George Washington on Leadership by Richard Brookhiser. This is not a history book in a true sense of the term. It is a book highlighting events in Washington's life that illustrate certain lessons about leadership. I've enjoyed it thus far.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't by Jim Collins. Yes, I am just now getting around to reading this. I have read all about it and have seen the concepts critiqued elsewhere. After I got past Fannie Mae being mentioned as a great company (times do change), I have found it to be very insightful and helpful. There are some good principles here for businesses and organizations. Like everything for a follower of Jesus, it should be compared to the Bible to see if it is what we would want to practice, but thus far I haven't found anything out of line.

When People Are Big and God Is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man by Ed T. Welch. This book has been a great help to me. It has enabled me to see where I have been fearing people more than God. I recommend it to anyone whether they think that they struggle with that issue or not.

• fetch more innovation
• improve team building
• improve effectiveness & efficiency
• reduce the over all IT residual risk
• improve organization attitude

The above are top 5 value added imperatives a better collaboration will bring to an IT organization. Each one of the above adds value to the core business, saves IT G&A and minimizes the IT risk exposure.

How the CIOs and other senior executives will manage and measure the collaboration within their organization. We all familiar with Intelligent Quotient (IQ) and it is a measure how smart a person is? Likewise, an organization must have a metric to measure the collaboration occurring within their organization.

I was searching to find out what kind of metric is available to measure it in the industry. Based on my research, I could not find any metric to measure it. So I innovated a metric called enterprise collaborative quotient (ECQ)

What is collaboration?

Group of people working towards the same goal.

Why collaboration is needed?

IT has an organization goal every year (which is aligned to the IT strategy which supports the business strategy which supports the competitive strategy) and every member of the organization works towards the goal (Strategy focused organization). When a group of people working towards the same goal, to avoid duplication and ensure full coverage, collaboration is required within the organization.

What is the Enterprise Collaborative quotient?

Even though I prefer to have more mathematical way to calculate it, in reality, the formula approach will not work in management science. My famous saying is, it is not $latex \pi r^2$

However, a methodical approach is proposed to calculate the enterprise collaborative quotient. Let me make sure we understand why are we measuring this? To measure how the organization is working together towards the organization goal.

The structure to the problem is, what are the factors involved in measuring it. The factors are

1. Understanding of

• the organization goal (theme),
• the overall IT strategy (targets, performance measure,strategic objectives),
• who is who (theme managers, initiative owners)
• overall business bottom line
• core values and company's mission and vision

2. Frequency of

• formal face to face meetings/discussion
• informal face to face meetings/discussion
• Impromptu face to face/phone/chart meetings/discussion
• proposal of new suggestion/ideas for a target set for a different team
• brown bag sessions
• huddle meeting
• skip level meetings
• team meeting
• town halls
• 1:1 meeting with direct reports
• special interest groups (boat club, motor cycle club, quantum cafe club,womens forum)
• lunch meetings
• dinner meetings
• group activities (like community services)

3. Willingness to

• Share knowledge
• Listen
• Challenge the obvious
• care for others
• be open

Based on types of the organization, the above factors can be used and information can be garnered by interview or survey. The weight factor can be applied based on the core function IT supports.

Its amazing how something as concrete as language can become so dynamic and how after one experience a =my definition of a word can change so much. I have always thought of myself as someone that is content with the simple things. All that I really want is a hot shower, a bag of twizzlers, and my music, but tonight as i was taking my hot shower I started thinking about the families i met today and how what I think of as simple pleasures are something that most Mexican families will never have. One of the men working at the mission, Ethan, told us that many houses don't have water and will go two or three days before they drink anything, and those with water only get cold water. So there goes my simple hot shower.

After that we went into a house that was as big as or if not smaller than the vans that we are driving. The family that lived there was amazing the husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and given two years to live... nine years ago. Then in the last few months he found out that he had a brain tumor, however he told us as he struggled to control his own body about how he thanks God everyday for the things he has and the days that he is able to live. This man completely changed the definition I have of what is simple and what it is to be easily contented.

I am excited to see what God has in store for tomorrow.  --Jason

 Program Date: August 1, 2008

Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific

Topic: Homicide Investigations

Listen Live: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement

 About the Guest

Vernon J. Geberth, M.S., M.P.S. is a retired Lieutenant-Commander of the New York City Police Department with over forty years of law enforcement experience.  He has personally investigated, supervised, assessed, researched and consulted on over 8000 death investigations. In addition, Commander Vernon J. Geberth has been the recipient of more than 60 awards for bravery and exceptional police work and is a member of the New York City Police Department’s Honor Legion.

