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“Life is a storm, my young friend.  You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next.  What makes you a man is what you do when the storm comes.  You must look into the storm and shout as you did in Rome.  Do your worst, for I will do mine!  Then the fates will know you as we know you: as Albert Mondego, the man!” - Alexandre Dumas

A few weeks back I did a message at The Orchard entitled, Anchored.  We grappled with this notion that each of us will engage the storms of life.  That each of us, even those in God’s “perfect” will are challenged, tested and tried.  In fact, one time Jesus tells his disciples after a intensive time of teaching, to get in a boat and travel to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  While they were in the boat a storm emerged.

What’s interesting about that story is that Jesus told them that his plan for them was to go to the “other side.”  I believe I would be safe to say that they were following God’s plan.  Yet, a BIG storm emerged.

The story depicts followers of Jesus captivated by the shifting and changing world around them, instead of an UNCHANGING God.  A God of grace.  A God of hope.  A God who can be trusted.

For a majority of us we currently fall into three categories: entering a storm, engaging a storm, or emerging from a storm.

A question for you: How are you engaging the storms of life, today?  Are you afraid?  Are you allowing the changing world around you to govern your emotions, thoughts and beliefs?

What if Jesus that day was trying to help the disciples to see, after rebuking and calming the storm, that God is not: A myth.  He is not a lovely idea.  He is not an abstraction.  He made everything that is.  He stands above raging waters, time, space, and history.  He is able to save us from the raging sea.  Therefore, we do not have to live in fear  Therefore, we do not have to live in defeat.  Therefore, we do not have to cower.  Therefore, we can dare to face the storms of life with a posture of TRUST!  We have a heavenly Father who loves us!

How are YOU trusting God these days?

Change is inevitable in today’s economic landscape.  Change is constant.

How are you adapting to change within your organization?

Change can be painful and uncomfortable.  Mark Twain once said, “The only person who likes change is a baby with a wet diaper.”  Let’s be honest.  Change can be downright hard.

As a leader within an organization, how are you a part of the process?  Are you asking your direct leaders the right questions?  Are you lock-step with the new direction, product launch, new strategies, approach, etc…?  Or…or…are you the complainer?  Are you the one who talks about how it can’t be done (although, it is good to question a process, but do it respectfully)?

(Remember leaders, those who you are leading are watching your response/reaction to change.)

I think it is imperative, especially those in leadership roles, to help facilitate change among your direct reports.  The human side of change can be challenging, but crucial to effectively forge ahead.

The U.S. Department of Education project roled out a systematic approach to help deal with change.  They suggested that individuals who are faced with change express six predictable and sequential concerns:

1. Information concerns
2. Personal concerns
3. Implementation concerns
4. Impact concerns
5. Collaboration concerns
6. Refinement concerns

At the various levels of organizations, whether for-profit or nonprofit, how are you addressing the above mentioned concerns?  The question isn’t “will” change occur, but “when” change occurs are you ready?  Furthermore, how are you addressing the questions and concerns echoed through the organization?

Your effectiveness as a change agent is to ensure you are educated on the “why’s, what’s and how’s.”

Change is your friend.

Psalms 19: 1-3
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.  There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.

Notice what the psalmist really does here.  He speaks of Creation as a language.  Notice what the text is asking us to do…it is enforcing God’s handiwork…it speaks to us in a language of its own!

I found the below description of God found “in” Creation.  I believe a teenager wrote the paragraphs below.

Very Powerful!

“I have been asked by some how I can be so certain in the existence of a good God, and I have asked them in return if they have eyes to see.  God has woven himself irretrievably into Nature; left his fingerprints behind to show us where he’s been.  His signature is smeared into the curls of the Milky Way, forever circling above the rim of the world.  God has scattered fragments of himself about the earth like a father hides eggs in the yard before his son’s very first Easter; hiding behind a tree with laughing eyes and waiting to see which of the treasures his child will uncover first.

God is crying out all around us.  He is present in the breathless silence of the snow-smothered mountains; he is dancing with the sunlight that shatters on the ocean’s waves; he is hiding in the decaying moss and crumbling shale in the old forgotten places in the world.  No jagged mountain throws its sharp weight against the sky that is not a testament to his goodness.  The entire sum of Creation, each private and individual act of nature, is God waving hello.”

Thought provoking questions by Bill Hybels, that we need ask ourselves.

