Archive for the ‘Disciplines’ Category

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Being Rewarded Without Showing Loyalty

September 9, 2013

“The loyalty program that doesn’t require loyalty.”

I don’t watch much TV. Sunday Masterpiece Mystery. Occasional Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. Maybe Sunday afternoon soccer. But I entered Saturday TV wasteland last weekend watching part of a college football game. My attention was jarred by this hotels.com ad. Wow, this fits it all, I think, this Age of Narcissism.

You get all the benefits without the commitment.

Is your church this way? Your business? Your non-profit organization. What’s that old Dire Straits song, “Money for nothin'”? In addition to a great guitar line, the song really rips into people who think it’s all easy.

Luke writes about a time Jesus was walking along a road and meets several people (end of Chapter 9):

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Looking at these thoughts from the point of view of a leader, I want only those people who are committed to the cause. Of course, like Jesus we as leaders need to define the cause and make it compelling for our followers. But we need followers who are committed.

Looking at this from the point of view of an individual, I need to make the commitment. It’s not all about me. There’s no loyalty reward in life where I don’t have loyalty. As you sow, so shall you reap. The decisions you make today determine what will happen to you tomorrow.

What is your level of commitment?

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Set Free The Oppressed

September 2, 2013

We are  observing a holiday in the USA. Labor Day. It’s a day set aside to remember the contributions of laboring people.

The concept and definition of “labor” changed dramatically over the course of the 20th century. The labor movement actually began in the mid-19th century. Originally the term referred to workers in manufacturing. These people were often almost slave labor for the factory owners. Various labor movements sprung up to organize workers. Much of the language used by unions today is derived from the early struggles.

By the end of the 20th century, engineers and managers, sometimes at the prodding of government regulators, had removed most of the hazards of working in plants. By the mid-20th century, factory workers could earn a middle-class income–although that changed beginning in the 1980s as relative wages plummeted due to many factors. But it’s still possible to earn a middle class income as a skilled technician and operator in a plant or factory today.

Management trends, such as the adoption of Lean which puts focus on the value of the individual, have also helped improve the situation for labor.

Oppression

Very early in the growth of manufacturing developed a “white hat” versus “black hat” mentality by people involved. Of course, who wore the “white” had and who the “black” depended on your point of view.

All this is not new, of course. Check out Isaiah 58–my current text for study and meditation.

God tells the people through Isaiah to set the oppressed free.

Is this not the fast (Spiritual Discipline) that I choose:

to loose the bonds of injustice,

to undo the thongs of the yoke,

to let the oppressed to free,

and to break every yoke?

If you are a business owner or manager, you will find it morally, ethically and financially rewarding to treat all the people in the company fairly. Treat them as fellow human beings who are children of God.

Since I have worked both as labor and management, I have trouble with the “black hat” / “white hat” way of thinking. I most often think in shades of gray. Some people are more trustworthy than others; but all people are worthy of my respect to the degree that their character demands it. For me, it is not us versus them, but rather “we.”

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Having the Right Heart and Attitude

August 29, 2013

Isaiah is almost sarcastic at the beginning of Chapter 58:

Yet day after day they seek me

and delight to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness

and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;

they ask of me righteous judgments,

they delight to draw near to God.”

I added the italics on “as if.” That phrase reveals the points to come. The people say they seek God, but there is something wrong. Wonder what it is?

“Why do we fast, but you do not see?

Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”

So the people are also asking of God what’s wrong. In our terms they are saying, “We go to church. We donated to the church. Why does it seem that you are against us?”

Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,

and oppress all your workers.

Ah, now we have reached the point that God charges against them. Two points really. First, when they “fast” or worship, their attention is not on God. It is on themselves. They fast only to serve their own interests. Then look at the last phrase. We’ll study more on that later. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a spiritual teaching that does not also include a moral teaching–a teaching on the way we treat other people. Those seem to go hand-in-hand.