 Commander Vernon J. Geberth has a Master’s Degree of Professional Studies (M.P.S.) C.W. Post College, Long Island University and a second Master’s of Science Degree in Psychology (M.S.), California Coast University, Santa Ana, California. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York and he is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia 119th Session, (1979).  Commander Vernon J. Geberth is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS).

 Commander Geberth, is the author of Practical Homicide Investigation: Tactics, Procedures, and Forensic Techniques, which is now in it’s Fourth Edition and is recognized in the law enforcement field as "The Bible of Homicide Investigation" and the Practical Homicide Investigation Checklist and Field Guide, which is considered by professionals as an essential prerequisite in conducting proficient death inquiries.  He is also the author of Sex-Related Homicide and Death Investigation: Practical and Clinical Perspectives, which is considered the framework textbook on sex-related murder.

 In addition, he created and serves as the Series Editor of Practical Aspects of Criminal and Forensic Investigations for Taylor & Francis CRC Press, LLC Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida and has proposed and edited over forty publications within this series.

 About the Watering Hole

The Watering Hole is police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life.  Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.

 About the Host

Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years.  He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant.  He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University.  He has experience teaching upper division courses in law enforcement, public policy, law enforcement technology and leadership.  Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One.  He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in law enforcement.

 Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement

 Program Contact Information

Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA

editor@police-writers.com

909.599.7530

• Our kids are no different than the kids in the movie.  Yes they are from the hood and are in jail but at the core they are kids who are hurting and have a lot of junk in their lives.  Our kids are hurting and have a lot of junk in their lives.  Being a teenager is tough and it doesn't really get any easier as you get older we just get better at masking the pain and making excuses.
• At the end of the movie they walked away as winners.  How did they get that way?  Somebody believed in them.  Somebody showed them acceptance and love.  Somebody coached them through their junk and celebrated with them through their victories. Somebody set the bar high and encouraged them along the way.  I feel we don't set the bar high enough sometimes.  We would rather have winners who attained a low set goal that required little to no effort than people who developed character giving it their best but at the end of the day missed the mark.  I guarantee those who missed the mark learned a lot more about themselves and the situation than those who hit it every time.  I have learned more from my mistakes and shortcomings in life than through my victories and successes.
• I have learned in life not everyone is a winner and you don't always get a trophy.  I fear we are creating a generation of young people who don't know how to lose and who don't know how to really fight for the things in life that are really worth fighting for.

John talked today in staff meeting about our new sidewalk and how nobody notices it.  Nobody notices it because it looks like how it's supposed to. I wonder if we miss opportunities with our teenagers and others because until something is wrong and needs to be fixed we don't notice them.

I wonder what it would be like to walk with our students and coworkers and celebrate their victories and coach their junk, but do it becuase we love and accept them, not out of reaction to an issue that occured.

During the service, I had one guys start talking back as i was teaching.  I have no idea what we was saying I could just tell that it made others feel uncomfortable.  He choose to leave and when he did, 2 other men got up and followed him out.  Later, as the service was ending.  I noticed the guy was still there talking to some of our male adult leaders.  I joined them to learn that the man was a drug dealer, who was high and desiring to change but thought it was impossible to do so.  I shared the truth in love with him asking him if he wanted to change, he never gave an answer but God is working in his heart.  Please pray for him, his name is Alberto.

What a night, humbled by Gods grace and power and amazed that I was able to play a small part simply by being available!

“

Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my time, my all, utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me, seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.”   

Truly when I pray that, the first reaction is of my flesh is to cry out,

“Do I really want to pray this?!”   I think I do.

Do I really want to GIVE UP my plans, desires, the things I want to do???

What if I don’t get to do the things I want to do, the things on my agenda, the things I am planning?

The first few times I prayed this prayer, it was with hesitation, a little nervous about what God would possibly change.Then, the Holy Spirit really spoke into my heart!

 How am I looking at my God?

 Am I really seeing Him as the good, generous, wonderful God that He is?

Why would I assume that His plans for me are so different than my own?

Hasn’t He placed these desires in my heart?

.

