Day 1 / Leadership Summit 2011

Day 1 of my annual-can't-miss Leadership event was exceptional as usual.  Bill Hybels opened the day and Steven Furtick closed it out. Both of these men have influenced my life Bill for the past number of years and Steven more recently. Incredibly blessed to have opportunities like this. Following are some of my notes:

Bill Hybels: Have you had your leadership bell rung lately?

• When leaders stop learning they should just stop leading. 
• When a leader gets better everyone wins. 
• Our success is directly tied to our ability to attract and retain fantastic people.
• Are you naming and facing problems that exist in your organization? Courageously address the issues!
• How long do you tolerate:
• Bad attitudes (Willow Creek gives it 30 days)
• Under performer (Willow Creek gives this 3 months)
• Great people in our organizations are discouraged by challenging people
• Leaders must understand that their role is to move the organization from here to there.
• Challenged to make the next 5 years my best years. 

Les Schlesinger: Action trumps everything

Vision casting must follow creating discontent with what is.

Believe in the future by creating it first.

Failure doesn't mean game over, it simply means step forward with what you have.

Make reality your friend.

Bring other people along. Be flexible with what you want and how to get it.

Dr. Brenda Salter-McNeil:

Sometimes it takes a catalytic event to take us from where we are to where we need to be.

Steven Furtick: Audacious Faith

2 Kings 3:9-20 - Dig some ditches! You can position yourself for success but only God can provide the rain! Let it rain!!

Life can beat the audacity right out of you.

We struggle with insecurity because we compare our "behind the scenes" with others highlight reels.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 ESV)

The Hunt for the Easter Egg

...perhaps this is the way it is every year and I simply have been oblivious to the obvious. Do I think there is something inherently wrong with an Easter egg hunt? No, of course not. When the kids were younger that's something we always did. If the weather permitted, we would hide them in the bushes and grass around the house and join the kid's in their quest to find them all. To add to the challenge there was candy hidden with the eggs to provide some additional incentive, as if they needed any.

No, it's not the little egg hunt at your house that's got me thinking...what sticks in my craw is the 25,000 eggs or the 30,000 eggs that churches are advertising that they're hiding and that kids should show up and find. Maybe this is the latest "get 'em in the door fad" but to me it sort of feels like an attempt at color-washing (pun intended) the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. The bloody gore that indeed is Jesus hanging on the cross is far less palatable than a holy week filled with rabbits and chicks and eggs.


This blog is entitled ...from my perspective and there you have it, my perspective. Maybe I just need a nap.

So How Does One Build Trust? stephen covey

1. Listen well. If you think I'm important enough to listen to me when I talk, then I'm going to think more highly of you.

2. Make and keep promises. Twenty-somethings have been let down by their parents' generation and are cynical. Counter that cycle by doing what you say you'll do.

3.Clarify expectations. It may not be anything more than poor communication that has you failing to trust someone else. Go the extra mile and explain in detail what you really hope will happen.

4. Kindnesses and courtesies. When was the last time you sent someone a nice thank you note? Do that and you say to them, "You are significant." In return, they will trust you more.

5. Be loyal to those not present. Talk behind my back and , if I find out, my trust will go down. Conversely, if you refrain from gossip and critical talk, you honor others.

6. Apologize. When you take the blame for something and apologize, my respect for you will increase. Apologies show that you've got your ego in check, that defensiveness doesn't control you.

7. Forgive. People make interpersonal mistakes all the time. How do you trust someone who doesn't forgive others when they make a mistake? To err is human, to forgive is divine.

8. Be honest. When someone is more known for their tap dancing than their honesty, you don't know where you stand or what version of the truth you'll get. Be a straight shooter and people will trust you more.

9. Show appreciation. Who doesn't like to be thanked? It boosts your sense of significance and you know that you've got value in another person's eyes.

10. Give and receive feedback. Giving feedback involves taking a risk. You could be wrong or your perceptions could be rejected. But feedback is something we all need. Give it well and you've given a gift, one that can build trust.

A Beautiful Mess

When Christian believers gather in churches, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does. Outsiders, on observing this, conclude that there is nothing to the religion business except, perhaps, business - and dishonest business at that. Insiders see it differently. Just as a hospital collects the sick under one roof and labels them as such, the church collect sinners. Many of the people outside the hospital are every bit as sick as the ones inside, but their illnesses are either undiagnosed or disguised. It's similar with sinners outside the church.

So Christian churches are not, as a rule, model communities of good behavior. They are, rather, places where human misbehavior is brought out in the open, faced and dealt with. ~ Eugene Peterson

BOOST Retreat / The Gift of Crisis - Jay and Beth Shetler

James 1:12-14

Times of crisis cause us to look deep, to evaluate the why's and how's of our life. It gives us opportunity to clarify mission, purpose and values.

What low priority area of life or business is stealing your time and energy?

A crisis tends to reveal our self-doubts, personality weaknesses and fears. If we would act without fear in this crisis, what would we do differently?

Isaiah 62:2

Crisis gives opportunity for genuine community. It is on the path of suffering that we learn best how to love and understand others who are suffering.

From my (Gene) experience, times of crisis grow us into persons that more closely resemble Jesus. And frankly, when we are able to see in "hindsight" what crisis has brought about, the good that has been created because of it...crisis when it comes again, while no more welcome than before; after all we don't seek pain and suffering, becomes a point of growth and expectation. 


JESUS IS THE BLESSED REDEEMER!

BOOST - a christian business retreat

Maintaining Trust - Terry Shue

-As our culture shifts and changes TRUST seems to be diminishing at a rapid pace. 

-Trustworthiness gives us a distinct advantage over our competition. 

"The ability to establish, extend and restore trust with all stakeholders - customers, business partners, investors, and co-workers-is the key leadership competency of the new global economy." Steve R. Covey

self Trust: Trust begins with me. If we are ever going to impact the community around us Trust must begin with us.  

four core credibilities Trust is built upon:
Integrity: Congruence, Humility, Courage. Who taught you about integrity without actually using the word?
Intent: Genuine concern for others
Capabilities: talents attitudes skill knowledge style
Track Record

NOTHING is as profitable as a high level of trust. 

Stick It Out!

From Hebrews 10...Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse-some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn't touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don't throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It's still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God's plan so you'll be there for the promised completion.