Noise

“The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation.”  

- Thoroeu

“Nowadays, men lead lives of noisy desperation.”  

- Thurber

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The world is very noisy and that seems to be increasing exponentially.  It is angry, busy, divided, assaulting, inundating, encroaching, ever-present, and unrelenting.

It seems like helping our leaders simplify and quiet their lives is becoming an essential part of our coaching.  A necessary first step before they can even begin to think about the idea of focusing and solving their business issues.

Almost every intentional planning process we take them through, whether it is personal or organizational, has to begin with some process for getting quiet, cleaning out the clutter, and allowing them to focus on the things that most need addressing.  

We are aggressively applying philosophies like Essentialism, Your Best Week, etc., but our biggest wins are coming from applying the teachings of the Ransomed Heart team as they translate the life of Jesus into everyday practices to combat the increasing noise of our world.

As a quick example of what this looks like, we have had to change even the common practice of things like writing a vision statement.  Vision is all about imagining the world as it should be and releasing yourself from the confines of life as it is right now.  

We have a very elaborate process for doing that.  It involves getting your team together, a bunch of steps, working through categories, building tangibility, refining, and then executing.  The time we are living in has made it necessary to make that process even more elaborate.

Before we can do any of that, there is a quieting and clearing of the decks that we are finding immensely helpful.  The preliminary steps before we get to the actual vision crafting are:

• consecration - setting aside all our agendas, preconceived ideas, and other motives

• declaration  - we align our intentions with God’s intentions for our businesses

• agreement - we break agreements with all those negative thoughts or lies we carry about our leadership or business future

• replace - replace those lies with God’s truth

• inviting - with a clearer mind and heart, we invite God to guide us in the process of redesigning our future

While many of those practices aren’t familiar to our clients, they are pretty shocked by how necessary they feel and pretty wowed by what is happening as a result.

Because I have had the privilege of working a little more closely with the Ransomed Heart team over the last couple of years, I have already been exposed to many of the ideas now contained in John Eldredge’s Get Your Life Back: Everyday Practices for a World Gone Mad.  They have been a real rescue to us and many of our clients already.

I would first encourage you to add John’s book to your library, but I am going to spend the next few weeks briefly highlighting some of the tools he offers there as well as our experience with them.  Adopting any one of these into daily practice will change your life.  I challenge you to try at least one, build it into a routine, and then look to add another.

Consider

• Does it feel like the world has gone mad?

• What are you practically doing to combat all that noise and distraction?

• Do you know that these uncommon and extraordinary times are going to require some uncommon and extraordinary practices?

Inquiry

“Life is completely shaped by the kind of questions you are asking.”

~ George MacDonald

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Okay, that quote doesn’t sound anything like the language a 19th-century Scottish minister would use, but since I couldn’t locate this quote, I am sure he said something similar that has been translated to this version.  Someone I respect deeply references it often and it comes up in my coaching conversations now as well.

The premise is pretty self-explanatory.  Think about how your life might be shaped by each of these:

How do I retire early and comfortably?

How do I make the most measurable impact on the world while I am here?

Pretty extreme examples, but you get the point.

Lindsay joined our coaching practice almost 3 years ago.  While she had tremendous natural gifts, she had little coaching experience and very few years in business leadership.  This not only made it challenging to put her in client situations but really assaulted her confidence.

Because there was no way to replicate the 50 or so years of business leadership and experience my partner and I had, we started looking for ways to get her training.  There was “on the job” of course, but that is a very long play strategy.  In the meantime, her thoughtfulness in handling client interactions, helping coordinate group encounters, and starting to lend her natural coaching voice was transformative for our work.

We researched and invested in coach training for her.  For us it was a little money, for her it was an incredible commitment of time, energy, and heart.  As a result, she is CRM trained and ICF certified as an executive coach.

And training my partner and I to be much better coaches.

What we are learning from her is that George MacDonald was right.  Client’s lives are completely shaped by the questions they are asked.  She is teaching us the science of appreciative inquiry.

Inquiry - the act of exploration and discovery through asking questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities

Appreciate - valuing; the act of recognizing the best in people or the world around us; affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; to perceive those things that give life

True coaching is not about drawing upon 50 years of experience to give a lot of advice.  It is mostly about asking thoughtful questions in an intentional and powerful path that leads to self-discovery in the other person.  And while my partner and I seemed to naturally do a lot of things this methodology teaches, we are wildly better at coaching because of the training we are receiving from her.

The student has truly become the teacher and we and all our clients are better for it.

Now, because many of our corporate “coaching” clients and longer-standing relationships look a lot more like consulting relationships at this point, the 50 years of experience we have in business and leadership are incredibly valuable. But how we discover, offer, and apply all that experience has been wildly shaped by asking better questions and discovery.

In fact, on pure coaching one-on-one, Lindsay is the subject matter expert in our practice.  Anyone who gets the privilege of her coaching them will instantly recognize the value.  Especially us!

Consider

• Are you slow to speak and quick to listen?

• Do you feel like you are bringing out the best in your team or others you lead?

• Do your conversations with others involve more questions than answers?

• Do you want to get better at that?

Lindsay will be presenting a workshop on our best practices for building engagement and ownership in the people you lead.  She’ll help you identify who you should invest in, a meeting rhythm, and a methodology for making those meetings powerful and meaningful for both of you.  Respond with your interest and I will make sure we update you on her first workshop when dates are confirmed.  It would be a great way to sharpen your own sword as a leader or for all of the leaders in your company.

Moment

"A cultural moment is the period of duration of a uniform set of preoccupations, emotions and meanings within a community. It consists of the things that people regularly allude to in their thoughts and their talk regardless of what is happening in their personal or work lives.”  

- the Wenglinsky Review

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I am hearing frequent references to the idea that we are currently in a “moment.” It usually comes with a sentiment or feeling that things are going particularly well or horribly due to prevailing political attitudes or cultural ideas.  

Regardless of whether or not you believe this “moment” is a particularly good one or not, it is hard to ignore the fact that this time in history feels weighty and significant.

It is a time defined by circumstance, and a lot seems to be changing or hanging in the balance. We have been using the word “pregnant” to define how things feel.