That line, or something strikingly close to it came from Ewan McIntosh's keynote address last Wednesday at BLC.  It's not the first time I had heard a speaker ask that we all focus on our own development, or transforming our classrooms into teacher-researcher laboratories, but it was the first time where I heard it as an administrator.  Oddly enough, just the semantic shift in title changes the meaning behind McIntosh's statement for me.  In our notes, a few of us remarked about the statement, and later on in the day I took it upon myself to synthesize some of the bigger ideas we had all been having in our debriefings at dinner.  Here is what I came up with for the R and D idea:

Teachers as researchers: one of the things we all see the need for is to create a culture in our buildings where our teachers see themselves, to quote McIntosh, as "in research and development."

1. What makes that happen in your school?
   one of the things I keep thinking about personally is the use of pilot programs that last only a few months.
   1. Screencasting: ask teachers to incorporate Eric Marcos "kids teaching kids" methods for 3 months and then have the selected teachers share their experience with other teachers in their building.
   2. Promote open collaboration between classrooms within the building and around the nation/world through getting the teachers into other rooms to observe, and through connecting our teachers with others outside the U.S.  Have them pitch their idea to the building principals, execute the plan, and have them present their product to the staff.
   3. Showing teacher work and student work off
      1. there is a theme running through a lot of the workshops here that incorporates the idea that we should promote the teachers that "get it."
      2. Which teachers get it, and I don't mean technologically only, but which teachers will look at something new and attack it, refine it and make it their own?  Find them and ask them to show how they do it.  Do this often.
      3. Let students show teachers how things work.  Have you heard Alan's quote: "always bring a student to a technology conference?"  Let students show their teachers what they are actually capable of (from Eric Marcos' presentation, and Ewan's keynote: "-Give a button to a teacher and they ask what to do with it, give a button to a kid and they play with it and discover"
   4. District-wide PD conference
      1. We have been sitting in workshops for a day now and at some point or another we have all remarked that we have teachers doing this or doing that.  Can we pull them together and run our own "in-house" conference?
      2. The willing and able can present what they do to the rest of the staff and we go from there.
   5. School-wide or grade-wide Custom search engines
      1. we can use Google Custom Search to enable teachers to create their own search engines based on the links they already provide to the students for research.  They can still limit content to the sites they want, but it is an incredible time saver if all of the staff combines their resources into one search engine.
      2. It gives them exposure to the collaborative nature of the web.
   6. Everyone is in R and D.

I'll be brutally honest here: I went to BLC not wanting another tool to add to my belt (although I did get a few); I wanted answers to questions from teachers who don't see value in change.  I wanted to be able to return and say, "look, here is my magic bullet, and it's wireless." Truthfully, I set myself up for some disappointment, but I did walk away with several fantastic ideas worth taking action on immediately.

Among other things, I realized, thanks to a few pushes, that it's time to get out there and share what we're doing here.  Not that it's earth-shattering, but we have inertia, and I think that might be valuable to some people.  We have been pushing and pulling on what we know and understand about teaching and learning there, getting a lot of feedback from our staff, and it's time that we also looked at ourselves as researchers and developers.  What better lesson in humility than to fail in public and try again?  I think we are ready for what's next.

Image Credit: "Comfortable Research," from Joel Bedford (formerly J.A.L.E.X.)'s photostream

In the past few weeks I've heard of several Pastors that have fallen to morality issues.  Amy and I have been in touch with several friends that are or in the process of divorce.  It flat out gets my attention.  It scares me.  I just don't want to look down on them or think I'm above anything - I believe that is where it all begins.  I was interviewing an insurance guy in my community one day several months ago and he I asked him what advice he would give a young pastor.  He told me of Billy Graham's modesto manifesto that was formed while he was an evangelist.  He built up accountability walls in the areas of finance, sexual purity, and honesty when it came to numbers. 

I began to think - what if more leaders and pastors established these boundaries - would there be less affairs and less embezzlements?  Why don't more go public with these matters?  Are they hiding things?  I don't know but i don't want to mess with it.  Amy and I spent time putting together some protection over the weekend.  This isn't something I would place on anyone - it is specific for me.  Why?  Well my marrriage, family, walk with Christ, and calling our worth it.  Is removing a TV out of a hotel room extreme?  Statistics say that porn being viewed in hotels is highest during conferences in which pastors are present.  Is not being alone with someone of the opposite sex extreme?  Perhaps we ought to ask someone that started counseling with someone and it led to an affair! 

