day 1394: GPS - God's Positioning System

While I am on a pilgrimage walk on the Camino de Santiago (St. James Way) in Spain, I have asked some of the most committed and courageous faith-driven business leaders I know to guest contribute to Purposed worKING.  Enjoy! - Rusty

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"How can we know the way?"

I was recently on business travel in Seattle and headed to a meeting. I’m always talking on my phone when I drive and admittedly, I’m also old fashioned, so my assistant had printed out directions from my hotel to the various scheduled meetings throughout the day. Unfortunately GoogleMaps and Mapquest are not infallible and there was a hiccup in the directions. Of course, I didn’t have much margin for error because it was a packed day, so I began to panic then picked up my iPhone and asked Siri to show me the way. She, of course, accessed GPS (Global Positioning System) and gave me directions that took me right to my destination.

My situation in Seattle is not unlike many workday situations we find ourselves in. An issue arises, something doesn’t go as planned, a colleague doesn’t do or say what we anticipate and we find ourselves unsure which direction to go. At these times, and actually at all times, Jesus wants us to use him as our GPS (God's Positioning System). With all the traffic and distractions of our lives it is so eacy to forget he is there to help guide us. Unlike Mapquest, He is always available, even if we don’t have a good internet connection. Unlike GoogleMaps, He is never wrong, never gives us bad direction if we remember to ask and make time to listen.

Today and everyday are great days to look to Jesus for direction.

Reference:  John 14:5

Tom Koch

day 1246: Never Lost

"For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

Patti and I were driving from West Lafayette (Purdue) to the Indianapolis International Airport.  We were talking and I made the mistake of taking one of the bypass roads to get to 465S.  I knew we weren't far out of the way, but to be sure I pulled out my iphone and had Patti pull up the Map App and hit our current location to view where we were.  It took less than a minute and we were oriented and assured.  We said how hard that would have been even a few years ago.  We'd have gotten off the wrong road, not known where to go and would have ended up backtracking and taking twice as long.  Even the GPS's of today that come in-car aren't as quick and as comprehensive as our mobile device maps.  Patti said she was reminded of hearing someone say, "Getting lost will never again be an acceptable excuse for being late to or missing a meeting."  That is so true.  We now live in a "Never Lost Era" and there will be no going back.  If we know this, what can we do to use this to the advantage, efficiency and maybe even fun in our businesses?  With a little creativity on top of an accessible map, all kinds of things become possible.

I'm pretty sure that God knew that we would invent and develop technology that would direct us and keep us from physically getting lost. Even so, He also made it clear to us that we can, if we don't make the right decisions in our life end up lost spiritually.  He has given us all the tools and resources that we need to find Him, but they are of no good unless we seek out them and Him..  A Bible that sits on the shelf, a church that is not attended, a prayer time that is not utilized, or a fellow believer who we don't reach out to, all are there for us, as extensions of the gift and sacrifice He made for us.  Why would we allow one more day to pass that we aren't directly on the path that He desires for us?  Ours is a God of "Never Lost", but that only is realized if we do the searching.

Reference: Luke 19:10 (New Living Translation)

day 1235: New Search Algorithm

"Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him."

A little known fact to most of us, well very well known to those who manage and watch search engine optimization (SEO) is that Google just changed their search engine algorithm, again.  They don’t change it every day but this latest change follows a recent overhaul in 2010. Google calls their new updates interesting things like, “Caffeine Update” and “Hummingbird” (the latest version).  Along the way they released partial updates like “Panda” and “Penguin”.  If you are wondering, what does this mean to you, well, maybe nothing, but it’s a good chance that your search results are going to change.  What is new is further advancement of “Conversational Search”, which should give us all a more natural way of typing in our queries and getting back what we wanted. Danny Sullivan of SearchEngine Land describes an example this way:

