day 1346: Congestion vs. Freedom

"For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

Last week I wrote of the 25th anniversary of the Internet.  A week later there is lots of new talk about the congestion of the internet as both Netflix and Apple are talking to Comcast about streaming their services over cable.  The internet, for a moment there, looked like the end of cable.  We were all to be free of the high fees and reliance on what was programmed.  But, it appears that for those who dropped their cable service for an Apple TV set-top-box, the freedom is ending.  But, of course Apple will still stream over the internet, but I will say here and now that not too far after the deal is done, along will come a program that only those who are on Comcast will be able to view. It will be disguised as a benefit, an extra, or a bonus, but we will know better.  What does this mean for the rest of us? It might mean more choice. Or, it might mean more consolidation. What it will mean is that some of the beauty of the wide open and far ranging internet is being lost and that we didn't think far enough ahead to keep the pipes large enough to handle all internet traffic, that the congestion is starting to change the rules.

When we get congested, we have no choice but to slow down and be patient and wait for the congestion to pass.  Or, we find other ways to get done what we need to do. Congestion brings a feeling of the loss of freedom and ability to choose.  Sometimes it feels like we get congested spiritually.  But, God is just the opposite.  When if feels like God has moved from us, we need to question who really moved...Him or us?  Easy answer, but sometimes hard to accept. He frees and allows us to flow with His spirit, when we allow Him honestly into our lives. I am always in admiration of those who look to God in both the good and the bad times, with same amount of dependence and trust, regardless if things are up or down. This is what He asks of us.  Will we today listen and accept the gift?

Reference: 2 Corinthians 3:17 (New Living Translation)

day 1150: Road Warriors

"So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea."

My former boss at Electronic Arts is now the Chairman of the United States Olympics Committee (USOC).  This past weekend the New York Times did a story on the USOC and how they have improved, strengthened and built better relationships with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).  The article tells how he and the CEO he hired have worked tirelessly to repair what formerly was perceived as unfair, and maybe even arrogant behavior of the USOC.  What was interesting about the article too is that they went out of the way to describe the high level of travel and days on the road that both the Chairman and CEO have logged.  As I read this, it reminded me that even in this day and age of very accessible and reliable digital communication that still today the face to face to meeting matters.  But, it's also more than that I think. It's not only the face to face, it's the effort that gets put into the face to face meeting that proceeds and colors the meeting.  If someone comes half way around the world to meet with you, it is hard to not start the meeting with respect and appreciation.  That extra effort, however it takes shape, can maybe mean the difference in a successful meeting or not. Maybe this is why the road warriors seem to still have an edge up, even today.

Jesus was a road warrior.  He moved from place to place and along the way, met people in their places of need.  He didn't just go to Jerusalem and set up shop in the Temple and have people come to Him.  He knew much better. He knew that in order to reach people in their hearts and minds, that He had to be among them. This is a great example for us to follow.  Today, where are you planning on having lunch?  Will you be among your team?  How many meetings will be in your office, versus out on the floor or in another part of the building? Reed Hastings from NetFlix doesn't even have an office.  He comes in each day and finds someplace to sit down and works from there.  When he has meetings, they are where the person sits, not him.  Even in our own workplace we can demonstrate what it means to be a "road warrior". Even in our own offices we can meet people where they are, just as Jesus did.

Reference:  Luke 4:44 (New Living Translation)

day 1081: House of Cards

"...No, you are the one, O Lord our God! Only you can do such things. So we will wait for you to help us."

When Netflix came on the scene, they basically ran Blockbuster out of business.  Before Netflix we thought nothing of walking the shelves of the movie rental store and saying to each other, "Have you seen this?".  Now, just a few years later, that seems so long ago and such an antiquated way to watch a movie at home. Since the introduction of the home DVD delivery model, Netflix has already reinvented it self twice.  Once was with the on-demand streaming of movies and the other was two weeks ago with the introduction of their new self-produced series, "House of Cards".  When Netflix first announced that they would be underwriting their own series, Hollywood took notice because they could see a new competitor in content creation, not just content distribution. But little was written or contemplated that they would create an even more significant new model with how they would deliver the series.  What happened at the beginning of February was that Netflix leapfrogged everyone by providing all episodes of the first season at the same time.  No more waiting for a week to get to the next installment.  If I want to sit and watch the entire season on a rainy weekend, I can. Or I can chunk it into any size of consumption that I want.  It is brilliant and has shifted the power of the consumer/viewer even further into the driver's seat.  This house of cards they have built will stand and the question is, just how long it is going to take for other content creators and distributors to do the same.  The TV networks have to be wondering how they can respond.