When the Greeks talked about time, they used two very distinct ideas:

• Chronos - chronological or sequential time

• Kairos - the proper or opportune moment

Chronos is the way that people usually think of time. It is a measurement, period, or method of tracking things. But Kairos is more like the way people are defining the current moment. It is almost like the ‘time” is right or rich with opportunity.

Christians believe in a Kairos version of time, but see it in a very different way. Ecclesiastes says, “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.” You might remember that from the famous song “Turn! Turn! Turn!” by the Byrds that sang those same verses.

We believe that there is time for everything, but there is a proper or Kairos time. Doing life on your own, without sourcing any wisdom from God or the wise counsel of others, feels a lot more like Chronos. I often encounter leaders that are in such overwhelm that just getting the next thing done seems to be their only focus.

To look at things with a Kairos version of time requires margin, thoughtfulness, humility, and the willingness to release some of the white-knuckled control we seem to have over the timing of everything  

If you have lived that kind of reality for too long, giving it up can feel unfamiliar and a little scary.  But almost without exception (because a few never make the journey), finding a life… 

• where you are strategically looking for the opportune time

• when you are praying for wisdom as to the proper moment of things

• where you allow room for wise counsel to have it’s say

…is about finding a place of freedom and peace.

It is the place of easier burdens and lighter yokes. It is the place that is knowing there is a time for everything to get done. It is a proper and appointed time. Living with that version of time will change everything in your life. It is why we apply a sort of “force majeure” to these ideas.

Consider

• Do you feel like you are white-knuckling your life?

• Are you just sequentially trying to get through the next set of things that have to get done every day?

• Do you live with any sense that things are happening as they should and at their appointed time?

• What kind of rescue would it be for you to live with more of a sense of Kairos in your life and leadership?

Enough

"No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.”  

- from one of Paul’s letters to the folks in Corinth

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We are feeling a little stretched.  It is not only the start of the new year with a recalibration of commitments to existing clients but establishing relationships with a bunch of new ones.  Add to that a destination Life Plan retreat in Missouri and one for couples in Utah this year.  Oh yeah, and there is a little expression of what we do breaking out in several cities in South Africa with the prospect of much more beyond that.

And I am not currently monitoring, but I think my heart rate pulsed up a bit just typing that.

But we have never been more clear about our mission or more invigorated by the possibilities.  And we are also getting stretched in some other ways.  All these exploratory missions abroad and the destination events we are doing in the states are costly.  You can add to that the way God has asked us to help others regardless of cost.

The tab is really starting to mount.  Costly in terms of time, finances, and emotional bandwidth.

But we are learning to trust what Paul said to those folks in Corinth.  And it is taking on many different facets:

• He will not allow us to be tested beyond what we are able.

• He will give us the energy to do everything he has intended for us to do.

• He will provide the resources to fund everything he intends for us to do.

• He will ensure the emotional bandwidth to do everything he intends for us to do.

• He will make the time to do everything he intends for us to do.

But there is a strong corollary to those ideas.  

We will always become financially and emotionally exhausted trying to do the things we choose to do on our own.  We will not have enough to do the things we do out of self-determination.  We can even become exhausted doing things that are intrinsically good if they are the things that we have been given to do.

And ironically, the more we surrender our own plans and need for control, the stuff he has for us to do seems to get bigger, more unfathomable…

…but way more effortless.

‘Bigger’ or ‘more’ is actually easier.  We can accomplish more out of an even more generous expression and there is not only enough to accomplish everything, but it is also way less overwhelming and exhausting.  We are actually gaining energy and momentum as we do more. And that is bringing us to an even more resolute understanding of all that I expressed above.

We will never have enough to do what we want to do.

We will always have enough to do the work he has given us to do…even when it is more than we could have ever hoped or imagined.

Consider

• Are you exhausted and overwhelmed?

• Are you running out of every resource trying to do a lot of good things?

• Are you sure you are doing the things that have been appointed to you?

• Do you feel like there is enough to do everything you are doing?

Application

"MasterClass produces online classes with ‘renowned personalities in their respective fields.’  Each class has video lessons, exercises, workbooks, and interview sessions with the instructor.  A typical class has about 10–25 video lessons that are two to five hours each.”  

- Wikipedia

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I have been sort of obsessed with the concept of MasterClass since I first heard about the platform.  An online annual subscription I started last year allowed me to dive much deeper into what they offer.  I have been through several “classes” now, but one of the ones I particularly enjoyed was how some great storytellers demystified the film-making process.

“Anyone can direct a movie. Let me show you how.”

— Ron Howard

I used to be an information junkie.  I read a lot from a diverse set of categories and seemed to have an above-average ability to retain and reference that information.  At its’ best, it allowed me to live fully into one of my strengths identified by StrengthsFinders: Ideation.  At worst, I was the smart@$$ that no one wanted to play Trivial Pursuit with.

Our work allows me to live pretty fully in the best of that and hopefully, maturity is allowing me to be less of the other.  The value of information started to change for me when I was introduced to a new filter.

In a digital society, unapplied knowledge just adds to the cyclone of information swirling around us at all times.  It is almost as if everyone we need to know is already in our subconscious, but defragging our hard drives and referencing or even sequencing the right stuff is nearly impossible.

We don’t have an accessibility problem; our problem is application.

One of the reasons MasterClass has been so successful is that they have broken down what feels complex into simple, actionable steps with a very practical syllabus to follow.

We heard from many of the South Africans what we often hear from leaders here in the states:  The concepts around building culture, crafting an inspired future, building teams, leadership, accountability, and creating strategic plans are very familiar to almost everyone.  Many leaders have libraries built on these ideas.

But what they told us made us proud and left us feeling like we are maybe creating our own MasterClass.

“You have taken concepts that we are all familiar with but have been unable to execute well in our companies and given us a simple, clear path to realizing all of them.”

I think one of the reasons that the knowledge I held was off-putting to others when I was a less mature man is because I was using that knowledge as a way to feel powerful or valuable.  The only value I find in information now is to share it to help others; when others receive, apply, and better their own lives and enterprise as a result of it.

Hopefully, the comments we are hearing from the leaders we work with confirm that we are hitting that higher bar.

