by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
Yes! Attitude by Jeffrey Gitomer... How to Find, Build, and keep a Yes! Attitude for a lifetime of Success.
Yes! Attitude is loaded with proverbial statements, short truths and of course the Gitomer humor... the cartoons are LOL types.
Some things can sneak up on you and be life changing. The Yes! Attitude could very well be one of those things.The more I read it the more it was getting to me that I was not as optimistic, a Yes! Attitude person, as I thought I was. I walked past the book several times in the bookstore, before a friend told me to check it out.
Here’s the gist of it.
"You become what you think about all day long."
(Earl Nightingale)
Now just think about this... simply true.
"It's your thoughts behind the words you speak that create your attitude."
(Jeffrey Gitomer)
In short phrases, graphics, short quips, Gitomer processes you through the Yes! Attitude which he suggests you read, study, practice, keep and refer to a lot.
So it's short, progressively leading you through his 5.5 elements of the Yes! Attitude.
1. Insight to your inside attitude
"Attitude is Everything and Foundations of Everything." Yes! is better than positive... when things go exuberantly well we scream Yes! When we want it to go well we incite a yes deep inside of us. Positive attitudes start inside(your view of yourself) and then become attractive and contagious to others. Attitude-- your choice, your response, your control over the choice. Take the Gitomer attitude self test... Now, you know where to start and we all have some attitude lapses we need to work on.The Gitomer test shows us which ones.
2. Attitude Self-awareness
Cocky and the arrogant say "I know that."and move on. Confident and positive ask themselves, "How good am I at that?" and seek to improve. "Concentrate on Fundamentals.“ Most of all success is achieved that way. (Lay-ups win basketball games...make them.)
Attitude busters: Things and people. It's your reaction to them that matters. It's not their fault... "It's you!" And it always has been. Be aware of your attitude; be aware of others. "If you have nothing nice to say about someone, don't say anything." Be aware of being aware. Life happens. Get back to Yes!
3. Attitude Actions... become a person of attitude
Be a person who walks the talk. Be nice, be kind, smile, make friends, say nice things, praise others, take responsibility, be proud of work and accomplishments. Don't worry, be happy! Use great few words when starting phrases. Use words like....Great!, No Problem, I can Help!, Consider it Done.
Attitude actions include: It's no one's fault but me, it's a choice, invest in time in positive people, books, CD's, seminars. Avoid negative talk, negative news, unbecoming words; instead celebrate victories and count your blessings. Do this ALL the time. Learn good stuff, talk about it to others, act on it, and start each day on it. Do it with everyone you meet, live with, work with, are intimate with.
Build belief, your belief...uncovering your "why's" for belief. Put your Yes! beliefs where you see them all the time, say them out loud all day long... to self and others.
4. Attitude Attributes... think about your best qualities
"The main reason people rain on my parade is because they have no parade of their own." Laugh a lot, be funny, and make others’ laugh. Lead with a smile. "I believe that a smile is the attribute of a positive attitude, both for yourself and perception of others." Adjust your environments and associations " to be the best for you."
5. Attitude Achievements... the formula for Yes! Attitude Achievement
It will work if you work it. The Gitomer formula: “Decide you're willing to go for it. Decide it will take a year to set a new thought pattern. Start each morning with some positive exposure, wisdom, or expression.
Get rid of negative people in your life. Avoid the violence on TV and in movies. Ignore idiots and zealots. Make your own environment. Read books that will get you going at the start of the day. Listen to recorded messages of positive people. Surround yourself in the external environments that breed success. Create new associations that will boost your desire to be positive. Smile all the time. Respond to everything in the positive. Select one positive message or one passage everyday to focus on that day.
”Always wake up and read, write, think on something positive." At the end of the day, drain your brain of all the negatives. Write everything down--problems, challenges, obstacles, then take a Yes! Attitude to solve them. Do to-do, to-call, to-get, to-resolve, to-pay lists. Thinking solutions increases hope, positive feelings, more Yes! Attitudes.
5.5 Attitude Fulfillment
Fulfillment is wanting more, but being at peace with what you have. Give yourself permission to enjoy everything. Your attitude is a gift, a blessing... and it's one you can give to your self, give to others, and your special love.
