day 1426: 14%

"Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full-pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back."

Microsoft announced yesterday that they will cut 14% of their workforce through layoffs, both immediate and over the coming year. Ironically, and I am sure coincidentally, Microsoft's market share in the PC business is now 14%.  It was/is time for change at Microsoft.  Everyone could feel it and last year the Board recognized the need and changed leadership.  And, we now have the beginnings of what will be either a turnaround, or the recognition that Microsoft may never return to the glory days it once enjoyed.  But, we must applaud them for taking what they have and trying to make the most from it going forward.  That's what we have to do if we lead or manage any part of an organization; we take what we are given and then make the most of it!

God's promise to us is that if we give, we will receive.  We can expect no more in return than what we give of ourselves.  Yet, we will still hold onto what we feel is ours and question whether or not we should give.  What could we be giving that we are holding onto so tightly?  

Reference: Luke 6:38 (New Living Translation) 

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day 1425: Which Way?

"Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?"

Not a day goes by that at work there isn't some discussion about the "direction we should be taking". This conversation can be at the highest level about the long term strategy of the company or it can be about what we should do with a customer, a website feature, or even what direction we should take with people and the organization structure. Actually, the latter two points are the ones that get talked about the most. Just listen in on the conversations at an airport lounge and the same conversation about what direction to take with an employee, a boss, a candidate, etc. becomes universal across any company or industry. Just change the names and the conversation is the same. Being able to agree on direction is very important and without it all kinds of strife and consternation occurs. Too many companies struggle and sometimes fail over just this issue. Way too many people fail at their jobs because they don't work a little harder to either understand what the direction is, or worse, they try and fight against the direction, only to find out that they become the odd person out. It is essential that there is agreement on direction and we have to do our part to be a part of the agreement. 

The Prophet Amos says in Amos Chapter 3:3, "Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?". We know the answer. Who are we trying to walk with today but can't because we haven't found that underlying agreement and understanding on the direction that we all should be heading towards?

Reference: Amos 3:3 (New Living Testament)

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day 1423: This Planning Thing

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago."


"Plan. Better than no plan", said by former Secretary of Treasury, Tim Geithner.  He's right, we all have to have plans.  Without plans we end up doing and going any which way. At least with a plan, good or bad, there is a common direction to work from that others can see, hopefully understand, and better yet, follow. I have a friend who plans very little and it shows to everyone around her.  Her husband says it drives him crazy in one way and makes him admire her even more for her freedom to change and adjust for what comes.  But, even he says that they need more planning in their lives.  Companies and organizations that are good at planning are typically ones that succeed in gaining team alignment and achieving objectives on time and within budget.  Without good planning, just about anything can happen.  That all said, when was the last time your organization said, "We need more and better planners"?  If that is not a common statement, then you might want to reassess and be sure that the emphasis on planning is getting enough attention.  And don't get all concerned that too much planning will stifle creativity and innovation.  I haven't seen the movie, nor know what its content is like, but I'm fascinated that the movie "Boyhood" took 12 years to film so that to tell the story the same actor was used as he grew up.  Pretty creative. A whole lot of planning!

What if we could see the plans that God had drawn up for us and then saw that the date stamp on those plans were tens of thousand of years before we were born?  Would that open our eyes even more to the awesomeness of God?   This may be how it worked, we don't know, but we do know that He planned good things for us long ago and that He desires for us to fulfill His plan for us.  Part of that plan is today and what we do with the hours we have in front of us.  Will we work towards His plan today, or delay that plan by a day by working towards our own plan?  God has great things in store for us if we will just let His plan play out for our lives. God's Plan.  Better than all plans!

Reference: Ephesians 2:10 (New Living Translation)

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day 1422: What It Takes To Get Noticed

"When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

Most of us, at some point or another in our careers and our business, want to stand out from the rest of the crowd.  It could be as we launch a new product or service.  It could also be as we remake the branding of the company. Or individually, it could be when it is time for a promotion or reassignment to a new project.  But, what does it take to get noticed?  Some will say, "Just do what you do well and notice will come."  There is truth to that, but I would say that is a base requirement and that's not all of the answer.  We have to be willing to do something that moves us out of the throngs and into a place where we will be noticed.  It could be stepping forward and being the first at something.  It could be changing tactics to promote or market what we have created.  Or, it could be that we need to show extra effort, extra initiative and be the company or the person who goes beyond what is expected of us to delight who it is that counts on us. What is for sure that for whatever we desire or are working on, we need to have a plan that we can follow on how to gain notice of what it is that we are bringing forward.