If this is extreme than I want it!  Nothing is more important to me than Christ, my purity to Amy, and the respect and admiration of my two boys!

Finances

I will commit my family to give 10% of our tithes to our district and church, as well as give beyond that to missions or other causes.

I will commit to have integrity with all monies coming into The Well.  I will not touch monies coming in and will have two signatures on checks and someone in place to transport to the bank and keep track of all finances with an open book to the church.

Sexual Purity

I will commit to have a filter on my internet on my phone

I will commit to have a filter on my computer (k-9 web protection) and a password that my wife holds.  It will be set up where I can’t erase past history.

I will commit to an internet accountability service (3xwatch) that sends out monthly reports to a good friend and my wif

I will commit to setting up blocked channels on my TV in which my wife will hold the password.

I will commit not to travel alone and if I must stay in a hotel – taking the TV out of my room

I will never be alone with anyone of the opposite sex period.

I will give my password for my email to my wife so she can check at anytime 

Family

I will not turn on my laptop while my boys are awake.

I will take Fridays as my Sabbath and spend entirely with my family.  This means no cell phone, email, or getting on the computer.  My wife will check to see if there’s any emergencies. 

I will take annual vacations with my family and let the time not conflict with ministry 

I will have a scheduled date night monthly with my wife 

Friends

I will commit to surround myself with an advisory council and close friends that have the license to challenge me and ask me the tough questions.  They will know my weaknesses and I will be open and 100% honest.  I will discipline myself to call them and email them so that I place myself in a position of submission and accountability so that they can speak into my life regarding issues of the heart. 

Father 

I will commit to daily spend time in God’s Word and prayer.  I will also spend time in personal growth reading books or listening to podcasts.

"We Americans are one lucky bunch.  But let's face the truth.  While the Declaration of Independence assures us that 'all men are created equal,' we'd best face the fact that we may be created equal but we are born into a society where inequality of family, of education and, yes, even opportunity begins as soon as we are born... the Constitution demands more.  We the people are enjoined to form a more perfect union, to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquillity, and to promote the general welfare and to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity."

"There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning."

I think we have all experienced both scenarios, more than once & probably many more times than we’d like to admit. So how do we avoid ‘dozing off’ in the middle of a conversation? We do so, by practicing being ‘present’ in the conversation. Not just physically present, but emotionally present as well.

Use the following techniques the next time you are chatting with your best friend, colleague, neighbor or family member and observe what you hear:

-        Stop talking

-        Remove distractions

-        Suspend judgments

-        Avoid interrupting

-        Maintain eye contact

-        Choose a curious mindset

-        Interject verbal cues (to let the speaker know you are still listening)

-        Ask clarifying questions (to be sure you heard correctly)

-        Notice non-verbal language

-        Use your intuition (that feeling you get)

-        Allow time for thought (pauses in conversation are important)

-        Acknowledge the speaker’s feelings

-        Show empathy

Share your observations by posting a comment. What else happened during your conversation? How did the speaker react to your new listening approach?

We are a country still full of tremendous resources, more than many other country in the world. World leaders look to America and rightly so for leadership. This has been sorely lacking. We have virtually isolated ourselves for the last eight years during the Bush Administration and we have suffered because of these strategies. Some world leaders feel that we have relied more on military solutions than diplomatic solutions.

Barack Obama, though he is engaging; many Middle Easterners feel that they will need to see what will happen during an actual Obama presidency. They are in a word skeptical and for good reason. We have had virtually no specific foreign policy and our standing in the world has more than suffered. It is virtually non existent.

It is time for change; a Barack Obama is increasingly looking like the agent of change. When you measure the personalities of both men; Obama and McCain, you see a person in Obama, who is engaging and able to establish a clear rapport with word leaders. Not in quite a while have we seen so much world interest in the American Presidential Election. And this attention, quite frankly, is from the Obama candidacy.

Anyways, losing bugged me and I wasn't used to dealing with it as a fan. I know that sounds kind of stupid and shallow but its true. I'm a competitive person, it was actually my number one strength in the strength finders book. I hated losing, I still hate losing and I've always hated losing, I can't stand it. When we lost football games, I would go into this funk and Amy would get mad at me. Looking back its pretty hilarious, I think I deal with losing better than I used to. I guess you'll have to ask Amy about that. 

