  Is this being present?  What will Marissa Mayer do with this?  What is clear is that our ability to be where we are, even when we are not, is getting more and more technologically advanced.  We need to monitor, experiment and see what works in our environment, and then judge.  But, one thing is for certain, we must try what is new and not ignore the future as it rolls through our front door.  The generation behind us is watching to see where we will land as it relates to where and how they will work.

                                                           (picture courtesy of TechCrunch)

Where two or more of us are gathered, He will be with us also.  When I first saw the picture above, I was struck by how God is with us in our work as well and if we could have him present like this iRobot, all the time, how cool would that be.  But, see that is the promise and blessing we have. He is and all we have to do is invite Him along.  If in all that we know and believe about what God can do for us, then why do we ignore Him and leave Him out of our work? Ask God to inhabit your cubicle today and to be present with you at all times.  He will.  God has shown through the generations how faithful He is and how He like to work on the big problems and challenges that only He can fix.  Bring Him along and watch what He does. It's how He works!

Reference: 2 Chronicles 20:9 (New Living Translation)

day 925: Harry Levinson

"Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works."

This last week the business world lost one of the most influential thinkers and writers of our time.  Most people wouldn't know the name Harry Levinson but they have likely benefited in their jobs from his thinking and writings.  All across America and the world there are positions in corporations called, "Chief Learning Officers".  This position emanated from Levinson's 1968 book titled, "The Exceptional Executive".  Quoting from this obituary in the New York Times, "Dr. Levinson argued that a psychological contract existed between employees and employers, laying out the expectation each had of the other.  Employees who feel that their employers have violated that contract will feel depressed, he said, and may well become underachievers".  Probably the most influential CEO to adopt Levinson's teachings was long-time General Electric CEO, Jack Welch.  Welch built a powerful leadership team and modeled Levinson's theories in how he set up the HR philosophy and practices at GE. Dr. Levinson's passing is a reminder of how influence can occur for generations when the most of us would have no idea where that influence started.

Paul was a also a believer in motivating each other, encouraging and ensuring that there is strong support among believers. What a powerful force each and every one of us could be if we were to be knows as the influence and motivator of others.  Consider today whether or not you are modeling being a motivator of the others around you? If you have doubts, then it is time to spend time with God asking Him to what it is needs to change for you to be so.

Reference:  Hebrews 10:24 (New Living Translation)