Note the Jeffrey Gitomer web:
www.gitomer.com
There is also a Book in the Bible that is a Super Yes! Attitude little book. Mark in the New Testament is loaded with the miracle power behind being a yes person, a person of belief, a person of faith. One supreme thought in it is when Jesus said “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too." (Mark 11: 23-24, NLT)
If we carry with us a forgiving heart, we can believe God grants justice to us above what we can do. If we leave it in His hands, He will respond also to all our requests. It is to believe in your heart, your deepest soul, that what you pray for, If You Believe, you will receive.
Jesus goes on to say through John 14 that "if you ask for anything in my name I will do it." That is according to His will for you and others around. We are part of a gigantic team. We all inter-relate and each of our lives affect someone else in all we do. So being forgiving and doing things to Jesus plan, lays the ground work for incredible miracles in our lives. Just look at Yes Attitude results just in this little book of Mark's, the Apostle.
Faith, The Yes! Attitude, in Spirit grew massively.
Selections from Mark: (NLT)
That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons.
A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.
The news about his miracles had spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see him.
She fell to her knees in front of him… And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”
“Your daughter is dead. Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”
“Little girl, get up!” And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and totally amazed.
All these people believed in Jesus, they had the Yes! Attitude in Spirit. Because of their faith, they were healed.
Jesus scolded His disciples when they lacked faith. “…a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water... When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Jesus will even heal your lack of faith, if you ask.
What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes. ”The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
“Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” For the ability to believe, have a yes attitude in Spirit.
Take the Faith, Belief Scriptures and write them everyday, say them everyday, think on them constantly and make them your mental anthems, and constantly proclaim it verbally as true for you.
Prevailing prayer prevails.
“Persevere in full assurance that we will have what we ask for. He so highly prizes our confidence in Him. With such faith we cannot fail to inherit the blessing."
The Ministry of Intercession by Andrew Murray.
Jesus will perform miracles for you if you just ask, believe, forgive and respect what He is about. He begs us to just say Yes! to faith in Him and what He wants to do for us. "Ask what you will and He will do it."
This is the ultimate gift of the Yes Attitude. If you believe, have a Yes! Attitude of Spirit. When you pray, you petition the whole universe and it will respond to what you ask for with unbending Belief. Our biggest obstacle is ourselves… the lack of our own Belief. The Belief in His Mission for us. Work on your own belief, His power and love for you, and begin to see things change.
Do you seek after His Mission or just self interest? He promises to equip you with Supernatural gifts of His Spirit when we seek to fulfill His Mission for us.
“...loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. He gave up his divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave... He humbled himself in obedience to God... (Philippians 2: 2-7, NLT, Note all of Philippians 2.)
He will say Yes! to The Mission you have for your life.
He will build the skills you need for this mission,
and respond to requests with a
Yes! Attitude in Spirit.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Made to Stick Using Heavenly Powers
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. This is a great guide book for anyone in the business of communication that it’s imperative what they communicate makes a difference.
Made to Stick is a guide on how to make your ideas stick. This means that your ideas are understood and remembered, and have lasting impact--they change your audiences opinions or behavior. The principle of "Sticky Ideas" include these traits: simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and story. So the acronym is created "succes."
Using this as a system, creativity can be created systematically. Most non-creative people will find this helpful in formulating sticky ways to make their ideas grab a hold of others and stay. So they coined the phrase "systematic creativity." (Personally, I used this method when producing videos for companies. It creates effective unique twists through the process.)
Simple
Finding the core of the idea. Stripping the idea down to its most critical essence, eliminating the superfluous and tangential elements, weeding out the important and getting to the most important element of the idea. Getting from knowing the idea to effective sharing and achieving the idea's priorities.
So Simple = Core + Compact. Finding the most important, making it concise so it quickly zings through. Create clever metaphors and proverbs that hit home with depth and quickly.
Unexpected
This is what gets people's attention--which you must do. Surprise gets our attention; interest keeps our attention. Point out things people don't know. Find the knowledge gap. Propose you have a solution.
Concrete
Move from the abstract to the tangible, specific... in concept, common analogies work well. What makes something concrete is being able to examine something with your senses. V8 engine is concrete; "high performance" is abstract. Concrete foundations must be built... it is essential to teach abstract principles. Naturally, sticky ideas have concrete words and images. Create concrete images to see, and it can become memorable. More experienced/ educated people see more images than less experienced/educated people. So to be sticky their images must be reconstructed to the other level.