Consider

• Do you know all the things that you should be doing as a leader?

• Are your life and enterprise in a similar place to where it was a year ago?

• Have you been unable to execute on all the great things that will help you get to where you want to go?

Maybe you need a MasterClass!

Treasure

"We're all of us prospectors up here, eh, Tyler? Scratchin' for that... that one crack in the ground. Never have to scratch again. I'll let you in on a little secret, Tyler: the gold's not in the ground. The gold's not anywhere up here. The real gold is south of 60 - sittin' in livin' rooms, stuck facin' the boob tube, bored to death. Bored to death, Tyler.”  

- Rosie Little

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Tyler is on an expedition and the crazy bush pilot Rosie is trying to figure out what part of the treasures available in Alaska he is after.  When Tyler evades the question, Rosie says something profound and very holy.  He identifies that the most valuable thing is not oil, gold, or manganese, but people.  And that treasure is not being sought but is being squandered all around us.

The purpose of my life is to help others identify and offer the unique aspects of the Divine’s glory that no other creature can.  And to do the same for their organizations.

But before I could get really good at locating, excavating, and calling out the treasure in others, I had to first identify it in myself.  That was not easy.  Authority figures, life experience, and even my interaction with faith-based organizations taught me how I didn’t measure up and typically missed the mark.

Heck, even the prevailing wisdom of my faith system seemed to say that thinking well of myself in any way was simply proud, arrogant, and ill-advised.  

They didn’t do a very good job of identifying the treasure in me.

Without a deep understanding of who I was, every conversation and encounter was an opportunity to answer the question of my value.  My posture in every situation was to determine my own value instead of mining for the treasure of the other person.

A rogue voice and an experience at a men’s event in Colorado awakened the idea that maybe God meant something when he meant me.  That there might be a particular calling and glory to my life.  But it wasn’t until a Life Plan experience mined for that gold and made the reality of that treasure so incontrovertibly clear, that I truly believed it and built a life in that direction.

“If you do not cut the moorings, God will have to break them by a storm and send you out. Launch all on God, go out on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and you will get your eyes open.”

— Oswald Chambers

When I say every day since it has been different, that is not an overstatement.  Days that once felt like mere survival now seem to be drenched in purpose.  

Not only has each step taken me in the direction toward the unique expression of God’s glory in me, but it has also allowed me to repurpose every experience of my life…both the good and the bad.

It is as if my purpose is clarified and affirmed through every significant experience I’ve lived.  The really good ones pointed to that purpose and the difficult ones, as redeemed, refined and strengthened that purpose.  I am finding so much more glorious a life, that I am spending my life helping others find the same.

Consider

• Are you good at identifying the treasure in other’s lives?

• Are you aware of the treasure of your own life?

• Do you know why you are here and what unique contribution you were created to make?

• What is not knowing your purpose costing you and the others you lead?

* If you are interested in taking a bold step toward finding the unique purpose to your life, join us March 27-29 for our next Life Plan retreat.

Contrived

“I didn’t care; I’d lost the ability to bull$%(!.  I was the ‘me’ I always wanted to be.” 

- Jerry Maguire

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I had been to a lot of religious retreats, but never one exclusively for men.  I was arriving exhausted, weary, and pretty much at the end of my rope.  I didn’t have much left in my tank.  The thought of having to muster a bunch of “praise God” or “I’ll pray for you, buddy” or other religious contrivances might have put me over the edge.

I never expected that something so simple and proscriptive could turn out to be such a rescue.  Their simple instruction on the first night allowed me to drop my guard, settle in, and wrestle with God in ways that have changed every day of my life in the 15 years since.

“Just be yourselves, be present, and don’t offer any of the contrived things we normally say to other men as Christians.”

Doesn’t that make you sigh even reading it?  I mean, even a mannequin can offer a helping hand, but to what end?

Out of the chaos of my youth, I had taken the message of freedom and hope found in my faith and fashioned it into a shroud of fear of the encroachment of the outside world.  I had immersed my life and family into the “Christian industrial complex” as the author and speaker, Skye Jethani, likes to call it.  Veggie Tales only for the kids, no internet or cable, and only music/books from our spiritual brand of choice.

While “Prayer Works!”, “God is good” and "He works all things for good” even in our most troubling circumstances, those truths didn’t land too well when I was really suffering and feeling alone.  I know they were all well-intentioned and intended to rescue me from my circumstance, but they frankly felt insincere and contrived. 

I had to learn that what I most often needed was to sit in that uncomfortable brokenness.  To wrestle with God and question the almighty.  To mine the pain for deeper truth, understanding, and growth.  To discover the redemption afforded me through the cross.  To not be rescued with other forced or trite statements.

I am learning to show others the same consideration. 

• My I-D on DISC wants to inspire and lead them out of their pain.

• My enneagram 8 wants to rescue them from their challenging situation.  

• The coach in me wants to provide valuable advice from my wealth of experience.

But prayerful consideration is often telling me to be present, listen thoughtfully, ask better questions, and allow them to wrestle through…with God, on their own.  Not offer contrived or well-intentioned truths that are really in the way of what God needs to do.  

Consider

• Are you wrestling with something right now?

• Are the normal things people say to you not providing relief?

• Do you have people around you that love you enough to let you wrestle with God?

• Do you need to be reaching for restoration instead of accepting an unsustainable rescue?

Unfamiliar

“I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

 And that has made all the difference.”

- Robert Frost

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It was ripe for a man like me to get caught in the trap of arrogance.  I am an Enneagram 8, full of self-determination and believing that everything I think is right.  With a high D & I on the DISC scale, I am used to driving to my conclusion and convincing others I am right.  As a buy-side investment manager with billions under my direction, there were a lot of people that wanted to stroke that sense of my being right.

Maybe it was out of some mistakes I made in my investing role, a humbling by the financial markets, or some incredible grace that was shown to me by the people I served, but another posture in me started to emerge.  

Maybe I didn’t have all the answers.  

Maybe there were others more knowledgeable & experienced than I. 

Maybe I needed to listen more and assume less.

It was a very unfamiliar place for me to learn to live.

Once a salesman got through all my filters and managed to get me on the phone, the stroking began.  They told me all the things my ego most desired to hear and had spent most of my life trying to engineer.  They told me what a big shot I was and how much they would like to help me.