“What is the greatest commandment?” asked the teacher to the Teacher. Jesus replied with the Shema about worshiping the Lord. Then he said that the second commandment was as important as the first–to love your neighbor as yourself.

These people were thinking of ways to take advantage of people in their community even while worshiping God. This is abhorrent to God, the God who wanted to build a community focused on Him.

When I teach the Spiritual Disciplines, I always begin with the proper attitude. Simply practicing the Disciplines will do you little good. It begins with the right attitude.

Same with leadership. Beware this judgement of Isaiah in your practice of leadership. Take care of your attitude.

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Getting Things Done and Keeping My Sanity

August 21, 2013

Getting Things DoneThis time of year is always the busiest and most hectic for me. In business, I’m gearing up for the fall travel season plus planning for the next year.

I’m very involved with soccer and have been the referee assignor for 25 years. Practice for teams start at the beginning of August. I have almost all my games assigned for the year by then. Suddenly plans change. Referees drop games. Schools add games. I just went from needing to fill only 6 games to 21 games in the past three days. (OK, to my friends in Toledo, Columbus and Dayton, only 21 games is almost heaven, I know.)

I try to research and find topics 4-5 days a week for this blog. I have a business blog–The Manufacturing Connection–from which I derive a little income. I have several writing gigs.

Not to mention a new ministry leadership position in the church.

Getting Things Done

At times the workload seems overwhelming.

Then I take a deep breath. Maybe a walk around the block. Then tackle the list one thing at a time. Soon, I’m back in control, and much work gets accomplished.

I follow David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD). And I use a Web-based application called Nozbe to help follow the methodology.

This approach of living only in the present (that is, not worrying about tomorrow–see Jesus for advice); taking a few deep breaths to relax, then tackling the to-do list from most important (not urgent!) down, is how I’ve survived over the years. Try it.

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Avoid The Inoculation Theory of Learning

August 19, 2013

My 6-yr-old grandson was in town for his first overnight a couple of weeks ago. We told him we were going to church on Sunday. He asked why. ” Your grandpa is singing,” was one answer–which didn’t impress him. “To learn about Jesus,” was the next answer. He said, “I already know that.”

I see this attitude often. I have taught and mentored kids and adults to become soccer referees for over 20 years. Most take the entry level class and think they should immediately start working top level games, and, oh by the way, I really don’t need to return for additional training year after year.

Many years ago I ran across a quote. I don’t remember its entirety any longer. The concept remains. People think of education like being inoculated from a disease. You get a little injection of it, then you’re immune for life.

Continual learning

The thing is that life requires of us to keep learning. One reason is that we need to learn new things simply to survive. We learn about new dangers–why we should watch carefully at intersections for cars running stop signs, why we should buckle seat belts, why we should be careful of the influx of coyotes in the neighborhood.

We also need to learn in order to grow. Early in my life, I was a baby. I just reacted to stimuli. Then I went through all the stages of growth that developmental psychologists have described so well. At every stage you may think you are mature, but you aren’t. Years later you look back and think about how poorly you handled a situation that today you’d handle much differently.

That is why one of the most important Spiritual disciplines is study. Read from the Bible or other thoughtful writing every day. This weekend I was leading a discussion on the first part of Exodus. I’ve read it before. I saw the movie when I was a kid. There are insights I just picked up yesterday. You never stop learning.

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Avoid Confusion and Distraction

August 14, 2013

BikepathI’m reviewing my notes from Henry Cloud’s Boundaries for Leaders for something else I’m writing and these words attracted my attention. “Set limits on confusion and distraction.”

In this book, he meant that organizationally. As you organize your company, department, ministry, family, assign tasks and responsibilities and hold everyone accountable for their actions and results.

Assigning your children tasks to help around the house at an early age with no thought of pay teaches them responsibility, accountability, and focus. These are life skills that will help them throughout their lives no matter what happens. My capitalist friends may cringe–thinking that everything must have a monetary reward–but they would need to calm down a little. Even economists will occasionally talk about intrinsic rewards.