1. Is my calling sure?
2. Is my vision clear?
3. Is my passion burning hot?
4. Is my character fully submitted to Christ?
5. Is my pride subdued or is my ego messing with it?
6. Are my fears at bay? Or do I have anxiety?
7. Is my psychological baggage affecting the way I make decisions?
8. Are my ears open to the voice of God?
9. Is my pace sustainable?
10. Is my heart for God increasing or decreasing?

How are you leading self these days?

What does a “Winning Formula” look like in today’s economic landscape?

Tom Peters (aka: Management Guru) has an insightful formula for those who are in the workplace, who are choosing to be winners!

Tom Peters says:

People who are 100%, everybody, no exceptions, Receptionist to EVP R&D:

Committed.
Engaged.
Growing.
Learning.
Fearless (unfailingly encouraged to try new things).
Respected.
Trusted.
Appreciated.
Independent-minded.
Team focused.
Focused themselves, even when fresh caught, on the growth of others
Passionate about their work, their mates, and their customers.
Informed.
Open (fanatic about sharing).
Caring.
Committed to EXCELLENCE in everything they do.

And, in turn, that demands 100% “servant leaders,” to shamelessly steal from Robert Greenleaf, who are 100% devoted—as Priority & Job #1—to developing people, in good times or bad—100% of people—who are:

Committed.
Engaged.
Growing.
Learning.
Fearless (unfailingly encouraged to try new things).
Respected.
Trusted.
Appreciated.
Independent-minded.
Team focused.
Focused themselves, even when fresh caught, on the growth of others
Passionate about their work, their mates, and their customers.
Informed.
Open (fanatic about sharing).
Caring.
Committed to EXCELLENCE in everything they do.

Well said, Tom!

A few months ago I did a talk, where I talked about how precious life is…how fragile it can be.  How important it is to savor every moment, especially the time you have with your kids.

A woman named Mary Jean Arian wrote a little piece called “Gift From a Hair Dryer–Reflections of a Mom as She Combs Her Seven-Year-Old Daughter’s Hair After a Bath.” And somehow, it kind of captures what a precious thing life it.

“Comb and dry. Comb and dry. ‘Soon, I won’t be able to do this anymore,’ you say to yourself knowing that the little straight bob must inevitably yield to grown up coiffures and ugly curlers. What will she be like at 14? Where will her hair be blowing then–at 16 and 18? Do you suppose boys will love to watch her hair blow as you do now? And some of them will feel it on their faces. And one of them will marry her and her hair will be spread under the veil, and then, spread out on his pillow.

“And oh, you hate him a little and wonder where he is at this moment, whether he’ll be good to her. They will grow old together. And the gold-brown hair will be gray. And you will be gone. And then, she will be gone–this very hair, that now, your fingers smooth. And all the tears of the world swim for a second in your eyes as you snatch the plug out of the socket suddenly, and gather her into your arms, burying your face in the warm hair, as if you could seal this moment against all time.”

Profound words spoken by John D. Rockefeller Jr. regarding his own philosophy, during a radio program in 1941.

“I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty. I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that government is the servant of the people and not their master. I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living. I believe that thrift is essential to well ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs. I believe that truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order. I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man’s word should be as good as his bond; that character — not wealth or power or position — is of supreme worth.”

Servant Leadership has become a buzz word in recent years not only in religious organizations, but also in the business world.  The word leadership has that much more punch when linked with “servant.”  In gist, a servant leader is focused on serving the world around them.  They are prodded to love and help, bringing meaning and satisfaction to others.

Catch the picture that James Autry gives, from his book The Servant-Leader:

1.) Leadership is not about controlling people; it’s about caring for people and being a useful resource for people.

2.) Leadership is not about being boss; it’s about being present for people and building a community at work.

3.) Leadership is not about holding on to territory; it’s about letting go of ego, bringing your spirit to work, being your best and most authentic self.

4.) Leadership is less concerned with pep talks and more concerned with creating a place in which people can do good work, can find meaning in their work, and can bring their spirits to work.

5.) Leadership, like life, is largely a matter of paying attention.

6.) Leadership requires love.

How is your SERVE these days?

Recently I came across an old journal with the following equation:

Personal Purpose x Passion + Collective Momentum = Maximum Impact

What is the impact you are trying to make at work, in your relationships, community, neighborhood, and the world around you?