I don’t know how the words initially came to me, but I began to use the same ones in almost every prospective salesman call I made.  After the initial stroking, they would typically ask what I was currently trying to buy.  I would say:

“I am just smart enough to know that there are a lot of people smarter than me.”

That simple statement completely changed my posture and the conversation itself.  I asked them what their smartest clients were doing and readied myself to learn from their wisdom and experience.  After a recalibration of the normal salesman/buyer dynamic, really beautiful things emerged.

Some salesmen survived on ego-stroking for their business, but for some of the ones that didn’t, we cultivated great long-term relationships.  They learned to call with suggestions, wisdom, and experience gleaned from others.  I learned to be humble and open to what others had to say.

I am still in recovery.  I like to have things my way and get what I want.  I have to fight the urge to think that everything I believe is right.  But I’ve made some progress.  This is a season of not leading, but enjoying others’ success and trying to hold onto humility.

In all kinds of situations, I am finding myself mumbling that simple phrase.  I am smart enough to realize there are people all around me smarter than me.  That no longer threatens me but makes me feel less burdened and more secure.

Consider

• Are you the one everyone expects to have the right answer in your world?

• How have you helped cultivate that burden and responsibility?

• Do you know there are people a lot smarter than you on pretty much everything?

• Do you have the humility to enjoy living with that perspective?

Prologue

pro·logue

(prō′lôg′)

n.

1. An introduction or preface, especially a poem recited to introduce a play.

2. An introduction or introductory chapter, as to a novel.

3. An introductory act, event, or period.

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I remember wrestling with the idea that all that stuff I had done or experienced in my past was forgiven.  I guess I bought into the idea that a lot of that stuff could be overlooked, but all of it!? Some things were so egregious, painful, and defining, that they couldn’t possibly be included in that “get out of hell free card” I was being offered.  Right?

Coming to the realization that every single thing that I had done or been a part of in my past was forgiven and that even the stuff I was doing or would do in the future was forgiven really changed me.  Positionally it changed everything, but as it turned out, it was all still widely determinant of who I was and the way I viewed myself.

Beginning to find redemption in all those significant points of failure, brokenness, and pain was the real turning point.  Until then, all those things still had a hold on me and shaped the way I felt about and saw almost everything.  Redemption isn’t just a “later on” and “way up yonder” reality, it was available here and now.  

That changed everything.

At Life Plan, we challenge people to find the redemptive perspective in every significant life event.  That simple process alone will change your life.  It has mine.  Every good and bad thing you have experienced is dripping with value, learning, and possibility.  The redemption of the harder stuff is your experiential currency to spend to make the world a better place.  To advance the Kingdom.

In our coaching practice, me and the other stakeholders I run with are spending wildly all that redeemed currency and experiencing unbelievable change and opportunity from that stockpile of currency we have accumulated.  And it is a little different than I thought.

It is not that we are emancipated from all that bad in our past.

We are further qualified and approved because of it.

It is as if everything in our past is not the stuff we have moved beyond, but are now powerfully referencing for good, for the Kingdom. Everything in our prior life, careers, and experiences are not merely the “past”, they are prologue.

I no longer see all that as something I have to get fixed and move beyond, it’s now the necessary lead into the more glorious current story.  I am not marked by my sin, failure, and brokenness, but further approved in its’ redemption.  Everything I have lived through is no longer “past”, it is necessary and valuable “prologue”.

Whether sitting at a board table, across the desk from an individual leader, or walking the streets in South Africa, everything I have known or experienced is being appropriated and translated for powerful change at God’s hand.  

It is humbling and at the heart of God’s intentions for all of us.

Consider 

• Do you know the powerful experience of forgiveness?

• Are you walking with the powerful assurance of eternity?

• Are you living with the redemption experience of God’s eternity at hand, here and now?

• How much untapped wealth is bogging you down, instead of acting as a powerful prologue for a bigger story?

Memorialize

me·mo·ri·al·ize  

(mə-môr′ē-ə-līz′)

tr.v.

1. To provide a memorial for; commemorate.

2. To present a memorial to; petition.

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This is my favorite time of year.  Yes, it is a big day in our spiritual calendar and pretty important stuff is celebrated in our faith.  And, I will be with all six children, son & daughter in law, and two grandchildren (with two more on the way in the next few months).  That is getting rarer as the years pass and I don’t take one moment of it for granted.

But there is something else happening in greater frequency that we are experiencing this time of year.  We are challenging everyone we coach to memorialize this point in time:

Celebrate

Honor

Acknowledge

Assess

Dream

Plan

For us and many other leaders and teams, we…

• Got the right team together.

• Honored the value of each person.

• Celebrated all they’ve accomplished.

• Acknowledged all the difficulties they have overcome.

• Took an honest assessment of where they are.

• Got clear on the challenges they are facing.

• Dreamed a more inspired future.

• Developed a simple strategy and plan to get them there.

This one day experience will change the course of their company’s future and lives.  Stopping to memorialize where you’ve come from, where you are, who you are, and where you are going.  We experienced the power of this for so many clients and ourselves this year, that we are going to make sure this happens for as many people as possible in the future.

If you don’t mark your progress, 

it can feel like you aren’t going anywhere.

This one day can redeem the past, mark a point in time, and powerfully set the stage for the future.  Even if you don’t retain folks like us to help you have this kind of experience, I hope you try to touch at least a few of the bases listed above.  You’ll be the better for it and your teams will experience a sense of camaraderie, hope, and engagement like you have never seen.

This time of year, we want to wish you Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or blessings in whatever your tradition celebrates.  We wish powerful times of connection with all those you love.

But we also wish powerful engagement, celebration, and inspired planning for the future.  Whether before the end of the year or to mark the start of the next one in January, it is worth every minute you can find to make that happen.

Consider

• Have you stopped to memorialize all the progress you made last year?

• Have you honored and celebrated the folks that got you here?

• Have you honestly assessed where you currently are as a company?

• Have you spent any time dreaming and planning with those you lead?