Imagine the most well-known bad guy in town bringing public notice, recognition and exposure to himself? Hardly, right?  But, that's what the notorious tax collector Zacchaeus did when he climbed a tree to get a glimpse of Jesus.  What happened when he ran ahead of the crowd, found that tree and perched himself above the crowd?  He got noticed and Jesus called him by name, and then went on to dine with him that evening, in Zacchaeus' house of all places.  Jesus knows us all by name, and He is always here for us, but He is also teaching us that for Him, we should be willing to run in front of the crowd, make the effort to climb the tree, expose ourselves to see Him, and then be ready to hear our name and be invited to be with Him, where we are!  What crowd do we need to leave and get ahead of today?  What tree is there to be climbed?  Are we ready to do so this week?

Reference: Luke 19:5 (New Living Translation)

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day 1421: Practice Makes Permanent

"So why do you keep calling me 'Lord, Lord!' when you don't do what I say?"

In the summers I get to play more golf than I do the rest of the year.  But, because I don't play consistently all year round my game starts off each summer as poor as it was the year before (sometimes worse) and then I notice that it gets better and then levels off, only to start all over at the same bad place the next year.  I haven't taken many lessons in my life, so I shouldn't really expect to get any better because I keep practicing my same poor swing and approach to the game.  You see, practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.  If you practice what is wrong, you get really good at being wrong!  Consider how we work, manage, lead, and get things done in the workplace. Somewhere along the way we get some courses and workshops on particular work skills, but for the most part we learn how to work on the job and for most we practice over and over this self-taught approach not knowing if we are good at working in the best way, or just good at working in our own way...which might be bad.  Think about how you start each day in the office.  Is your routine the best way or is it just your routine?  What we practice becomes permanent so we better be sure we are practicing a better way.

In possibly the first teaching that Jesus did with His newly chosen Apostles, He puts it right out there with them and challenges them on their practices.  When He asks them why were they continuing to call Him Lord but then not doing what He told them to do, He was saying to them, you are practicing the wrong thing!  How can we strengthen our faith so that we can handle all that hits us daily?  We can start with practicing what God teaches us and doing to consistently and in His guidance.  What He gave us to practice will not only be permanent, but it can be eternal!

Reference: Luke 6:46 (New Living Translation)


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day 1420: How Should I Let Him Know?

"Then when you call, the Lord will answer. 'Yes, I am here,' He will quickly reply."

The question was posed to me, "How should I let him know?".  The reason I was being asked was because it was bad news to be delivered and my friend needed advice.  His inclination was to send an email, take out the "shock", let the news sink in, and then follow up with the person with a phone call.  I had to respectfully disagree and encourage my friend to find the courage and the time to call and explain the problem and "talk it out".  I am sure there are a hundred reasons that we all can find to justify the email or the text first and the call later, but when a situation has reached the extremes; really bad or really good, there is no substitute for a personal reach out first.  In business we have gotten lazy with our communication.  We will sit down the hall from someone and email or text them instead of getting up and talking to them face-to-face.  We will text back and forth ten times to say what could be said in one sentence over the phone. I am guilty of all the above, but I know that when in the extremes that we can't ignore voice-to-voice communication.

Oh to have a voice-to-voice conversation with God!  How cool will that be?  (Notice I say, "will" as we will get that opportunity). Until then we have to listen closely to what God says to us through His Word, prayer and others.  We do have the assurance that God is answering us with, "Yes, I am here", at all times that we ask.  In our spiritual journeys we tend to try and short-cut our communication with God and if we could send a text or drop an email, we probably would.  God wants us to be active and engaged with Him and calls us continuously to interact with Him. We can bring all things life, work, relationships, pains, sicknesses and joys to Him at anytime and He will be there.  How well we communicate with God is all up to us!

Reference:  Isaiah 65:24 (New Living Translation)

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day 1419: True Colors

"Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!"

The World Cup!  It's been big this year and as we head to the finals this weekend the countries that compete will remain on the largest stage in the world. The World Cup brings out the colors of the countries from all over the world and people signify their current and ancestral allegiances with jerseys, hats, bandanas, banners, flags, etc.  We love to wear our colors and we do so everyday with our corporate logo wear and all that comes with the companies that we work with and do business.  But, there is more to our colors than this.  Our true colors come out when we are in trouble.  When there is an allegation of wrong-doing, or when their is a mistake found, or when we miss a significant goal.  It is then when companies and those around us show their true colors.  I can't imagine working at American Apparel right now. What a mess. And we can see the true colors of their Board, their founder and their investors emerging. Let's not fool ourselves, if we don't work hard at ensuring that our values are strong and deeply rooted, when push comes to shove we may see colors that we just don't like.

As believers, more than those who don't profess a faith, we should be and are held to a higher standard of  consistency and authenticity.  Our "colors" must be the same through thick, thin, smooth and rough times! When the worst occurs if our true colors are those that are grounded in God's Word and directions to us, then we are extending the Kingdom of God while here on earth.  If not, then we are like all the rest and our colors fade and wane as they change for the circumstance.