Memory works like Velcro.. the more loops that you can find hooks for, the stronger the memory. Find the loops, past experiences, and create hooks, relevant ideas, and stickiness increases proportionately.
Credible
What makes someone believe in you, your idea? Experts with extensive credentials; celebrities with their notoriety are viewed as authorities. But authority can be found through antiauthority ...someone with an experience that is true, honest, and trustworthy... can many times out perform authorities in credibility (such as, common people wit, exceptional experience, unsung heros).
Also, a person's good handle on details extends authority... especially details compelling and human, meaningful and support our core idea. Statistics work when a relationship is drawn within human, everyday context. And then making a cross over to a similar application or situation. "If it can make it here, it can make it there."
Emotions
For people to act, they got to care. Associate ideas with emotions that already exist. Tap what's already there. Don't over use or an idea will lose its kick. Use "uniquely," timely, sparingly. So an idea is uniquely associated. People must care about something to relate it to something they do care about. Appeal to self interest, their identities, to who they are now as well as the people they'll be like.
Story
Stories are powerful. They provide “simulation (knowledge about how to act) and inspiration (motivation to act)." Credible makes people believe, emotional makes people care, stories make people act. We play out mental simulations and re-enact them in real life. When we lead someone through the process, of mental simulation (via stories) they are more likely to re-enact the process again. Stories carry the concrete, emotion, credibility, suspense (the unexpected) and are simple to follow.
How do people spot (become drawn to) a great story. The art of spotting includes three plots: The challenge plot, the connection plot, the creativity plot.
People being drawn to the little guy who overcomes a great obstacle (challenge plot); two unlikely partners help each other (connection plot); someone went about to solve a problem in a most unusual way (creativity plot).
For an idea to stick it has to make your audience...
1. Pay attention (unexpected)
2. Understand, remember (concrete)
3. Agree/believe (credible)
4. Care (emotional)
5. Be able to act on it (story)
The Made to Stick easy reference guide.
1. Simple--find the core, share the core
2. Unexpected--get attention: surprise, hold attention: interest
3. Concrete--help people understand and remember, help people coordinate (find common ground)
4. Credible--help people believe, external credibility(authority, antiauthority--those who have been there); internal credibility (convincing details, relating statistics, cross over test)
5. Emotional--make people care, use power of association, appeal to self-interest, appeal to identity
6. Stories--stories as simulations (tell people how to act), stories as inspiration (give people energy to act).
More on Made to Stick at:
www.madetostick.com
Jesus was a master of the Made to Stick findings.
His message was simple... love God with all your heart, soul, mind and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself, and you will fulfill all the commandments. The Religious groups of His day made things very complex... they had just hundreds of commandments and laws in that no one could keep at all.
He used the unexpected. Put mud on and spit on eyes to heal blindness. He didn’t condemn a woman who lived a whoring lifestyle.
It was concrete...Whatever you do to the least you are doing to me. The least being the hungry, thirsty, strangers, prisoners, despicable. He gave attention to crooked accountants, rebels of the day, beggars, widowed women, little children.
He walked in credibility and walked with authority and antiauthority. Those who heard Him said He spoke with authority and wasn't like the scribes and religious show offs who delighted to wax eloquent in their speeches. As a common-looking person, from a simple family, Jesus’ lifestyle showed off true spectacular events, ideas and character.
"Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. (Luke 20:46, NLT)
The prophets' predictions pointed to Jesus. The predictions came true with what He was doing. His many miracles proved He had authority from Heaven.
He cared with His emotions. He looked at the crowds and had compassion for them. Even fed them with a miracle by taking a family size meal and converting it into a meal for thousands. No one had a clue how He did it, but His compassion for the masses, which He saw as individuals, moved Him.
He was a spell-bound story teller. The art of a connection plot came through in the good Samaritan story..."A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, 'Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time I'm here.' "
(Luke 10: 30-35, NLT)
Samaritans were socially, polar opposites to the Jews.
They were flagrantly hostile towards each other. Luke records many parable-like stories that Jesus used to explain Spiritual principles so regular folks can get it.
Jesus has one more secret to add to the made to stick formula...that we all would have access to the very Spirit of God. That, through His Spirit, we can talk directly to other hearts of men without using words. This is a powerful bonus to life. Hidden in prayer, when we pray, and made real. We then see the results of this Power of Spirit coming out of others.
