day 1083: The Dunbar Model

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am ready to hear Israel’s prayers and to increase their numbers like a flock."

Much of the platform for social media is built off of the research of a psychologist, Robin Dunbar.  What his research shows is that in our social circles we can only handle a maximum of 150 relationships that are deep enough that if we ran into one of these people in a public place (restaurant/bar/coffee shop) that we wouldn't feel embarrassed about joining them (us being uninvited). Malcolm Gladwell has also used Dunbar's work for his source material. It's not only fascinating research it is also extremely helpful as we consider how we build out our corporate organizations, communication patterns, management teams and sales forces.  It is not unusual that we will find that in large corporations that the head of a large department or function doesn't know many of the people and if Dunbar is right, then there are a whole lot of people on that team that if the leader bumped into them at Starbucks, he/she wouldn't just come over and sit down and begin a conversation, in fact, they might not even recognize their team member at all, which causes another set of issues.  Looking into the Dunbar model could shed light on many aspects of our business and organizations and we should read more about his work.  If the largest and most successful social media companies are paying attention, we should also.

The Dunbar Model is one that we, as believers, can also recognize as important.  If we are limited by some human capacity on average to 150 meaningful relationships, then right there is the group for us to recognize as ones who we can and should be sharing and making our faith real. We tend to think that if we aren't reaching outside of our natural borders (like when we feel like we need to do missionary work in Africa, when there is plenty of hopelessness and need in our own communities) that we aren't fulfilling God's great commission.  Could it be though that what really is most important is what starts in the places where we have the greatest influence, credibility and knowledge.  Think today about your Dunbar 150 and consider whether or not you are putting enough weight and commitment to this group as it relates to being the testimony and carrier of God's message.

Reference: Ezekiel 36:37 (New Living Translation)

day 289: Garment Workers

Over my vacation I finally got around to reading Malcolm Gladwell's book, "Outliers". Among the many stories that he tells, which all reinforce his message that each of us gets to where we are in life through the assistance of others and circumstantial opportunities, he goes deeply into the details the the rise of the number of successful law firms in New York City that grew out of the children of first-generation immigrants who were garment makers. This story about the number of garment workers' children who grew to be the educated and leading lawyers is in itself fascinating. That we all, or at least the many successful and talented people that Gladwell chronicles in the book, are the by-products of others, whether those people know it or not is even more fascinating. This not unlike the fact that we are certainly products of the prayers that went before us. A Grandmother or Grandfather, a teacher, a parent, or someone at church who prayed our names, have all influenced and been a part of our lives. The part in Gladwell's book about the garment makers' offspring reminded me of the Bible verse in Isaiah 61:3 that says we are to "put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness". A garment of praise? a spirit of heaviness? What is Isaiah trying to get at with us? The spirit of heaviness is one that we put on ourselves like a heavy coat that weighs us down. When we feel sorry for ourselves, or let ourselves feel lonely, of when we become ungrateful, or when we become selfish. These are all the things that can lead to our spirit getting loaded up and loaded down. The only we can break that spirit is to replace the heaviness with the garment of praise. A garment of praise is right there with us at all times, starting with us thanking God for all of the great and wonderful things he has done for us. The Bible calls us to fill our minds and think on the things that are wholesome, good and right. When we are feeling burdened and weighted down with all of the heaviness that comes with this world, we need to be sure that we rise above those emotions and that we start thanking and praising God for the good things in life he as given us. And with these praises and this thankful attitude we will be donning our garments of praise and squeezing out the doubtful thoughts and burdensome questions. God gives us the assurance that He will rescue us from any situation. Likewise, He will removes any spirit of heaviness that we feel, if we will only accept His garment of praise. Like the garment workers who worked so hard and so diligently to rise above the forces that would have kept them down, we too, as believers, need to be the first to shed the heaviness and welcome the gifts of the Lord and be the most thankful of people. In this short Thanksgiving workweek, start today with putting on the garment of praise and thankfulness!

Reference: Isaiah 61:3

day 233: Form

I was out running yesterday and at mile 5 of my usual 6 mile run I found myself tiring for no apparent reason. As I tried to analyze what was going on, I realized that for the last few miles my mind had drifted and I was getting sloppy with my form and that was what was making me tired. I tried to clear my head, concentrate on my form, and return my body to the upright posture and lean forward position that I know holds me together and strong for many miles. As I did that, I could almost immediately feel myself strengthening and I went on to finish the run feeling stronger and better than I did at mile 5. What does this have to do with purposed worKING? Much, and in fact it what Purposed worKING is about. Work and our jobs try and give us a form to follow and unfortunately it is not always the form that God spells out for us in His word. Paul talks about how important it is to run the race well and finish strong. He says in 1 Corinthians 9:26; "So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step" Without the right form and concentration the run is never run well and finished strongly. Our work is a career marathon and with each day that we lose our form and get sloppy we run the risk of not finishing with the strength that God expects from us. Malcolm Gladwell recently wrote about the pitfalls of hubris (being overly proud and arrogant) and one of the things he said was that many times hubris comes from lots of experience on the job and tenure in a position. We become overly confident in ourselves and before long we become prideful and arrogant about what we can do versus others. As this happens, we, in God's eyes and others around us, lose our form. The great thing is that we can with God's help course correct ourselves, right now, today, when our form slips. It may be that today you know that you have not been the person you should be at work to others. You know that you have become prideful and defensive of your work versus others as you share less with others and look for credit from the boss. Or, it may be that you find yourself looking at others around you and instead of thinking how you can build them up, you are seeing them as competition and that is shaping how you interact and communicate with them. Whatever the circumstances, if you feel as though you are losing form, then now is the time to make the correction. God's Word is full of those corrections and that is what we also try and provide here at Purposed worKING as well. The prayer for each of today should be that we can all find the form that God desires for each of us.

Reference: I Corinthians 9:26 (New Living Testament)