Our God was the first to make everything He wants us to have available, but not without a price.  That price is that indeed sometimes we do have to wait and accept.  We aren't always waiting on God though, we are also waiting on our own readiness to be able to accept what God has to offer.  In my own life I am learning more each day that the delivering of God's blessings aren't dependent on Him, they are dependent on me.  He is like a broadcaster who sends out the signals continuously.  My ability to pick it up and tune in is all with me. God never has, nor ever will provide us a house of cards that can easily be felled.  His is a firm foundation and does indeed counter the world we live within with a lesson of waiting for the greatest return and reward.  In God's time, when things come too soon, they may not be of God.  Let's consider today what we are expecting of Him and what it is about our willingness, or not, to surrender to his timing that may be holding the blessing back. 

Reference:  Jeremiah 14:22 (New Living Translation)

day 763: Committed For The Long-Haul

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about what happens to you."

The other day a colleague and I were debating a company's strategic direction and came to the conclusion that regardless if they were right or they were wrong, they were to be commended because they are committed and sticking to it and only time would tell whether they are correct in their assumptions or not. A month or so ago I mentioned Netflix as an example of a company who was so committed to moving into the future that they were burning the ships behind them with the spinning off of their DVD shipping business so they could focus on their streaming segment. It was a gutsy move and I applauded them for it because no matter how flexible and how long your legs are, you can't do a deep enough split to keep one foot in the past and another far enough in the future. Something has to give and it should be the foot that moves out of the past and into the future. Netflix was doing that, and then they changed their mind. They were not committed to their strategy for the long-haul. They vacillated and now they are stuck. I was surprised because it is a company built on strong convictions and some unshakable points of view. If we are going to be committed, we need to be really committed. Once we go, we need to keep going. Like an airplane, we lift off, we adjust the engines for less thrust, and then we level off, but an airplane knows no reverse and if the engines stall, bad things happen. Once we decide to go, we must go and stick with it.

As individuals it is hard to stick with things. Too many distractions are out there and we can find ourselves casting about and not following through. We must also be committed for the long-haul in our spiritual lives and committed enough that there is no going back. We can be that example to others in our work lives and that example can be the glimpse of what it is like to follow Christ. He never looked back. He was committed beyond any commitment that we will ever know. He left the earth for us, but He did not leave us. We know that we can give all of our worries, our doubts, our fears, or anything that gets in the way of us following through for Him, and He will take care of us to get us through. Undoubtedly, we all have one, or many of those cares upon us today. Let's start this work day with giving them up to Him and asking Him to carry us through the long-haul, with no going back.

Reference: 1 Peter 5:7 (New Living Testament)

day 734: Onward and upward

"So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor."

I've always said that if a business is not growing, it is dying. While that may not be obvious, it is dying from the inside out if it is not growing. The best people won't stay, the best deals won't be secured, the next big idea won't come to a business where others smell stagnation. This is why, even if incremental, moving upward and onward is important. Sometimes these moves can be scary and risky. Just check out what Netflix did this week with spinning out their DVD business as a legacy business so they can focus on the area of the business they believe will grow. This was about as gutsy as it gets and it certainly burns the ships behind them as they case themselves away from warehouses, envelopes, plastic and the U.S. Postal Service (which is having their own growth challenges). In CEO, Reed Hasting's letter to all subscribers he wrote to us humbly of his misstep and then laid out a growth plan for the company. It takes courage to stay growing and more businesses should be humble and honest enough with themselves to make the changes necessary to keep their growth alive.

We must also grow and we must also be humble. What we have is a promise from God that if we do humble ourselves under His power and we wait on Him that He will lift us up and we will experience our own upward and onward growth. But here is the amazing thing, while we are waiting, we are also growing because if we are humbling ourselves to Him, we are spending time in his Word, in prayer and in fellowship with others. Let's ask ourselves today, are we in an onward and upward pattern right now? And if we are not, then what do we need to do to put ourselves in the position where we can wait on God to lift us up?

Reference: 1 Peter 5:6 (New Living Testament)