"And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven." Luke 24:49
This power has the same Power of God that created Heaven, earth and all the elements of the universe. We have access to this power. This power makes ideas stick in minds, stay in hearts and changes behaviors for ever. This stickiness is the most powerful glue we can use in making impact in all we are involved in... making ideas stick. Through prayer we can make ideas grab a hold, change attitudes, opinions.
Develop the Prayer Skill.
(See John 16 and also note:
"Purpose in Prayer" by E. M. Bounds; try a Google search on it.)
"Ask of Me and I will give you the nations" (Psalm 2:8)
declares the prophet David about God's heart for you.
Ask God and the Holy Spirit will respond in great Power.
Ask and The Spirit of God will work with you,
in alliance with you, as your every-minute walking partner
in all your times, events and moments of your day.
4spirit@gmail.com
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. This is a great guide book for anyone in the business of communication that it’s imperative what they communicate makes a difference.
Made to Stick is a guide on how to make your ideas stick. This means that your ideas are understood and remembered, and have lasting impact--they change your audiences opinions or behavior. The principle of "Sticky Ideas" include these traits: simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and story. So the acronym is created "succes."
Using this as a system, creativity can be created systematically. Most non-creative people will find this helpful in formulating sticky ways to make their ideas grab a hold of others and stay. So they coined the phrase "systematic creativity." (Personally, I used this method when producing videos for companies. It creates effective unique twists through the process.)
Simple
Finding the core of the idea. Stripping the idea down to its most critical essence, eliminating the superfluous and tangential elements, weeding out the important and getting to the most important element of the idea. Getting from knowing the idea to effective sharing and achieving the idea's priorities.
So Simple = Core + Compact. Finding the most important, making it concise so it quickly zings through. Create clever metaphors and proverbs that hit home with depth and quickly.
Unexpected
This is what gets people's attention--which you must do. Surprise gets our attention; interest keeps our attention. Point out things people don't know. Find the knowledge gap. Propose you have a solution.
Concrete
Move from the abstract to the tangible, specific... in concept, common analogies work well. What makes something concrete is being able to examine something with your senses. V8 engine is concrete; "high performance" is abstract. Concrete foundations must be built... it is essential to teach abstract principles. Naturally, sticky ideas have concrete words and images. Create concrete images to see, and it can become memorable. More experienced/ educated people see more images than less experienced/educated people. So to be sticky their images must be reconstructed to the other level.
Memory works like Velcro.. the more loops that you can find hooks for, the stronger the memory. Find the loops, past experiences, and create hooks, relevant ideas, and stickiness increases proportionately.
Credible
What makes someone believe in you, your idea? Experts with extensive credentials; celebrities with their notoriety are viewed as authorities. But authority can be found through antiauthority ...someone with an experience that is true, honest, and trustworthy... can many times out perform authorities in credibility (such as, common people wit, exceptional experience, unsung heros).
Also, a person's good handle on details extends authority... especially details compelling and human, meaningful and support our core idea. Statistics work when a relationship is drawn within human, everyday context. And then making a cross over to a similar application or situation. "If it can make it here, it can make it there."
Emotions
For people to act, they got to care. Associate ideas with emotions that already exist. Tap what's already there. Don't over use or an idea will lose its kick. Use "uniquely," timely, sparingly. So an idea is uniquely associated. People must care about something to relate it to something they do care about. Appeal to self interest, their identities, to who they are now as well as the people they'll be like.
Story
Stories are powerful. They provide “simulation (knowledge about how to act) and inspiration (motivation to act)." Credible makes people believe, emotional makes people care, stories make people act. We play out mental simulations and re-enact them in real life. When we lead someone through the process, of mental simulation (via stories) they are more likely to re-enact the process again. Stories carry the concrete, emotion, credibility, suspense (the unexpected) and are simple to follow.
How do people spot (become drawn to) a great story. The art of spotting includes three plots: The challenge plot, the connection plot, the creativity plot.
People being drawn to the little guy who overcomes a great obstacle (challenge plot); two unlikely partners help each other (connection plot); someone went about to solve a problem in a most unusual way (creativity plot).
For an idea to stick it has to make your audience...
1. Pay attention (unexpected)
2. Understand, remember (concrete)
3. Agree/believe (credible)
4. Care (emotional)
5. Be able to act on it (story)
The Made to Stick easy reference guide.