My thought was, when you fail,, how do you deal with it? John Maxwell says its not about if you fail, but rather its all about how you respond to failure that will dictate future success. I agree, we are all going to screw up at some point and make mistakes. I think the best leaders make the biggest mistakes. If you're going to bite it, than bite it hard. 

I think we get a great window into the maturity of our soul when we really see how we respond to failure. If we just get super discouraged, go into a funk, complain, whine, make excuses, blame other people or whatever else you can think of we are not very mature humans.

I think people that handle failure well will be humble and admit their failures, they will be gracious, take responsibility for their actions/failures, will not complain, stay encouraged and act mature. 

Next time you fail, be honest about how well you responded, do some self assessment and fail better next time.

Last Friday evening, July 18, 2008, Mayor Tom Leppert joined a group of volunteers and Stewpot staff to serve dinner to over 700 homeless people at the Bridge, Dallas' new homeless assistance center.  Typical of the mayor, he was 'hands on' with his service, working behind the line filling plates, then moving out into the dining room to work in other positions.

Standing in front of the cafeteria-style serving line, Mr. Leppert handed plates of food to homeless individuals coming through the line, greeting and shaking hands with each personally.  One of my daughters, who was working near him, was touched by his manner with these often-overlooked Dallas citizens, saying, "He looked each person in the eyes, giving them his full attention.  He is such an humble man, so kind and caring."  Having spent two evenings with Mr. Leppert and the homeless in the past, beginning with a visit he made to the Day Resource Center during the mayoral election, I definitely agree.

After working at the front of the serving line for some time, the mayor moved out into the dining room.  There he went from table to table among homeless citizens, patting them on the back and talking to them for as long as they wished.  He asked them how they were doing and listened to their struggles, their concerns and their successes.  

Several times during the evening, I said to one or the other of my homeless friends, "Come on over here and meet the mayor."  A number of them said, "I know him already!" and one, Chris, said, "Oh, I've met him before.  He's with us!"  I wonder how many prominent public officials would have the homeless population of their city speak of them in this way.  I said to him during the evening:  "Pretty impressive.  A public official who shows up both before AND after the election!"

I have to praise the mayor for his kindness and caring of this often-maligned and very vulnerable population.  Although many homeless people vote, there is not tremendous political capital in meeting with them in this manner.  My experience of Tom Leppert is that he genuinely wants to be the mayor for every one in Dallas.  He could easily show up for a photo-op (no press were present at this event), he could stay behind the glass counter, he could come and go quickly and say he'd made 'a stop.'  He doesn't.  For the third time since I've known him, he's come out among the homeless, touched them, talked to them at length one to one, spent time with them as though he did not have pressing time concerns.  (After he left us at 7:45 PM, he donned a business suit and went on to another event.)

Special thanks to Stewpot staff Edward St. John (Director of Operations), Reggie Chapman (Dining Room Coordinator), Brenda Roberts (Food Services Director), Jean Jones (Volunteer Coordinator) and Bruce Buchanan (Executive Director) for graciously hosting the mayor and his staff.  As it always is at the Bridge when I've been there, dinner service served by the Stewpot staff and volunteers was virtually flawless:  very efficient, immaculately clean, delicious and nutritious.

And very special thanks to Renee and Paula in the mayor's office at city hall for making this visit happen.  It was a real treat for all concerned.

KS

Found on: Walking with Integrity

As the majority of bishops attending the Lambeth Conference settled into daily Bible Study, Indaba groups and conversations across differences it was made clear that at least a percentage of the purple shirts on the Canterbury campus are focused on conflict rather than collegiality.

Having issued statements on the ongoing genocide in Sudan and the ongoing discussions on human sexuality in the Anglican Communion, it was not genocide but sexuality that was the focus of the Sudanese primate's briefing to the media.

In the press conference on Tuesday afternoon, the Primate of the Sudan (the Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul) called for the resignation of the Bishop of New Hampshire, declaring in the statement released ahead of the press conference that he had come to the Lambeth Conference “to take the necessary steps to safeguard the precious unity of the Church.”

When asked about ministering to the gays and lesbians in his province, the archbishop declared that he did not think there were any homosexuals in the Sudan as “none had come forward.” And when queried about his position on the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopate said he “believed in women priests and bishops because they were human” – leaving listeners to wonder if the inference was that homosexuals were not.

