day 1278: Bold. Well-Timed and Smart!

"I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner."

 

Read anything about "delivery drones" in the past 48 hours?  Amazon's Jeff Bezos and his PR team knew what they were doing when they gave Charlie Rose and 60 Minutes a sneak preview of the Amazon Delivery Drones.  Not only has it been on the tongue (and cheek) of every conversation and in every written periodical and broadcast news program, but already UPS had unveiled that they too have been working on their own delivery drones.  I have this vision of a World War II like air dogfights between the drones of FedEx, UPS and Amazon.  Snoopy and the Red Baron, where are you now?  Okay, back to reality.  What Jeff Bezos did on Sunday night was nothing short of brilliant.  He cornered a large and influential TV show.  He waxed on about "the future" as the competitor and threat, not companies like Amazon, and then he took us all into the double-secret room and showed us his remote-controlled helicopter.  And, America and the world gasped and marveled.  Brilliant!  When you are going to be bold, consider that when and how you do it is just as important as what you reveal.  Amazon got it right.  A standard press release, or in this case even a Tweet or a Vine would not have caused as much excitement and conversation as the 60 Minute piece and the orchestration of the announcement.  Well done Jeff.  We can all take a page of learning from this one!

God expects us to be just as bold with our faith as we can be with the innovative product or the new discovery.  But, He also gives us the strategic minds to know when and how to share our faith.  Let me be very clear here as I know this could come across as controversial, which is not my intent.  First, I believe with all my heart that God can work in the lives of others through us, even when we share about Him in the worst of of timing or situations.  That means, that yes, He can soften and convict someone's soul from the bullhorn message on the street corner.  But, He can also move, and will move, when we use the wisdom and knowledge we have to share His Good News in times that others are more ready than not.  We can be bold in our words and our actions and He will protect us.  What I also am sure is that God appreciates when we allow him to move within us in the ways and places that He desires.  I am moved when people share their faith publicly in places that others consider bold for it have been done.  I am also moved by the person who share their faith boldly with their best friend, their family member, or their roommate. One size does not fit all in sharing God's love.  Sharing in full authenticity and in the timing that can make the greatest impact is in itself boldly using the talents that God has given us.

Reference: Isaiah 45:19 (New Living Translation)

day 662: The Ups And Downs Of Culture

"A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit."

Why is it that certain corporate cultures are generally "up" and others are "down"? There are certainly differences and of course the state of the business makes a big difference as if a company is growing it is hard to not have some of the downers to be masked. But, growth doesn't guarantee an up culture. What guarantees a culture either being up or down is the spirit and attitude of the leaders. Show me a generally positive, optimistic and happy CEO and I will show you a corporate culture that reflects that attitude. And vice versa. Unfortunately, not many CEOs or Senior Leaders can stay consistent enough in their attitude and approach to deliver a culture that consistently reflects what it should. But, when it does, it is magical and it's almost palpable when you walk through the doors of the organization. I love that feeling and I wish we all could experience it every day. If you are a leader, then you have the chance to counter a down culture with your own up approach. You won't be able to mitigate all of the downers but you can do a lot within your own team or function.

As believers we have to work even harder to be up as much as we can. Remember, we have some good news, really good news, to share and if we are down in our attitude then why would anyone ever want to hear, or believe from us any good news. It's a constant battle to stay up, but that is what we have to do. Today, before the day gets too far along, stop for a moment and ask our Lord to give you a positive and up disposition today that others would recognize and appreciate. Ask also for your up attitude to rub off and be a part of creating an up culture for everyone.

Reference: Proverbs 15:13 (New Living Testament)

day 101: Uninterruptable Power Source (UPS)

Every business today ensures they have backup energy sources in case power is lost. Threats of natural disasters, terrorism, etc. have made this a requirement. Public companies have “disaster recovery” systems in place as part of the financial security of the company for their shareholders. Any company that depends on their servers for internet traffic will now “co-locate” their servers to another location where they are more assured that they will not lose power. Can you imagine if Google was to lose power for a day? What would the world do? (I’m sure we would be okay, but you get the point). Even at home now we buy Uninterruptable Power Sources (UPS) and connect them between the wall socket and our computers, printers, chargers, alarm systems, etc. so that we can ensure that we are protected. In areas where natural power outages are common from snow and ice, etc. the gas generator is becoming a household staple. So much emphasis on uninterrupted power and yet, I think about ourselves personally and look at how we let our batteries and our own energy deplete to the point of exhaustion and we don’t do much to ensure our own personal UPS. Work and stress can be the most draining personal power suckers imaginable. A hard day at work and we can come home and fall over the threshold stumbling to the sofa or a couch. We do this enough days or weeks in a row and we run the risk of total exhaustion and burnout. Not a pretty picture is it? But not an unfamiliar picture either? God does not want us to live this way. He wants us to live and work with the power of God within us so that we can face the stress, the challenges, the obstacles so energized and positive that others would see and say that only God must be in that person. If we doubt that this is true read no further than in Philippians 2:3: “For god is working in you, giving you the desire and power to do what pleases Him.” God is saying to us that if we will allow it, He has filled us already with not only the desire but also the power to do those things that please Him and bring Him glory. By itself, those are power giving words. We learn each day here what those things are that we can do at work to bring Him glory and pleasure. If we continue to focus our efforts there and filter and pull our work through those standards, then we can be assured that He is our UPS and that we never need worry about a total blackout in our lives. We have inside of us the power of the One who created all energy and power. Wow, if that does not charge us up today, what will?

Reference: Philippians 2:3 (New Living Testament)