Reference: Psalm 119:5 (New Living Translation)

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day 1418: Learnings From The Camino (Final part): Slowing Down

“Be still, and know that I am God!"

This is my last post on my learning from the Camino.  There are so many more that I could write, but we will let those show up when they are supposed to do so.  This final learning was the best of all for me. I needed it, so maybe that is why it was there to be found.

Something good happens when we slow down.  We see things we haven't seen before, hear things that we normally wouldn't and consider thoughts that are longer and more complex.  When we rush by life and all that is around us we not only miss important things, we also fail to connect with what is most important, and those are the people around us.  On the Camino de Santiago it is impossible to not find time of stillness, quiet and contemplation. Even on the days when the finish starts to look better than the journey, there is an ability to observe and converse in a way that we don't in our everyday lives.  I talked. I watched. I listened.  I smelled.  I stopped.  If we slow down, just a bit, we will find that there is way more going on around us than we realize.  A pause or just a decrease of pace, for just a while, can open up new opportunities that are all around us but not obvious.  Slow it down for a bit and watch what happens.  The Camino teaches how good it can be.

"Be still and know that I am God" or  "Hey you, slow down and try a new way". We can't speed up God so why don't we slow to His speed and see what it is like there?  We don't because we either don't trust or we don't believe.  Today, we are going to be challenged in our work to speed up and solve problems and create ideas and plans. But, we also have some of those in front of us that we know we aren't up to and don't have the foggiest of ideas on how we will not only solve, but even survive.  This is God's territory and time that we slow ourselves down to follow Him!  The way forward is always there, it is what we need to experience and know before we go that God has in His hands!

Reference:  Psalm 46:10 (New Living Translation)

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day 1417: Learnings From The Camino (part 5): Leaving Behind

"The path of life leads upward for the wise; they leave the grave behind."

I was told a story on the Camino of a Japanese Pilgrim who started on the Camino in Brussels, Belgium with over 40 pounds of weight in his pack. He was a slight man and the pack left him bent over and staring down at the ground as he trudged forward step by step.  Early in the walk he was approached by experienced Pilgrims who told him that he must shed weight and leave things behind that he did not need.  This same conversation happened multiple times during the Camino but he continued to carry the large burden. With just a few days left he was once again approached and was asked how he could have carried all of that weight the whole time and why he didn't leave anything behind.  He responded, "This is my problem.  I cannot leave anything behind."  We see this all the time don't we?  We see people who can't leave behind material goods, hurts, resentment, guilt or the general baggage of life. It shows up in life and it shows up in work! If we can't leave the past behind and if we can't let loose of those things that weigh us down then how can we ever move forward with the speed and nimbleness that business and work demands.

It's simple but it is so hard. If we could only leave behind those things that keep us from our close relationship with Christ.  We try and carry what God wants to carry for us.  If we don't trust that God will carry the burdens for us then we will be weighed down and holding ourselves back.  God doesn't want us to live that life so we just have to have the courage and the conviction to shed and just leave it behind.

Reference: Proverbs 15:24 (New Living Translation)

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day 1416: Learnings From The Camino (part 4): It Is Your Own Camino

"I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments."

This is part 4 of a 6 part series on my learning and takeaways from my Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.  It just so happens that this post about the freedom of the Camino falls on the day before our American Independence Day celebration. As the Camino Pilgrims meet each other with the traditional greeting of "Buen Camino", it is also often common to hear, "It is your own Camino".  What this means is that you are to walk the Camino at your own pace, not at another's pace, unless you so choose.  So, you don't slow down or speed up for someone else.  It is your own Camino.  This becomes beneficial when you are covering 20 plus miles in a day.  There is a freedom in determining and being able to choose your own pace.  There are few things in life that allow us to do so and certainly in business the pace is usually determined from those at the top who have made the decision on how fast or slow the organization must move. When pace is dictated to us and then measured it becomes very personal, very fast.  When we ask someone, "When do you think you can get it done?", do we accept that answer or do we then try and modify their pace by asking for it earlier?  We might find that if we keep the overall goal in front of everyone that we can allow some freedom in individual pacing and for the employee this can be liberating.

David covers so many great areas within the Psalms.  As he drew from his life experiences he made his words real to us.  When he wrote of "walking in freedom" he likely was not only thinking metaphorically but as a former shepherd, he may have been thinking of literally how he walked. To physically walk in freedom is great but to spiritually walk in freedom is awesome. God promises us that if we devote ourselves to Him that we will experience the freedom that can only come from Him.  Today, you might feel shackled by all sorts of things.  It might be deadlines, or pressures, or loss, or sadness, or just frustration of too much to to get done and not enough help.  Whatever those areas are that are holding you back, turn those over to Him and he will free you and let you walk forward with joy and hope.

I wish each of you a Happy Independence Day and a great long weekend of freedom!

Reference: Psalm 119:45 (New Living Translation)

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