day 1018: The Pain Of Promises

"...and keep their promises even when it hurts."

Promises get made all the time. Sometimes they are explicit and we say, "I promise". Other times they are made in the form of commitments that we will do something or follow-through on what we have said we would do. Often promises are made in haste without the full set of data or information, but nonetheless, we don't think through our words and before we know it the words have spilled out of our mouths and we become committed, even when we later wish it was not so. If we are managers of other people, we need to recognize that people who work for us are hanging on every word and when we say we are going to do something they expect with their full attention and devotion that it will happen. It is our responsibility to follow through, even though sometime it hurts to do so. People change jobs and uproot themselves and their families on the basis of these promises. If we don't follow through then we are not only letting someone else down, we are breaking our word and damaging the reputation that we have worked so hard to develop and maintain.

David talked about this in Psalm 15 when he said that only a few who could enter the holy presence of God. One of the prerequisites and descriptors is in verse 4; "...and keep their promises even when it hurts." David knew that it is hard to keep promises and even more so when it becomes painful. He challenges us here to be different than the rest; to stand firm in our promises, regardless. Are you challenged today with a promise that needs to be kept? If you are, remember David's words as you decide what to do next.

Reference: Psalm 15:4 (New Living Testament)

day 463: Promises, Promises

Promises get made all the time. Sometimes they are explicit and we say, "I promise". Other times they are made in the form of commitments that we will do something or follow-through on what we have said we would do. Often promises are made in haste without the full set of data or information, but nonetheless, we don't think through our words and before we know it the words have spilled out of our mouths and we become committed, even when we later wish it was not so. If we are managers of other people, we need to recognize that people who work for us are hanging on every word and when we say we are going to do something they expect with their full attention and devotion that it will happen. It is our responsibility to follow through, even though sometime it hurts to do so. People change jobs and uproot themselves and their families on the basis of these promises. If we don't follow through then we are not only letting someone else down, we are breaking our word and damaging the reputation that we have worked so hard to develop and maintain. David talked about this in Psalm 15 when he said that only a few who could enter the holy presence of God. One of the prerequisites and descriptors is in verse 4; "...and keep their promises even when it hurts." David knew that it is hard to keep promises and even more so when it becomes painful. He challenges us here to be different than the rest; to stand firm in our promises, regardless. Are you challenged today with a promise that needs to be kept? If you are, remember David's words as you decide what to do next.

Reference: Psalm 15:4 (New Living Testament)

day 149: Drawing Board

"We need to go back to the drawing board". This is a common phrase we hear around the office when something we have tried doesn't work, or there has been a shift in the business plan, or when the numbers don't add up, or when the competition just trumped us. We also use the phrase when are trying to figure out a problem with a team or person and everything we have tried comes up short. So, what we do is we "go back to the drawing board". The drawing board is where the early creations happen. The term comes from the a draftsman's large sketch board where ideas, schematics, pictures could be drafted and then torn off and thrown away without worry of wasted material or permanency. Usually these were large boards that were on easels or pedestals and you would stand up to work on them like standing at an artist's canvas. They were the precursor to a chalk blackboard or a modern day white board. The beauty was that you had the piece of paper to take with you to show others or to rip off and throw away (in frustration many times) as you were forced to go back to the drawing board once again. The imagery of having to go back to the drawing board again and again after unsuccessful attempts to try and achieve the task at hand is one that conjures up for me the feelings of not only frustration but ones of failure, helplessness and anxiety. If you have ever been told by your boss that you "need to go back to the drawing board", you know what I am talking about. That may be where you are today with a part of your job or career that you are trying to figure out. You have been at the drawing board multiple times but all that comes up is a blank piece of paper. I was struck by a verse in the book of Hebrews that tells us exactly the drawing board that we should approach when we need to figure out the most complex of complex problems. In Chapter 4:16 it says; "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." There is the drawing board of all drawing boards, the throne of God! We only have to step up to the throne to accept God's mercy and grace to help us through our problems and challenges. The answers and the full design for our work and our lives is already there waiting for us if we will only take that step towards the throne and look upon the drawing board that God has filled out for us. The next time you hear the phrase "let's go back to the drawing board" you can know that you have a supreme drawing board that you can approach not with frustration, worry or anxiety but with assurances, hope and promise.

Reference: Hebrews 4:16 (New Living Testament)

day 99: Glory Given

Finding our purpose in our work seems more relevant today than ever. Every where we turn someone we meet is either out of work or in a job that they wish they could get out of, but because of the economy they feel stuck. As such, more time and emphasis is being placed on making our work purposeful, meaningful, significant and relevant. These are lofty and admiral goals to have. If the line of sight of your job to those ambitious words is not obvious, do not be discouraged. There is much more behind those words than just being able to declare that we have "found it"! One thing we know for sure is that regardless of the work we do, whether it be as a welder, a teacher, an executive, a truck-driver, or a software engineer, God has given us all the same purpose on earth that we can take to the office with us. In His prayer Jesus says to His Father: "I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do.". What an amazing statement. Jesus is telling us that we are here on this earth to bring glory to God and the way we do it is by doing everything He tells us to do. And beyond that, we don't have to then go figure out what it is that God wants us to do, instead He gives us an owner's manual in the Bible that we can read, study and apply to our lives. This hearty lesson does not stop just because we go to work and try to leave God at home. The lesson applies in the office, on the route truck, in the field and in headquarters. Bring glory to God in all that you do and you will be living and working within His purpose for you. May today be a day when you feel lifted up and encouraged in this, God's promise and Word.

Reference: John 17:4 (New Living Testament)

day 84: Count The Cost...First

Work is full of lots of “big ideas” and what Collins and Porras call: “BHAGs...Big Hairy Audacious Goals”. We are pushed to come up with these and sometimes we are the ones who are challenging others to do so. There’s nothing wrong with these as they do push us to new limits and help us reach our full potential. There are many great stories about those who invented or achieved the seemingly impossible just because someone else told them that their work to date was “just not good enough”. When we work with, and for, the kind of people who can get the most from us, we tend to like and respect them and we thank them for making us better. At the same time though we need to be sure that we are being realistic in our goal setting and also doing our homework upfront before we commit or promise to deliver. It’s a fine balance as we want to always go above and beyond but at the same time we don’t want to be known as one who consistently sets lofty and unrealistic goals and then ends up not delivering or letting others down. It is actually Biblical to be a realistic planner and expectation setter. We see this in Luke as Jesus was teaching about making commitments to be a follower of Him. He says in Chapter 14: 28-30, “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh at you! They would say, ‘There’s the person who started the building and ran out of money before it was finished”. These are words to which the wise will listen. There are many things in business that are worse to start and never finish than to never have started in the first place. The stakes are especially high when it comes to those things that can truly effect how people feel about their leaders and the business. I was recently consulting with an organization who wanted to do all the right things but when I looked over the number of initiatives over the past few years that they had started but never completed, one could see a long list of good but because never completed programs that were now corporate shipwrecks. And not surprising to me, but surprising to them, the most recent new programs they had rolled out were received with a jaundiced and skeptical eye. Their reputations as leaders were now built on hollow words and unfulfilled promises. It is not a pretty place to be. As ones who are striving to meld our purpose and our work and use our work as a positive example and platform, we need to think hard about how we set our goals and plans so that we are known to be ones who deliver and don’t over promise or get ahead of ourselves. Each and every time we follow-through, count the cost ahead of time, and then fulfill our commitments we build credibility with others. And one never knows the long-lasting impact of the words and examples from someone who is credible and believable in all they do.

Reference: Luke 14: 28-30 (New Living Testament)