“"What’s the closest place to buy the iPhone 5s to my home?” A traditional search engine might focus on finding matches for words — finding a page that says “buy” and “iPhone 5s,” for example. Hummingbird should better focus on the meaning behind the words. It may better understand the actual location of your home, if you’ve shared that with Google. It might understand that “place” means you want a brick-and-mortar store. It might get that “iPhone 5s” is a particular type of electronic device carried by certain stores. Knowing all these meanings may help Google go beyond just finding pages with matching words. In particular, Google said that Hummingbird is paying more attention to each word in a query, ensuring that the whole query — the whole sentence or conversation or meaning — is taken into account, rather than particular words. The goal is that pages matching the meaning do better, rather than pages matching just a few words.” So, we could be at the dawn of a new era of search, or maybe not.  But, if we have a website, we should be watching to see if our SEO is improving or not and then adapt as needed.  
 
I love that God gives us always available search access to Him and He always answers.  Of course, like some search results, we may not understand how that answer is what we were looking for, but what we can hold onto and always trust is that His answers will always come back to us and whatever they are they will always be the right answer for us at the time.  Our search engine?  Prayer!  What have we been holding back that needs a little searching done today?  He’s waiting on us with His divine algorithm!

Reference:  Psalm 105:4 (New Living Translation)
 

day 993: Maps

"Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path." 

When was the last time anyone was so concerned about a controversy over maps?  Well, you don't have to ask many people with an iphone before up will come a question or concern about the Apple maps on ios6 vs. Google maps on ios5.  I purposefully haven't upgraded because I depend on the maps heavily, not having a GPS in my car, not liking to rent them in rental cars, and basically not being very good at geographically orienting myself.  So, I know I am missing out on 3D orientations, continuous map fulfillment, etc.  But, when it comes down to it what I really want in a map is accuracy.  If a map fails on that front, then what good is it?  Some of us remember the Thomas Guides.  We counted on them because at least for a year, before their next issue, they were the most accurate maps of all.  In our businesses, we need to be sure and offer the same accuracy in our products and services.  Apple is taking a reputation beating right now for the miss.  We can all be on that end of the stick if we are not careful and we don't provide accuracy in what we present to our consumers and customers.

I had a conversation earlier this week with someone who is trying to figure out where to take their career.  I was quick to remind him that we have a map to call upon that helps us find out where we should go next.  That map is God's Word.  If we follow in the ways and words of Jesus we get 100% accuracy on how to manage and lead our lives moving forward.  God hasn't given us something that we need to upgrade or be concerned about changing or getting out of date.  If we need to reorient ourselves, or ever feel like we are lost, then let's get back into God's map, His Word today.

Reference:  Psalm 119:104 (New Living Translation)

day 850: Freemium

"But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere - ..."

When we sign up for entertainment applications and services that are "Freemium" models then we have to be ready for some distraction and interruptions. The "Freemium" model is one that many people subscribe and don't even understand it is happening to them. We sign up for something that is "free" and we get a "baseline" service or offering and it's enough to get the job done, but it usually comes with something that is missing or something that we don't want and if we move up to a paying customer (even if that is a little) then something is either added or removed that makes the service better. As I write this I am listening to a contemporary christian music playlist on Spotify; the latest and hottest music streaming service. I don't pay for Spotify, I have the free baseline offering which means at nearly every second or third song I get a commercial advertisement. It's 15-30 seconds of something like "Team in Training" or a promotion for another artist's new album. I don't mind really as it's a small distraction. Also, without out paying I can't stream on my iphone, but again, that's not a big enough incentive to make me pay. So, I listen to the ads and move on. the same is true for Pandora, online free videos, etc. It's the "Freemium" world we live in.

Aren't we so happy and blessed that God didn't set up a "Freemium" model for our salvation and eternal life? He didn't deliver us a baseline offering that we then could pay or earn our way up or into. Instead he did the just the opposite. He laid it all on the line for us and paid it all forward so all we have to do is "download" Him into our life and then let Him have access to our heart. How awesome is that model? As we carry His model into the world with how we live, act, work and share, let's be sure that we are following His truly free model and be sure that we are loving others under His terms and standards. Think about this today!

Reference: Acts 1:8 (New Living Testament)