Watch your mouth...

Remember when you were a kid and you said something inappropriate? Your mother would respond immediately, "watch your mouth young man (or young woman)." Yes, I heard that my fair share of times growing up. It seems my mouth was putting me, and sometimes my parents, in bad situations.

It seems God has told us to watch our mouths as well. Psalm 141:3 says, "Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips." Hmm, it seems our mouths have always been a problem when left unchecked. James mentions this and belays the dangers of an uncontrolled tongue.

The Bible tells us that with one breath we can praise God and with another tear others down. The two simply cannot co-exist and come from the same mouth, somethings got to go.

It amazes me how many people receive little or no positive affirmation in their lives. Lord, set a guard over my mouth and keep watch over the door to my lips. Let my mouth be an instrument of positive affirmation of others and praise to You.

This is a basic leadership tenet that we tend to leave out of our daily routine if we're not careful. Heed to the words of your mother (and God), "watch your mouth young man (or woman)!" See what a difference you can make in your family, church, business, organizations by simply watching your mouth.

Lead Strong,

Shawn

Meetings, meetings, meetings... If You have to Have Them You Might as Well Make Them Worthwhile

Recently I have been afforded the opportunity to lead a couple initiatives at the college where I work (that's a politically correct way of saying things were dumped in my lap that I didn't know I would be in charge of, ha). Actually, I don't as it provides new opportunities to collaborate with others. But in so doing it involves the dreaded meeting! 

It seems I tend to live from meeting to meeting, and usually I don't mind at all, except when meetings have no value. Then I realized that maybe some of my meetings, especially the meetings connected to the newer initiatives I'm involved with may be just those kind of meetings. 

My Executive Assistant is a fan of Zig Ziglar and receives his emails. She passed on the following survey results concerning meetings. So simple, yet so much to remember about our meetings.

What's the worst thing about meetings?" Over 1,600 people responded.

The most common responses were...

• No clear purpose or objective.
• Not organized. No agenda.
• Too long.
• Boring. Nothing new or interesting.
• Not inspiring or motivating.
• Doesn't start on time, stay on track, or finish on time.
• Lack of interaction.
• Allowing attendees to ramble and repeat the same comments and thoughts.
• Allowing attendees to ramble and repeat the same comments and thoughts (that's supposed to make you laugh). This, by the way, was the number 1 annoyance.
• Weak presenter (unprepared, not succinct, monotone, overly redundant).
• Repeating information for late arrivals.
• No specific action items or walk-away points.

Meetings are an opportunity. They're an important part of how we connect (communicate), how we learn, how we encourage, and how we inspire. 

Zig Ziglar's email was a good reminder of the opportunities created by meetings. If you've got to have them we might as well make them worthwhile and productive. We're all too busy to meet just to say we met. 


Lead Strong...


Shawn

Building Trust

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a Chamber of Commerce banquet in Hereford, TX (beef capitol of the world). Amongst the food and awards the guest speaker was David Horsager; author, speaker, businessman, and illusionist. While promoting his book Trust Edge I was reminded of the simple, yet profound impact of building trust in our lives, families, and organizations. Horsager promotes 8 pillars of trust, pillars worth building into our lives, families, and organizations.

8 Pillars of Trust from Trust Edge : David Horsager

1. Consistency

2. Clarity

3. Compassion (consisting of 3 elements that make up the LAW of compassion)

  L: listen

  A: appreciation

  W: wake up

4. Character (do what's right over what's lazy; be good!)

5. Competency

6. Contribution

7. Connection

8. Commitment

 

Nothing jaw dropping in what Horsager said, but still relevant, simple, profound truth. He made me stop and think about the organisms I'm a part of. More so, he made me question my own leadership and ask myself if I am building trust.

 

Go buy the book Trust Edge, and if you get a chance go listen to Horsager speak. It'll be worth your time, even if just to remind you of the importance of trust. You'll definitely know if your organization has it or not.

Lead Strong,

Shawn

Getting Even... Psalm 25:3b

I received an interesting anonymous package yesterday at work which tries to indict an employee as using improper actions to help another employee gain a new position. There are all kinds of ramifications going on here and it all makes me sad, laugh, and become frustrated all at once. I'm working through this as we usher in 2012 (Happy New Year to me, ha) with caution, trying to hold my human preferences at bay and not jump to hasty conclusions or decisions. In so doing I came across Psalm 25:3b in my daily devotional readings today.  
"... shame comes to those who are treacherous without cause."

I am not naive and I am confident of those who may be involved in all this. Trying to get even, or in our own mind get justice, can be a very dangerous thing. Whether legitimately wronged or not, vengeance is not something we're very good at. Maybe that's why the Lord said vengeance belonged to Him? Getting even (vengeance) most often back fires on us and it could very well in this incidence? Sometimes we believe we are just in our actions to get even, but in the larger scheme of things I think we often fall into the category of King David's words, "... without cause."

I wonder how many times we act hastily to our own detriment? What we perceive as just cause in our own minds needs to be held up against God's standard of just cause. Better yet, in most cases it's just better to let it all go and not be put to shame.

I'm not sure of the outcome of this yet, but I am confident that someone will be exposed to shame, if not worse.

Lead Strong in difficult circumstances,

Shawn

How You Respond to New Opportunities Says A Lot About You and Your Organization

This was shared by my VPAA and I thought it worth sharing with others... 

Lead Strong,

Shawn

 

Optimistic enthusiasm as a form of realism

How does your organization respond to new opportunities?

Most companies launch new things, try out new initiatives, brainstorm new approaches. The internal response (or reaction) to these ventures is a cultural choice, one that often turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

If your organization is both pessimistic and operationally focused, then every new idea is a threat. It represents more work, something that could go wrong, a chance for disaster. People work to protect against the downside, to insulate against the market, to be sure that they won't get blamed for anything that challenges the system. In organizations like this, a new idea has to be proven to be better than the current status quo in all situations before it gets launched.

On the other hand, an organization filled with people who are rewarded for shaking things up and generating game-changing products and services just might discover that outcomes they are dreaming of are in fact what happen. The enthusiasm that comes from believing that this one might just resonate with the market is precisely the ingredient that's required to make something resonate.

One more thing: outsiders are way more likely to approach your organization with fabulous projects if they think they're likely to both get a good reception and succeed when they get to market.

Dads Against Daughters Dating

Gotta Love It!!