Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Start Small


Think Smart, Start Small

I love this quote: If you're going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.

Cross country skiing looks fun.  But I wouldn’t start out by skiing across China!

So if you’re taking on a new challenge, start small. I often say, “Crawl before you walk, walk before you run, run before you fly.”

My nephew had a dream to hike the Appalachian Trail.  He’d never done mountain hiking before.

So he started in Maine and hiked to Georgia. But he started in October and walked through some of the worst winter conditions in history.  More projects fail from lack of planning and counting the cost.

Jesus said that if you plan to build a tower or go to war, first sit down and estimate the cost. And if you take up cross country skiing, pick a small country to start.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Keep Our Eyes on the Goal

Are you in the season of strategic planning.  I’ve got a great phrase for you from First Century planner, Paul of Tarsus.

He said this, "I've got my eye on the goal where God is beckoning us onward to Jesus.  I'm off and running and I'm not turning back.  So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us."

I love that. Keeping our eyes on the goal.

Get off and running with the plan. Don’t look back.

Keep goal focused to achieve all that God has for you.

Who says the Bible is impractical?

I’m living this advice in our strategic direction.

“So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us."

Philippians 3:14,15  (The Message)

Friday, May 07, 2010

Leadership isn't telling people what to do.

 Jana Eggers, CEO of clothing company Spreadshirt, says,  “Most people think good leadership is about making the right decisions -- but in a big organization, that's hardly ever true,” she says, “Once a company expands beyond a handful of people, the boss's real job is to look at the big picture while others make the day-to-day decisions.” 

That’s right, your job as a leader is to inspire your team to make good decisions every day. I want to hire and develop a team that doesn’t need a lot of hand-holding. So what are you doing to inspire your team to take initiative and work with an inspired attitude? What are you doing to build into the lives of others?

Jesus took a ragtag group of diverse personalities and developed them into a team that turned the world upside down.  He told them that they would do even greater works than He did in His earthly ministry. That’s good leadership!