I was talking to a friend recently who is second in command at a publicly traded billion-dollar company. He was telling me about an important project he was responsible for, and how at one point he became completely overwhelmed. It had gotten complicated, he said, and he wasn’t sure what to do next. “I went into my office, shut the door, and stared at the information in front of me.” He told me. “I didn’t know what to do, so I... Read more
Last year I made a big stink about appearing as a guest speaker at an event that I eventually referred to simply as “The Event.” If you were there, you know what I’m talking about. If not, allow me to enlighten you. It was the Leadership & Spirituality program at Princeton’s Theological Seminary, where an incredible cross-section of business and church leaders came together last May to discuss what it means to connect a spiritual purpose to their careers. We became an instant community. If... Read more
Last week I met with a well-heeled trio of cheerfully determined strategy consultants. They came prepared to convince me that their proprietary knowledge of strategic business model frameworks would lead my company to growth and success. Following the obligatory small talk, the designated leader took charge and launched the meeting. He began his presentation with this: “So.” Just like that, his entire delivery hinging on that little word, “So.” Maybe I shouldn’t care so much, but I am noticing... Read more
Does this situation sound familiar? There you are in the conference room, discussing an important issue with your team. Eventually you make a well-purposed recommendation, one which everyone knows that you are extremely well qualified to offer. Just when you expect the applause to break out, you instead begin to sense a palpable whoosh of negative energy blowing in from one corner of the room. “Forget it,” says one unenthusiastic team member. “Bad idea. It won’t work.” But you, being the hard-charging and persistent manager that you... Read more
Last week I had the privilege of publishing a guest post on Michael Hyatt’s blog, Leading with Purpose. This was a pretty big deal to me, seeing as Mr. Hyatt is the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing, the largest Christian publisher in the world and the seventh-largest book publisher in the U.S. All of which is to say that this man gets hounded by thousands of desperately frustrated unpublished authors, which makes for a conveniently captive blog audience. Writing a guest post was great exposure, for... Read more
I spent last weekend at my church’s annual Youth Retreat. In honor of that cherished and enviable leadership position, I wanted to re-post one of my favorite stories involving the unlikely match-up between an uptight executive (moi) and a gangly group of Junior High School kids. Warning: This is not your typical blog post made up of scannable chunks and lists of information. It’s a real story, the kind you would find in an actual book or magazine (remember those?). So relax yourself, put up your feet, and take in some slow reading.... Read more
Most people fear public speaking over death, but I was one who happily embraced it as part of my professional development. At some point mid-way along my career I realized that, if done well, public speaking can create a certain air of authority. Something about the boldness of standing confidently before a crowd, offering up packaged bits of useful information and well-researched insights, and then bringing it all home with a compelling recommendation; well, it simply causes people to think you... Read more
My pastor recently took a three-month sabbatical. I imagined him sleeping in until ten every morning, followed by extensive periods of crossword puzzles and personal grooming. But he assured me that his time off was really more professional in nature: he studied up on the Emergent Church, and did a biblical tour of Turkey. Am I jealous? No, of course not. Resentful is probably a better word. Not that I dislike my job, but the idea of taking three... Read more
Here is the photograph that was featured on my home page for the last several months. I must confess, I am struggling with using it any more, because I don’t actually have permission. This photo was originally discovered by a Google image search for “Camel in the eye of a needle.” I have made several attempts to contact the owners of this wonderful camel photo (like it was made just for me!), but to no avail. No returned email responses. The website where it came from is... Read more
Robert Pagliari over at CBS Money Watch has recently released a book called The Other Eight Hours. His schtick is that you work eight hours, you sleep eight, and then the other eight hours are available for you to build wealth and purpose for your life. So when you come home from work, instead of watching TV, eating, playing with your children or communicating with your wife, Pagliari says you should be investing that energy into developing your lifelong dreams because... Read more
Shrinking the Camel
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