Do you lead a group in either a marketplace company, a nonprofit agency, a church or volunteer organization? Think on these things. Think about each person–their tasks, responsibilities and desired results. Clearly state to them, ask for response that these are understood. Keep people focused on what is important.

This works for yourself, too.

What about you or around you contributes to confusion and distraction?

  • Not sure about your goals
  • Messy desk
  • Sloppy recordkeeping
  • Too much social media
  • Thinking you’re the exception to multi-tasking blues
  • Too many goals
  • Inability to say “No”

Now is the time to work on your own confusion. Eliminate distractions when you think or work. Organize your workspace. Organize your house. Organize your daily routine.

I often talk about Spiritual Disciplines (or practices). Adopt a couple of crucial ones. Every morning get up 15 minutes earlier than now so that you can spend time reading The Bible or other Spiritual book. Then spend some quiet time in prayer and meditation–even if it’s only 5 minutes.

Begin your days focused and organized.

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Lost That Loving Feeling

August 12, 2013
Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, The Righteous Brothers

Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, The Righteous Brothers

The powerful voices of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, The Righteous Brothers, pound in my brain. “You’ve lost that lovin’ feeling, oh-oh-oh, that lovin’ feeling; Baby, you’ve lost that lovin’ feeling and it’s gone, gone, gone.”

Our small group has been reading Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus by Kyle Idleman. In a chapter called Passionate Pursuit, he discusses a concept I haven’t heard for years–acedia. That’s a Latin word usually translated as sloth–one of the “seven deadly sins.”

Like Idleman, I pondered why “sloth” was one of those sins. It just didn’t seem to fit. Then I read the Desert Fathers writings and came across John Climacus (or St. John of the Ladder) who wrote The Ladder of Divine Ascent. This great book from the 7th century describes for the early monastic movement what emotions to overcome on your Divine ascent, and he devotes a lot of space to acedia (uh-see-dee-a).

You have been pursuing something with great passion. Your girl friend / boy friend. Your profession. Your sport. A deeper Spiritual life. You think you cannot live without the object of your pursuit.

Then, something happens. Usually a little at a time other cares start to impinge on your mind, emotions, energy. You don’t seem to care as much. Don’t devote so much time.

Then Bill and Bobby are singing your song–You’ve lost that loving feeling.

Passion is used often these days to describe oneself. Once in an editorial I wrote about being passionate about automation and manufacturing (I still am, by the way). A friend wrote that she is a “passionate communicator.” (and she is). So many people begin something with great passion and then wither–like the seeds scattered on thin soil that Jesus describes that sprout fast and then wither in the sun.

If you’ve lost that lovin’ feeling in your Spiritual quest, there are ways to get it back. You begin by getting back into the Spiritual Disciplines. Read The Bible or a devotional every day. Meditate and Pray every day. Worship and Celebrate with your Jesus-follower friends. Remember why you were first in love. Stir up the embers in the fireplace and add some new kindling. Get the fire roaring again.

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You Get What You Create or What You Allow

August 1, 2013

I’ve been contemplating on Henry Cloud’s latest book, Boundaries for Leaders. There is a lot of research in that book. And a lot of wisdom.

At one point, he says, “Leaders will get a combination of what they create and what they allow.”

I thought, wow, this applies in so many areas.

Take raising children. Do we create an environment and expectations for them to grow and succeed? Or, do we allow them to do whatever whim comes along? Or, a combination–we create certain structures and allow other things?

Leaders in organizations do this. Same types of questions. Do we create an environment, expectations and structures for people (and the organization) to grow and succeed? Or, do we permit too much such that vision is lost, ethics are cast aside, and the whole organization crashes?

What about our personal life? We lead in that, too–I hope. Do we create structures and expectations in our own lives such that we grow and succeed? We have access to writings on the Spiritual Disciplines. These have been thought out and written so that we have a guide toward establishing the proper Spiritual structure in our daily lives so that we continue to grow in Spiritual maturity.