Identity

“There’s a point, seven thousand RPM, where everything fades. The machine becomes weightless, it just disappears. And all that’s left is a body moving through space and time. Seven thousand RPM, that’s where you meet it. It creeps up near you, and it asks you a question. The only question that really matters. Who are you?” 

- Carroll Shelby

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Carroll Shelby has been tasked with the impossible: to beat Enzo Ferrari on his home turf.  And not only win but bring the Ford motor company into the limelight as a premier automaker of high-performance racing machines and not just a “big ugly factory” that makes “big ugly cars” as the Ferrari crew seems to believe.

In order to accomplish the impossible, it is going to take doing things unconventional and even uncomfortable.  Ford was historically created by a committee with layers of management trying to assert their authority and assume credit for everything that happens below them.  The kind of car that would change motorsports history cannot be incubated in that type of environment.

To do something of this caliber, rogue thinking from unconventional purists was required.  A couple of mischievous insiders played around the rules instead of within them.  People who believed in the mythic nature of driving saw endless possibilities where others saw none.

These kinds of rascals believed that there was a point of Nirvana beyond the dashboard, beyond time and space, where uncharacteristic clarity could be found.  A point on the horizon where all other questions, concerns, and impossibilities fade.

When we were planning on working with several dozen South African businesses, we had some hard choices to make.  How much time would we spend focusing on the incredible challenges of their socio-economic situation?  How much would we immerse ourselves in the daunting predicament facing their enterprises?

Ultimately, we decided that we shouldn’t spend much time on that at all.  We needed to be aware that there was an incredibly difficult backdrop to every conversation we had, but that our mission for them needed to transcend circumstance.  We needed to look beyond the dashboard far into the endless horizon.

We knew we had hit our mark when one leader at a workshop summed up his experience by saying,

“You have given us tools to change the nation.  You have restored my hope.”

It turns out that there is a universal journey that every organization or company must take.  It seems to transcend size, country, language, and even culture.  

Ultimately, beyond the United States or South Africa, we have a citizenry in a Kingdom.  We serve a King and a Kingdom, not of this world.  That identity is typically obscured by all the others but is essential to claim.  It is the identity above and beyond all others.

“There’s a point, seven thousand RPM, where everything fades. The machine becomes weightless, it just disappears. And all that’s left is a body moving through space and time. Seven thousand RPM, that’s where you meet it. It creeps up near you, and it asks you a question. The only question that really matters. Who are you?”

Consider

• Who are you?

• Are you clear enough about who you are in ways that allow you to transcend your circumstance or present challenges?

• Do those you lead draw comfort and certainty from that unwavering identity?

• How essential is knowing who you are at this time in the human story?

Universal

“If you do not cut the moorings, God will have to break them by a storm and send you out. Launch all on God, go out on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and you will get your eyes open.” 

- Oswald Chambers

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It all started with the desire to help businesses of all sizes have a similar experience to the one our corporate clients were enjoying.  It would require us breaking down the processes and methodology we use to coach larger clients into bite-size, fill in the blank type experiences.  We called it a roadmap.

We’ve spent the last three years refining that process with dozens of clients of all sizes and types.  Once people experienced and got comfortable with the roadmap, they started to suggest other demographics that might benefit as well.  

They told us start-ups, ministries, sole proprietors, etc., could easily walk this roadmap.  They said it gave them an easy and comfortable way to grow and mature their businesses while integrating the culture of the Kingdom into their leadership and organizations.

The entire time we were walking through this process, we believed that God had something much bigger in mind for us and this roadmap.  He was starting conversations that He was preparing for us to complete.

When we met a global ministry multiplier from South Africa who needed something to support the enterprises around his movements, we thought we might have an answer, but we had a lot of questions:

• How universal was our roadmap?

• Would it translate to different contexts?

• Does a process that works for North American organizations also translate to ones in different countries?

We believed that it would, and embarked on a two-year conversation with the ministry leader and business leaders from three cities in South Africa (Durban, Johannesburg, & Cape Town.)  After several video calls, we were reasonably assured and packed our bags for Africa.

We hosted 2-day events for 60 leaders during the last two weeks of November.  We were overwhelmed by the response.

• Mature businesses got incredible clarity and mapped more inspired futures.

• Small/medium-sized businesses found a path to becoming more professional and mature.

• Fragile start-ups found firmer ground, inspiration, and a way forward.

• A few budding entrepreneurs took their ideas and turned them into a basic business plan.

• Ministry leaders were encouraged by the clarified purpose behind their mission and inspired by God’s intended future.

The portion of the roadmap we shared with them turned out to be far more universal than we could have possibly imagined.  The interest in continuing the journey with us in some form is humbling and overwhelming.  

We met with an online delivery platform company while in Cape Town.  There is talk of getting a simplified version into the hands of thousands of NFP leaders, licensing our content for groups on several continents, additional trips, recording video instructional content, and writing a book to support everything.

There is a lot to discern.  This year, our annual planning for our little business will take 2 full days.  The first to craft a vision big enough to include all of the above.  The second to figure out all that we can reasonably get done in 2020.

It is amazing how much better your story is when you completely release it to God as the author!

Consider

• Is there a better and larger story lurking behind the things you are doing?

• Are you clear on what the next 3 or so years are supposed to look like for your life and business?

• Do you have time set aside in the next few weeks to thoughtfully figure out the answer to both those questions? (Time spent doing that will pay for itself many times over in the coming months and years.)

Yeah

“If It's not a 'Hell, Yeah,' It's a no.”

 - Derek Sivers

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In our frantic pace and overwhelm where everyone seems to be looking for “life hacks” to simplify their lives, this saying has become an increasingly adopted filter.  The genealogy probably goes back to something Jim Collins once said, but what doesn’t? (At least in the business leadership world!)

We tell the leaders we work with that when they say “yes” to something, they are saying “no” to a whole list of other things.  For instance, when I say “yes” to additional work, civic duties, or even church responsibilities, I am likely saying “no” to more time with my children, my wife, or maybe even with God.  Everything I say “yes” to has a typically unspoken antecedent.  I am saying “no” to a bunch of stuff whether I realize it or not.

When you look at it that way, the additional stuff you are agreeing to should almost be required to have a “hell yeah” type emphasis.  One of the beautiful outcomes of our Life Plan experience is that people get so clear on their unique identity and the life that God created them to live, that their life naturally trends toward an increasing amount of “hell yeah” type stuff.