The fact that there are those within the communion who think the Bishop of New Hampshire should resign is not news. Indeed, there have been calls for his resignation since the day he was elected.

What is news is that the Archbishop of the Sudan helped make the case on Tuesday that the schism facing the Anglican Communion is the direct result of hard-line reactionaries who will stop of nothing short of compliance with their narrow, exclusionist agenda as their criterion for being in communion.

What is news is that a bishop in the Church of God would deny the existence of gay and lesbian members of his province despite the call for listening to the experience of homosexual people throughout the communion.

On Wednesday evening, Integrity USA will present a preview screening of the documentary “Voices of Witness: Africa” as one of the Lambeth Conference Fringe Events. Everyone is welcome – most particularly Archbishop Deng Bul.

We would love to share with him the witness of gay and lesbian Africans who are not only fully human but fully loved by the God who created them in love.

• Does he trust in the full authority and sufficiency of Scripture to change hearts and lives?
• Does he really think that amusing entertainments and theatrical pomp that dazzles the eyes of the simple can convict cold hearts to the ugliness and wretchedness of sin?

Today marks my first “official” day as chairman of the Brookings County Chapter Board of Directors.  I had expected to just start my duties today but our chairman was unable to attend our annual meeting last night, so I actually started early.  What a start - I didn't have a copy of the agenda until yesterday morning and was caught off guard on a couple things the executive director had me listed as discussing.  I was flustered. 

We didn't have too many people there because it is always a struggle to get people to summer events, so that helped to put me at ease.  We surprised our disaster services staff member with the chairman’s award for going above and beyond her duties.  She had no idea, which was the fun part of the evening!  When it came to official business my brain froze and could not remember the word “opposed.”  I went to national competition in high school for parliamentary procedure (how to run a proper business meeting), but when I try to use it in real life, I freeze up.  I just told them I was new and went on with the meeting.  One of the outgoing board members agreed to be my consultant and mentor when I had questions on my duties. It puts me at ease that I have a couple people I know I can turn to. 

Being only 24, I am still a little nervous that I don’t have enough experience behind me to take on such an honor but I’m going to give it my best.  I need to remember that I am American Humanics certified which means I should have the education necessary to take on these types of responsibility.  I am very honored to serve in this position, and will continue to promote the mission of the Red Cross.  There are definitely some things I want to see accomplished in my term.  Until my next update, keep on doing what you do best! 

Jessica Mueller, South Dakota

Team spirit does not necessarily mean that you need to be at their throats. A leader will know how to unobtrusively get work done from his staff. It is desirable that once a task has been delegated, you keep away. I have seen bosses pestering, hour on hour about the progress of work, giving suggestions and corrections all the while. Don’t be a back seat driver. It is demoralizing and sometimes downright irritating to the driver, when someone keeps correcting course from behind. Have faith in your subordinate. I can hear you moaning” If I leave it to these dunderheads, my business will close down within no time.” This is a common refrain from owners of small businesses. But you must have faith in your employees. Faith can do wonders. Let me assure you that people are capable of producing stunning results if left alone to their own ways.

Authority with responsibility:

Responsibility without authority is like a ship without a rudder.

Make available resources:

Without the necessary resources, a person is likely to fail in his job.

Supervise unobtrusively:

There is no doubt that watching over the progress made by a subordinate is good management practice.

Rewarding success:

Sometimes a good pat on the back is a reward by itself.

Owning responsibility:

Don’t play blame games in case of failure. As an entrepreneur, you have to accept that the buck stops with you, each and every time.

These are the qualities of effective leadership. When these qualities are missing then anger sets in. Getting angry is no solution to this problem. Try and find rapport with your subordinates. In a small business it is important for the employer to retain his staff through having personal relations. By being kind and considerate you can win the hearts of your staff and you will see productivity increasing. This is a tried and tested method.

Carlos Todd, LPC

www.masteringanger.com

Scripture: Mark 1:16-21, Mark 9:33-34, Mark16:1617

Brick carriers:

1 person carries bricks at a haphazard pace because he has a job.  This person looks at life as a vicious cycle.

Another person carries bricks at a fast pace because he has a career.  The person with a career is always looking at the next step.  These people miss everything that life is about; love, time with children, and etc.