1. Simple--find the core, share the core
2. Unexpected--get attention: surprise, hold attention: interest
3. Concrete--help people understand and remember, help people coordinate (find common ground)
4. Credible--help people believe, external credibility(authority, antiauthority--those who have been there); internal credibility (convincing details, relating statistics, cross over test)
5. Emotional--make people care, use power of association, appeal to self-interest, appeal to identity
6. Stories--stories as simulations (tell people how to act), stories as inspiration (give people energy to act).
More on Made to Stick at:
www.madetostick.com
Jesus was a master of the Made to Stick findings.
His message was simple... love God with all your heart, soul, mind and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself, and you will fulfill all the commandments. The Religious groups of His day made things very complex... they had just hundreds of commandments and laws in that no one could keep at all.
He used the unexpected. Put mud on and spit on eyes to heal blindness. He didn’t condemn a woman who lived a whoring lifestyle.
It was concrete...Whatever you do to the least you are doing to me. The least being the hungry, thirsty, strangers, prisoners, despicable. He gave attention to crooked accountants, rebels of the day, beggars, widowed women, little children.
He walked in credibility and walked with authority and antiauthority. Those who heard Him said He spoke with authority and wasn't like the scribes and religious show offs who delighted to wax eloquent in their speeches. As a common-looking person, from a simple family, Jesus’ lifestyle showed off true spectacular events, ideas and character.
"Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. (Luke 20:46, NLT)
The prophets' predictions pointed to Jesus. The predictions came true with what He was doing. His many miracles proved He had authority from Heaven.
He cared with His emotions. He looked at the crowds and had compassion for them. Even fed them with a miracle by taking a family size meal and converting it into a meal for thousands. No one had a clue how He did it, but His compassion for the masses, which He saw as individuals, moved Him.
He was a spell-bound story teller. The art of a connection plot came through in the good Samaritan story..."A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, 'Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time I'm here.' "
(Luke 10: 30-35, NLT)
Samaritans were socially, polar opposites to the Jews.
They were flagrantly hostile towards each other. Luke records many parable-like stories that Jesus used to explain Spiritual principles so regular folks can get it.
Jesus has one more secret to add to the made to stick formula...that we all would have access to the very Spirit of God. That, through His Spirit, we can talk directly to other hearts of men without using words. This is a powerful bonus to life. Hidden in prayer, when we pray, and made real. We then see the results of this Power of Spirit coming out of others.
"And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven." Luke 24:49
This power has the same Power of God that created Heaven, earth and all the elements of the universe. We have access to this power. This power makes ideas stick in minds, stay in hearts and changes behaviors for ever. This stickiness is the most powerful glue we can use in making impact in all we are involved in... making ideas stick. Through prayer we can make ideas grab a hold, change attitudes, opinions.
Develop the Prayer Skill.
(See John 16 and also note:
"Purpose in Prayer" by E. M. Bounds; try a Google search on it.)
"Ask of Me and I will give you the nations" (Psalm 2:8)
declares the prophet David about God's heart for you.
Ask God and the Holy Spirit will respond in great Power.
Ask and The Spirit of God will work with you,
in alliance with you, as your every-minute walking partner
in all your times, events and moments of your day.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Good to Great and Beyond
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
Good to Great (2001) by Jim Collins: "How to build a good organization into one that produces sustained great results." Six years since its release it is still a top ten biz best seller. It has enduring principles for business.
As we look over the last 5 years, the companies with buffooning problems would have solved their problems if they had applied Good to Great insight. Here is an outline of these stalwart business precepts that if all followed, applied, integrated within their systems, we could in decades move to new powerful heights as a business nation.
The first part of a business process is the build up. Then comes the breakthrough. But a certain path must be taken to get there. Here's the way:
The Build Up
Level 5 Leadership
Not Big personalities; but quiet, reserved, blending personal humility and professional will. The ambition is for the company, institutional success not personal success. Charismatic leaders need to learn lessons on how to involve others, build up others, and develop the skills of their team. It's having more plow horses than show horses. Their drive is for producing sustained results.
First Who... then What
Get the right people on the bus; the wrong people off. Most important asset--not people but the right people. Not ruthless cultures, but vigorous cultures. Put your best people on your best opportunities.