And who doesn’t want to live that kind of life?

One of the most powerful leadership lessons I’ve ever heard came from a video series called “Nooma”.  They were actually conceived and written by a guy named Josh Salmons who lives here in San Antonio.  One of them describes Jesus this way:

“He’s just been surrounded by this crowd that has all these expectations of him. There are all of these people and they have very strong opinions about what he should be doing and who he should be doing it for.

So Jesus retreats; he withdraws to check himself, to listen to God, to make sure that all these voices haven’t pulled him off track.

You never see Jesus doing anything out of obligation.

You never hear him saying, ‘Oh, I guess I should because I’m supposed to.’”

It goes on to talk about how Jesus apparently walked past lots of potentially good things he could have done in order to spend time alone with God.  To spend time with the one that would help him identify the truly essential or great things that he needed to do.

Instead of taking his cues from what everyone else or even he thought was important, he was going to petition the source and find out what was essential that he gets done.  He was going to operate closer to his unique creation and purpose and fulfill only the tasks God had for him.

And guess what?

He was modeling that for us so that we would do the same!

Sounds like it is actually a very holy thing to get clear on our “no” and our “hell yeah”.  That video ends with a charge that reminds me of that:

“May you drop your shells (all those extra things you are doing) in the pursuit of a simple, disciplined, focused life in which you pursue the few things God has for you.  And may you be like Jesus, able to say no, because you’ve already said yes.”

Consider

• What are you saying, “yes” to?

• What are you simultaneously saying, “no” to?

• How are you deciding which is which?

• Are you increasingly saying “hell yeah” to more things?

Less

Less is more.

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While the phrase “less is more” is often associated with the architect and furniture designer Mies Van Der Rohe, it was first coined by Robert Browning in a poem he published in 1855.  The phrase was the birth of a design esthetic tied to the notion that simplicity and clarity lead to good design.  It reminds me of one of my favorite people, Bengie Daniels of Latitude Architects, who creates architecture that is warm, dry, and noble.

This idea became a movement called minimalism that is practiced by minimalists.  And while it has typically been associated with the various areas of design, it has been co-opted by a growing number of people that are trying to live more simply.  The tiny house movement is a very visible example.  Put in the most basic terms, 

minimalism = having less

Given the amount of stuff our Western culture wealth has afforded us, trying to have a little less is probably not a bad direction to head.  But our incredible access to information and the promise of productivity gains that our technology promised, we are having another problem with “too much”.  Access to too much media, too much information, and trying to cram too much into our 168 hour weeks.

A new movement called “essentialism” is gaining a lot of traction.  While it has a long (and not that interesting) genealogy as well, it has gotten traction among leaders adopting the concepts and ideas of Greg McKeown from his best-stilling book Essentialism.  He says the basic value proposition of this idea is: “Only once you give yourself the permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter.”  Put in the most basic terms,

essentialism = doing less (better)

For us, essentialism has become wildly embraced as a toolkit of “life hacks” that help our leaders live more simply, effectively, and intentionally.

My friend, Morgan Snyder, has an even more inspired way to filter all the things we commit and devote our time to.  He suggests that we need to “soul-size our kingdoms”.  Meaning that we all tend to commit to more things and try to cram more into our lives than our hearts and souls can manage.  If we are in a state of overwhelm, exhaustion or living with very little margin to invest in the people we love or the activities that restore our soul, it is impossible to say, “it is well with my soul”.  Put in the most basic of terms,

soul-sizing = doing only the things God wants me to do

After all, there was a man named Jesus, who was sent to model what living as God intended us to live was supposed to look like.  He offered that he does nothing unless “he sees the Father doing it”.  He only does what God would have him do.  That is why we cultivate conversational intimacy with our leaders.  Increasingly, the best life is found in doing more of just the things he tells you to do.

Consider

• Have you found yourself dreaming of living a more simple life?

• Is it more about having less stuff or doing less?

• How challenging, but simplifying would it be to just soul-size your kingdom and do only the things God would have you do?

Emissary

em·is·sar·y

/ˈeməˌserē/

noun: emissary; plural noun: emissaries

1. a person sent on a special mission, usually as a diplomatic representative.

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I’ve been on mission trips, but I’ve never felt called to be a missionary.  At least in the traditional sense.  

I’ve never felt that I was supposed to be headed, the gospel in hand, to South America, Asia, Africa, or any other foreign destination. I have felt called, however, and even gifted, to challenge, encourage, inspire, coach, and support business leaders.  

I am a fifth-generation entrepreneur.  The generations before me died too young along with their businesses.  Likely, because of their businesses.  My desire to help business leaders runs very deep.  My favorite thing we hear our clients say is that they are surprised by how much we care. Hope may be the most valuable currency we offer.

When we met a small group leader over dinner a couple of years ago, we were inspired by the 40,000 small groups he had helped launch on all seven continents with such a rate of multiplication that even that number was at best a conservative estimate.  He was very curious about what we did.  As it turned out, many of the business leaders he knew in his homeland of South Africa were suffering from a lack of the things we coach.

We told him of the larger companies we coach, the progress we had seen, and how we had felt led to create a “curriculum” to help smaller businesses go on the same journey to maturity that our largest ones had.  We showed him our 24 months of professionally bound and published curriculum that we had felt from the first day was designed for a bigger audience than the current one in San Antonio.

We have anecdotal evidence now that the transferability and portability we designed our curriculum with is having its’ intended effect.  The universality of the roadmap is being confirmed.  With that experiential tailwind…

We offered to help.

After two years of working to design an experience and match it with the great need of the business leaders there, we are headed there today for summits with 60 leaders in Durban, Johannesburg, and Cape Town.

They are facing record unemployment (29%), a significant devaluation of the currency, and political, social, and economic unrest of every possible definition.  As we pray before every video conference call with the leaders on the ground there, what we most sense is a loss of hope.

We felt called to underwrite this entire mission out of company funds for the three emissaries we are sending.  We feel like this is a significant outpouring of the father’s heart for his sons/daughters in South Africa.  And again, while we don’t feel called to missionary work in the traditional sense, we do feel called to business leaders.  These just happen to be in South Africa.