Attention is key

Then Cloud hits on one of my pet ideas–attention. “Brain researchers say that ‘attention’ is like a magic key that unlocks higher-order brain circuitry. ”

We must place our attention on the things we wish to create in our leadership and our lives. Then we do things with intention, that is, on purpose. Consciously. Things don’t “just happen.” We cause things to happen and construct structures to create opportunities to succeed.

By the way, the link to Amazon is not an affiliate link. I recommend so many books, I probably should sign up for affiliate status. I bet I could add $10 or so to my income 😉 And I certainly recommend this book. And if you’ve never read Cloud, try his other books. They are all excellent.

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Sometimes We Try Too Hard

July 31, 2013

Part of my daily routine is a morning workout. Most of the time, that includes a run in the park. Now, I’m not a distance runner. Never have been. I run daily to maintain a level of fitness. I prefer running while refereeing soccer.

When I referee, I don’t notice the running. My mind is on the match. I’m running to get into position for the next action. Or maybe to calm down some injured egos. When I run my usual 5K plus route, I only have my podcast and the end in mind.

So, I think about making it back to the car. And instead of just running at a smooth, relaxed pace, I find myself tensed up trying to make it to the finish. Some days, I find it quite difficult to concentrate on slowing my mind and just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other.

Sometimes the spiritual life can be the same. We’re trying too hard to be the final product of spiritual development–fully mature in the spirit. But life isn’t like that. It’s a long journey where we just put one foot in front of the other–all day, every day.

Then we look back occasionally and think, “Wow, I’ve really changed.”

This becomes practical in another sense. Maybe it’s your leadership–in church, your organization, your family. You try too hard to be the finished product. You get frustrated because things are not going as well as you picture it in your mind. You’re frustrated when the goal looks so far away.

I have this when I’m working on a number of projects and the load looks overwhelming. Then I just step back, take a deep breath, and then begin tackling things one task at a time. And soon, I’m done–and feeling much better.

The first motivational speaker I ever heard at a management conference professed the mantra, “Try easy.” That phrase has stuck with me for 35 years. It’s still relevant. Let’s not get ourselves all worked up over some day in the future. Let’s just take one step at a time toward our goal.

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Peace and Strength

July 29, 2013

Peace

Our six-year-old grandson is visiting–his first time alone with us. Somehow he and his grandma got into a conversation of peace. “What’s peace?” he asked. “The absence of conflict–when there is no war,” she replied.

That is certainly one definition of peace. But contrast to another conversation during a small study group of adult men. We are studying a book, “Not a Fan: Becoming a completely committed follower of Jesus” by Kyle Idleman. The subject of inner peace came up. Someone said, “Inner peace will see you through the bad times.

Peace can actually be sort of like an action verb. Not something defined by what is missing (absence of conflict). It is actually something that can be practiced. It is part of living with God (or Jesus, or the Spirit–as far as I’m concerned it’s all the same thing). It’s something that comes along for the ride when you practice the Spiritual Disciplines of study, meditation, prayer, worship, celebration and so forth.<br>

But when someone mentioned that it is a force that will see you through tough times, I immediately thought about strength. There must be a relationship between the two.

Strength

We think of personal strength as muscle force–or in my case lack of. But another way of looking at strength is that resolve that keeps you going through adversity.

Someone who battles cancer and emerges a victor we call strong. Someone who can hold onto their moral values in the face of a group that wants to do something against those values we call strong. Someone who can face any enemy–illness, opponent in conflict, a bully, a nasty boss, whatever–with calm and resolve, we call strong.

Work together

I believe that Eastern martial arts teach that you need that inner peace and calmness to fight well. Your mind must be calm. You have practiced sufficiently that you are confident in your muscle responses. You have absolute focus in the moment and on your opponent.

Paul often used sports analogies. I think he would have thought the same thing when he described the inner peace that comes from being at one with God (or God living in you). God works with your strengths that you might even not realize you have.

I think there is a Bill Gaither song that goes, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.” Paul would have like that. That’s what he did. And that’s what he intended for us to do.

 

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