The last person carries bricks for a cause.  This person dies to self, and if it is for the sake of Christ, care for others and Christ's mission is inserted in place of a vicious cycle of life, and only looking at self instead of the more important things of life.   

I don't know if I told this story right, but you get the picture. 

So pastors and laymen, "What on earth are we doing here; for Heaven's sake?"

My take:

Those of us who struggle to serve in a local church must decide why we serve.  Is it a job?  Career?  Or, a cause? 

It is amazing how much frustration and failure that I can endure when I am serving a cause.  Of course, Christ is not a cause, He is a Person.  But, if I have truly surrendered my life to Christ, then He continues to transform me into His Image.  Therefore, I take part in His cause.  My heart is with His Heart so that means we serve together for His cause which is to save and redeem everything. 

If we lose sight of the Person, then we lose sight of the cause.  This means that our frustrations in ministry, and at church, will eventually overwhelm us.  Consider, Jesus, the Person, rejoices wit us when things go well.  On the other hand, He hurts with us with things don't go so well.

To the priesthood of all believers, "What on earth are we here for; for Heaven's sake?"  Pastors do not get stuck in a job or a career.  Take part with Chirst, "suffer with Him, like a good soldier."

Just remember, listen to God.  I can't emphasize that enough.  Do what He tells you to do, and surround yourself with the right people; people who live to please God, people that will speak truth into your life, and people who are serious about the kingdom of God! 

The staff that I have the honor of serving with at CFAN is the best group of people I could ever want to be around.  They are serious about bringing people to the Lord and seeing lives changed!  It's something I'm trying to emulate with the creative team.  I want a group of people that are just crazy about God, will think outside the box, and are not afraid to just DO it! 

Is that you?

As promised here is the next installment of the KY HOBY blog.  I hope after reading my first blog you have a better idea of the HOBY program and the angle I am coming from. I received some feed back on my email, not with answers to the quotes/question of the week but more so for anticipation of this weeks main focus. Last week I promised to tie Duran Duran’s famous song “Hungry Like A Wolf” to everyday life.

So without further delay here is the much-anticipated “Kyle Hill’s Six Degrees of Separation from tacky 80’s songs to leadership studies. “

Before I can even start anything, please first listen to this song right now! Go ahead please take three minutes and twenty-seven seconds to rock out to this tacky, big haired, tight clothes, 80’s masterpiece.  Go onto I tunes and pick this one of a kind song dating back to a time when popping your collar was actually cool.

Now that you have listened to the song, I will now try to attempt to tie this song, to your life.

This song is EXTREMELY repetitive, I am actually only going to use one verse in this song to make my point.

            “Burning the ground I break from the crowd,

              I’m on the hunt I am after you.

            I’m lost and I am found,  I smell like I sound.

             I am Hungry like the wolf.”

The first part of this is extremely easy to analyze. “Burning The Ground I break from the crowd.” If you attended the HOBY program you were selected as the one outstanding individual’s in your school to attend separating you from the rest of your peers.  In my honest opinion anybody could become a leader. However, it takes an extremely special breed of person to be a great leader.

The first step to defining your leadership skills is to separate you from the rest of the crowd. This is accomplished in many ways either by taking on a special project, or asking your teacher or boss for more responsibility.

An important side note to separating you is that you still must be accessible to your peers, you do not want to seem arrogant or more important than anyone else.  You always have to remember who exactly you are trying to lead and never forgot those people.

The next line in the song is “I’m on the hunt down after you.”  Once you have separated yourself from the rest of the crowd you need to set up goals. One of the best ways to effectively set up goals is the letter system.  You need to come up with three goals

1.     Short Term 1-3 Weeks From Now

2.     Medium Term 1-2 Months From Now

3.     Long Term 1-2 Years From Now.

You need to be honest with yourself and tackle these three goals with in the time you allotted to complete them. REMEMBER TO BE REALISTIC ABOUT YOUR GOALS! Once you have set up your goals write each one on a separate sheet of paper and seal each separately in an envelope.  On the outside of each envelope be sure to write down if the goal is short, medium or long term and the timeline in which it is to be completed.

Then find a folder in your desk or somewhere where you will not lose your goals and be sure to open them on time see if you completed your goals. (Another way to do this is actually mail delay them to yourself when the task is supposed to be completed.)