One of our clients approached us a few weeks ago and said they would like to help underwrite our trip.  While we are committed to covering the extensive cost of this trip, we felt that it would be a miss on our part not to allow others to partner with us on this mission.

If you are interested in partnering with us as well, please go to the following link.  You can donate tax-free to the TAN Foundation in our name and the proceeds will be directed toward our costs.  We would also invite you to pray for favor, safety, and impact during our November 15-December 2 travels. Just note in the comment box that you are donating for SummitTrek’s work in South Africa through the TAN Foundation.

For King and Kingdom,

The SummitTrek Team

Listen

Today’s blog post is written by one of the coaches on our team named Lindsay. You often hear my perspective on life and leadership, but I thought it might be beneficial for you (as it’s been for me) to hear from others on our team from time to time as well. Enjoy!

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“Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.”

- James

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I was in Seattle last year for coach training, and we were paired up with another trainee for a short exercise. The instructions were just to listen to the other person talk about a particular issue and ask curious questions for 20 minutes. That’s it. No fixing, no offering advice, just listening and asking questions when appropriate. 

I was matched up with a guy from Germany. He was an older man with a thick, slow accent. When our time began, he told me all about the several companies he was managing, how tired he was, all the plates he was juggling, even some of his fears.

When the time was up, I honestly felt like I had failed the guy. I mean, I did what the trainers asked me to do — but it felt weak not to “offer” him anything in the process. There were so many things I wanted to say! So much advice to give! And, all I did was listen. It felt powerless and incredibly counterintuitive. Like I was leaving the guy in the water to drown without a life preserver that I EASILY could’ve tossed his way. 

But when we were debriefing the exercise with the group, do you know what he said? In his choppy, German accent - he rested on every word:

“I’d forgotten how good it feels - just to be listened to.”

Of course! The listening is where the powerful connection happens. It’s how we ask good questions. It’s how we understand others. It’s how we let people know that we see them, and we aren’t just listening in order to fix them or give them solutions; we are listening because we genuinely want to hear what they have to say, how they think, and what they feel.

The only thing that James says to be quick about is to “listen.” It is also the most challenging, especially when confronted with conflict.

But if you want to love your people well, you might need to take a break from trying to fix them and take a few minutes just to listen instead.

No agenda. No airing your opinions. Just listen. Slow down your talk and open up your ears. Keep it up, and it could very well change the dynamics of your most meaningful relationships.

Consider:

• Who would you consider a good listener in your life, and what makes them so?

• Are you a good listener? What are some things you could do (or stop doing) to improve your listening skills?

• Who do you need to slow down and really listen to?

Hope

“I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.” 

- Jeremiah, the prophet

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We’ve found ourselves praying in preparation for a series of meetings recently:

• A group of prospective clients at a leadership event

• Several groups of executives at monthly roundtable meetings

• Corporate offsite meetings with our larger clients

• Calls with international ministry leaders

• Groups of business leaders in Africa we are going to visit

• A large collection of men at a weekend retreat

• A group of attendees at a Life Plan retreat

• etc.

When we asked what their greatest need is and what we need to offer them, we keep hearing the same answer:

Hope and honor

We live in a post-honor culture and people feeling the esteem of others is in incredibly short supply.  We work mostly with leaders and the weight they carry is particularly heavy.  Them feeling a sense of honor and nobility in their leadership has incredible ripple effects through their families, their employees, and virtually everyone their leadership comes into contact with.

We are not enjoying a season of very noble or honorable leadership examples.  And in a world where it takes the extreme to get anyone’s attention, most media channels seem to almost be relishing the failures of leadership.  It is very difficult to find a positive news story about a leader in any category.

Like a soldier during the Vietnam War, it almost feels like there is collective suspicion or disdain for leaders. I’ve talked to many young people who almost seem to carry an expectation of corruption and compromised integrity of the leaders in both the public and private sectors.  It is a suspicion that is felt by many leaders much like it was felt by those soldiers.

Not surprisingly, the leaders I work with are very conversant in their every failing, mistake, or inadequacy. Sadly, they find it almost impossible to articulate all the good and positive that is also occurring on their watch. What do you think that does for their morale or ability to encourage and celebrate their teams? 

It makes it nearly impossible.

All that lack of honor has an incredibly expensive byproduct: a loss of hope.  And we all know the value of hope.  What sustains all of us through the toughest times is not physical, financial, or even mental strength.  In the toughest of times, the only currency that will pay your way through is hope.

And have you been outside lately?  There is very little you can point to out there that would provide hope.  It’s always been the case, but like never before, the only hope to be found is coming from above.

So let hope rise 

And darkness tremble

In Your holy light 

That every eye will see

Jesus our God 

Great and mighty to be praised

Consider

• Do you feel a sense of honor in your leadership roles?

• How good are you at celebrating and honoring those you lead?

• Have you lost hope? Lost heart?

New

“You know what? It’s all about new. People love new. I love new. Hell, I’m new!” 

- Mr. Stevens (realtor) in We Bought a Zoo

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Getting companies clear on a more inspired future and designing that team that will fulfill that future forces some challenging, but incredibly valuable conclusions.  We create the organizational design of the future without names.  It has only boxes that are occupied by the positions, position agreements, and functions required to accomplish that future.

Then we start mapping the current team to that future.  It requires that you acknowledge so many important things:

• some of your legacy employees don’t fit your organization of the future

• some of your folks might fit, but need further training or additional skills

• some current team members need to massively change their attitudes to fit that more fully developed culture you will have when you get there

• some of your legacy employees are going to have to step up to more significant roles and some or going to need to step down

We all have those people on our teams that we wished would change their attitude.  Those that we believe just don’t have the skills or ability to grow to where we need them.  Ones that have “peter principled” and haven’t been able to keep up with the demands of the job or changing industry requirements.

Org Design helps make those decisions and the required conversations much more simple and powerful.  The motivation and clarity of that inspired future require that you make the difficult decisions you have put off for years.  It also gives you a logical and pragmatic way to describe why someone no longer fits or has to step up in some way in order to stay.