Confront the Brutal Facts(Yet never lose faith)
Maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties AND at the same time have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your reality. …"conduct autopsies without blame." Create a place where everyone can be heard. Get "motivated, self-directed people" and don't de-motivate them.
The Breakthrough
The Hedgehog Concept
Simplicity within the 3 Circles
Circle 1. What you can be the best in the world at.
Circle 2. What drives your economic engine.
Circle 3. What you are deeply passionate about.
In times of trouble go back to the 3 Circles.
The Council: people who can share openly, collect ideas, sort out honestly, and then come to a best idea resolved from great councils. It's a device to get a balance of perspectives of all parts of the company using the 3 Circles. Select people knowledgeable who work in critical areas.
Keep it to 5 to 10 people.
A Culture of Discipline
"When you have disciplined people, you don't need hierarchy."
"When you have disciplined thought, you don't need bureaucracy."
Technology Accelerations
"Pioneers in the application of carefully selected technology."
Use as a strategy to accomplish the 3 circles. It can accelerate the business clock. Avoid fads and use as a strategic servant to accomplish your values. Does the technology fit within your Hedgehog theme... it’s your slave, not your master.
The Flywheel and the Doom Loop
The flywheel builds results; the doom loop lacks results and sells the future. Relentlessly pushing a flywheel in one direction, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough and beyond. When you skip the build up and move directly to breakthrough, you risk entering the doom loop…creating a negative momentum difficult to reverse.
The Collins’ research group based their conclusions on findings, facts, and characteristics they found. They did not use a hypothesis approach to prove or disprove an assumption. They found out what worked and explained why it worked.
For more on Good to Great note the summary:
http://www.mbadepot.com/partners/goodtogreat.pdf
and Jim Collins’ website and particularly note
the Collins’ Good to Great diagnostic tool:
http://jimcollins.com/
If we would read the Bible in this way, we would maybe be better off pulling out what it is saying, than trying to make it fit preconceived ideas we have. The Bible is a life study book, loaded with spiritual case studies and enduring principles of Spirit. Just read it for yourself. See what jumps out at you and comes to mind. You can trust that as the Spirit of God speaking directly to you. Share it with a friend and see what comes of it.
The theme for progressing from good and moving to great is to be good, be humble and have patience. Humility with frankness plus respect form a winning combination. "I am not better than you. I respect you as much as I hope you respect me."
What is good?
This is a word that is one of the most vague terms we use. Talk to 20 people and you will probably get 20 different versions. So what is good? For whatever it's worth, here's my version.
Paul, the Apostle in the Bible said to fight the good fight. When he referred to fight the good fight he referred to doing what's righteous (God is Holy and we do all things in the light of what Holiness is. That still is vague and we wonder what that means and we have 1000's of very righteous groups telling us exactly what that means.)
The Apostle Paul goes on to say it is being like God, it promotes faith, expresses love, stays persevering, and is always gentle and kind. 1 Timothy 6:11, 12
Good is God, God is Holy, and to be Good is to be in God. Through Jesus Christ we have this right, privilege and ability to be in God. Jesus said to not call a man Good... "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked him. "Only God is truly good." Luke 18:19
This is to be in the very presence, person of God Himself, The Spirit of Likeness of Himself. Becoming just like Him. Then we are good. So our ability to be Good is limited by our own humanness and we come up with many definitions of what Good is, of which most are partially right but not truly great definitions.
Jesus goes on to say that "I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and they who know me do as I do. We are all one who follow one voice. I lay my life down for my sheep."
He encourages us to take the back seat;
humble yourself before others. John 10:14-17
It's humility among men, not making more of yourself that will make you appear better than others. Being able to appeal for help when needed and not being embarrassed, or too proud. Do not think you should do it all. Ask for help when you need it. Accept help when it’s offered to you. Allow others to bless you with their gifts, abilities as they have them to share and give you. If you have the same gifts as someone else who works with you, lay yours down and let the other one use theirs. The more you give up so others can shine in what they do, and allow them to use their gifts and abilities, the stronger you become as a group.
Patience then comes into play. Jesus, when hearing of His dear friend's sickness, Lazarus, waited a few days before going to him. Consequently, Lazarus died. Martha, Lazarus' sister, was at first upset that Jesus was not there. She told Jesus if you would have come he would not have died. But then she also had confidence in Jesus in that He could do whatever He wanted.