Completing your personal and professional goals on time is something you have to continue the rest of your life.  You are constantly: “On the hunt down after your personal goals.”

The third line in the verse is, “I smell like I sound, I am lost and I am found.” This verse is in respect to your Personal character qualities and appearance.  Your personal character qualities will never change the rest of your life. These are the things that people see in you such as: being nice, outspoken, well-mannered, responsible, honest ect.

On the other hand your appearance is constantly changing. From how you dress day to day to how you feel. I am a firm believer that every person has positive character qualities, some people choose to highlight them more than others.

Your appearance is something that only you can change on a regular basis, from how you dress to the emotions you show. If you truly want to become a leader it is important to regulate your appearance. Take care for personal grooming,  & dressing appropriately.  The visual appearance of person is usually the first impression you give. So be sure you are presenting the correct image. A personal saying of mine is, “Dress for the part you want in life.” I am not saying if you want to be a police officer dress like one. But dress in a mature manner that still expresses yourself but does not detract from your persona as a leader.

The final line in the song is “I am hungry like the wolf. “ This is the core to any person as a leader in society.  If you truly want to be a leader or are one, then you are hungry for something in your life. Maybe it is the chance to prove yourself, or to better the situation or people around you.  This is something that each person must figure out. I challenge you to try to figure out what you are hungry for in life.

In conclusion, I hope that using this 80’s song as tool for teaching some basic leadership skills has helped you this week. All of these steps combined will help you in the long run.

1.)  Separate from the crowd.

2.)  Set Up Personal Goals

3.)  Known your Personal Character Qualities / Maintain Personal Appearance.

4.)  Find what you are hungry for in life, and fill your self with success.

For the upcoming week we will be looking at Facebook and Myspace and how they affect leadership today!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

 “And I am Hungry Like A Wolf”

–Duran Duran

TASK FOR THE WEEK:

What are you hungry for in life right now? With the presidential elections going on what are you hungry for the new president to do while in office?

LOOK FOR YOUR ANSWERS IN NEXT WEEKS BLOG!!

RESPOND TO THESE QUESTIONS AT Kyhobyblogspot@gmail.com

This Sunday, the New York Times ran a front-page article entitled "Given a Shovel, Digging Deeper Into Debt."  The article includes a graphic with colorful boxes.  Most of the boxes indicate debt, but one yellow-orange block, valued at $392, indicates the annual savings of an average American household.

I have not read this article, nor have I taken advantage of the terrifying "interactive graphics" online, which allow you to compare your personal debt against the average American household.  I prefer ignorance of the economy, even if means refusing to read helpful write-ups, like this one, that might actually aid me in my flight from debt.  This ignorance, mind you, is not tinged with delusion; I do not believe that by knowing less I maintain an equilibrium between my paychecks, my loans, and my credit cards.

Chief Jongintaba was a tribal king very much concerned about the opinions of the fellow tribesmen. Every time an important decision was to be taken, he formed a circle of advisers who would each tell their perspective on the discussed matter. Laborers as well as landowners would travel many miles to participate in a tribal meeting and raise their concerns. Only after all men had spoken, did Chief Jongintaba begin to speak. He would not impose any decision, but instead nurture consensus from the contrasting views.

The lesson that Nelson Mandela learned from this story was that leaders should lead from the back, and let others believe they are in front. By forming consensus, a leader ensures there is a high level of trust in the community, which makes it easy for it to move in the right direction. A leader should not enter the debate too early, Mandela says.

"You can do nothing if you don't get the support of other people."
African proverb

He says that inside all of us is an Entrepreneur (visionary), Manager (organizer) and a Technician (doer). He goes on to say that most new small businesses are started by Technicans who are tired of "The Boss" and want to go out on their own. The problem is Technicians make terrible entrepreneur's because they are consumed with DOING the work and not GROWING the business.

Thus I have found myself in the pages of this book. I have great Technician qualities. I enjoy the work that I do and want to be involved in different things, but if I am to be a good church planter (or more specifically, campus pastor) I need to cast the vision of what the Warren Campus can be and invite others to join me on this journey. As people sign on to join us, I need to build a relationship with them and determine where their gifts and abilities can best be used and point them in that direction. I need to help grow and develop other leaders and pour into them the vision of what the Warren Campus can be and they, in turn, will pass it on to those with whom they have contact and influence.

Needless to say, I have some growing to do here in a rather short period of time.