Org Design and the Position Agreements that clearly define the roles, responsibilities, and expectations of that team of the future is the most powerful management tool we’ve ever seen.  It changes everything and makes the most difficult changes far simpler than you could imagine.

You’ve all heard the expression, “the ones that got you here aren’t the same ones that are going to get you there”.  Truer words have never been said, but how will you do that?  What is the logical, pragmatic, and thoughtful way you will get that done?  Org Design is the answer to both of those questions.

Vision is all about designing an inspired future that requires you become a new company.  That “new co” is going to require some change in your team.

Consider

• Do you desire for your company to be “different” and “more” in the future?

• Are you clear on what the team is going to look like in order to achieve that future?

• How are you going to get from here to there?

Snow

Snow Day -

An unexpected day when you are supposed to go to school but it is canceled. An unexpected break. An unexpected escape from it all. A day to relax, not a day to catch up on work.”

- The Urban Dictionary

By way of full disclosure;  I have never actually experienced a literal snow day.  Meaning, I have never had a day when I couldn’t go to work or the kids couldn’t get to school because of the snow.  That includes the 2 years we lived in Chicago!  Ironically, it would be more likely that school/work would be called off in Texas due to snow given the incredible preparedness of the people in the Windy City.

We have, however, experienced some philosophical “snow days” in our business.  The first was accidental, but the next and everyone in the future will be planned.  

The first was related to a two-day quarterly offside for our coaching practice where we decided to stay very late the first day and didn’t need the second one scheduled.  We awoke the next day to a completely clear calendar and decided we would consider it a “snow day”.

It was an unexpected day-off that resulted in some great relaxation, family time, and a little necessary soul care.  Absolutely no work was allowed.  It was incredible.

Given our dozens of clients and the large list of prospective clients that we are talking to this time of year, any known place in our calendars gets filled quickly.  Even scheduled days off get filled with errands, doctor visits and all manner of other incidentals.

The next one was completely planned.  We have been working overtime with several offsite events and a very busy schedule.  Since our Client Experience Coordinator (CEC) completely manages our schedules, the fake conference call, extended financial review meeting, and coaching appointment with “Ron Burgundy” didn’t arouse my suspicion.

Once our CEC told us they were all fake appointments the night before and canceled them, I was a little embarrassed that I didn’t notice the Ron Burgundy (made famous by Will Ferrell in “Anchor Man”) appointment.  But that was easily made up for by having another “snow day” in front of us.

The reality is that all of us need more soul care than we are getting.  All leaders need clear and unscheduled spaces in their calendars to rest, recharge, and not think about the day-to-day responsibilities of their jobs.  All the studies show that adequate downtime or soul care is the necessary ingredient of greater productivity in the time you are working.

This is not a luxury, but a necessity.

Do you live in a climate like ours where it hasn’t really snowed in decades?  That doesn’t mean you can’t have a snow day.  Trust me, it will do wonders for your health, quality of life, and productivity.

Consider

• When is the last time you took a day off? Took some time off for soul care?

• Did you really take the day off or fill it up with a bunch of other things to do?

• How much do you think you would benefit from something like that?

Hype

hype

[ hahyp ]

verb 

1. to stimulate, excite, or agitate

2. to create interest in by flamboyant or dramatic methods; promote or publicize showily:

3. to intensify (advertising, promotion, or publicity) by ingenious or questionable claims, methods, etc.

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According to MaxPreps, there are 1,207 high school football teams in Texas.  They fall into classifications:

6A - high school enrollment of 2,190 and above

5A - 1,150 and above

4A - 505 and above

3A - 225 and above

2A - 105 and above

1A - everybody else

Quite a few of those 1A folks actually field 11-man football teams.  The rest play a strange variety of football called six-man.  If you throw in all the faith-based and other specialty schools that fit that size category, there are actually almost 300 schools in the state that play that version.

Friday night, our little homeschool association played a public school 1A six-man team that was about a three-hour drive from here.  They were so remote that with no dinner options for our folks after the game, the school cafeteria cooks for all their fans, players, and all of ours.

There is visual testimony to their success everywhere (signs, flags, big bold numbers right next to our stands) and they didn’t pull any punches in reminding you audibly as well.  The PA announcer told the crowd that they were undefeated, 6-0, against us in the short rivalry.  And that one of the websites that predicts six-man games actually showed us to be the favorite in this match.  

And then they played a pre-game recording (imagine the most obnoxious MMA hype-guy announcer you can):

"In the history of Texas high school football there have been only 4 teams that have won 8 state championships, but in the world of six-man football one team stands alone!  2004!  2006!  2007!  2010!  2012!  2015!  2016!  The 2019 edition stands ready to write their legacy and enter their names in the record books.”

Then came the smoke-filled tunnel, the team, the flags, the cheerleaders, etc. charging the field.

A few other things to note.  Their agricultural program located their goat pens an uncomfortable distance for us to enjoy the smell and sounds of them.  They had a supercharged train whistle they launched after each score that is still clanging around in my subconscious.  The visiting team locker rooms were painted a nice pink from floor to ceiling.

Despite our six turnovers to their zero, we had somehow figured out a way to stay within one touchdown.  But by the fourth quarter, in the humidity of a warm Friday night and a very long game, the effects started to show.  Guys were limping, muscle cramps abounded, and penalty mistakes started to pile.  But just when it looks like the tables were about to turn on this storied program, they dug in and ultimately won by a few touchdowns.

Do you think all those flags, banners, train whistles, hyped announcements, etc. had anything to do with their ability to find success despite the challenging situation they were facing?

You betcha.

Do you think the people you lead need to be reminded about what is great about them, all they’ve accomplished, and that you believe in them?  Do you think it is important in order for them to overcome the challenging situations you are facing?

You betcha.

And if you are annoyed by hype and pretense as much as I am, you better get over it.  You are the only hype person your team likely has.  And this is the time of year you need to stretch yourself and take stock of every little thing that has been accomplished and gone right.  Because we just started the fourth quarter and there is another season just ahead of us.

Consider

• Do you hate making a big deal of stuff?

• Does it seem pretentious and excessive when you do?

• Do you know how important it is to the people you lead?

• If you felt like your success rested on it, could you find the energy to celebrate and encourage them better?