Jesus knew everything has a time and purpose. He waited because there was a greater glory everyone was going to experience. His time was for a certain time so to bring Glory to God (raising Lazarus from the dead).
We can steal of God when we move ahead of His timing and disturb His timing for His Glory. Move on God's timing.
Even Peter, the Apostle failed to be patient. He wanted to take matters in his own hands and he even told Jesus He was wrong. Jesus told His disciples to wait. Wait until the very Spirit of God would come on them... before you take action on His Mission.
Breakthroughs come when we are patient and allow the Spirit to work and then move when that power is with us and goes before us. Not forging ahead on our own, but allowing God's Spirit to do its work, and this Power of Spirit going ahead of us.
So what is great?
According to Jesus, Greatness is living in Spirit Process.
“So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven ."
“But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven !" (Matthew 5:19-20, NLT)
“I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John (the Baptist). Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!” (Luke 7:28, NLT)
“So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 18:4, NLT)
John the Baptist lived a very humble life. A child is open minded and willingly learns, without a sense of self-importance.
So then what is Great?
It is being Holy, Being in God (true Goodness),
and not into just yourself,
being humble around others,
and being patient for God to act on your behalf.
God helps us to be Great like Him?
"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances... I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations.” (Ezekiel 36: 27-30, NASB)
Take the back seat,
wait for Spirit,
then move with the flow of Spirit... Spirit Process!
Then, you will know the power of All God's Creative power
is with you and you will have penetrating breakthroughs.
Progress from good to Great by being in God’s Greatness.
Be humble and allow the talents of others to be expressed.
Be patient and watch Divine Power work on your behalf.
4spirit@gmail.com
Good to Great (2001) by Jim Collins: "How to build a good organization into one that produces sustained great results." Six years since its release it is still a top ten biz best seller. It has enduring principles for business.
As we look over the last 5 years, the companies with buffooning problems would have solved their problems if they had applied Good to Great insight. Here is an outline of these stalwart business precepts that if all followed, applied, integrated within their systems, we could in decades move to new powerful heights as a business nation.
The first part of a business process is the build up. Then comes the breakthrough. But a certain path must be taken to get there. Here's the way:
The Build Up
Level 5 Leadership
Not Big personalities; but quiet, reserved, blending personal humility and professional will. The ambition is for the company, institutional success not personal success. Charismatic leaders need to learn lessons on how to involve others, build up others, and develop the skills of their team. It's having more plow horses than show horses. Their drive is for producing sustained results.
First Who... then What
Get the right people on the bus; the wrong people off. Most important asset--not people but the right people. Not ruthless cultures, but vigorous cultures. Put your best people on your best opportunities.
Confront the Brutal Facts(Yet never lose faith)
Maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties AND at the same time have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your reality. …"conduct autopsies without blame." Create a place where everyone can be heard. Get "motivated, self-directed people" and don't de-motivate them.
The Breakthrough
The Hedgehog Concept
Simplicity within the 3 Circles
Circle 1. What you can be the best in the world at.
Circle 2. What drives your economic engine.
Circle 3. What you are deeply passionate about.
In times of trouble go back to the 3 Circles.
The Council: people who can share openly, collect ideas, sort out honestly, and then come to a best idea resolved from great councils. It's a device to get a balance of perspectives of all parts of the company using the 3 Circles. Select people knowledgeable who work in critical areas.
Keep it to 5 to 10 people.
A Culture of Discipline
"When you have disciplined people, you don't need hierarchy."
"When you have disciplined thought, you don't need bureaucracy."
Technology Accelerations
"Pioneers in the application of carefully selected technology."
Use as a strategy to accomplish the 3 circles. It can accelerate the business clock. Avoid fads and use as a strategic servant to accomplish your values. Does the technology fit within your Hedgehog theme... it’s your slave, not your master.
The Flywheel and the Doom Loop
The flywheel builds results; the doom loop lacks results and sells the future. Relentlessly pushing a flywheel in one direction, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough and beyond. When you skip the build up and move directly to breakthrough, you risk entering the doom loop…creating a negative momentum difficult to reverse.
The Collins’ research group based their conclusions on findings, facts, and characteristics they found. They did not use a hypothesis approach to prove or disprove an assumption. They found out what worked and explained why it worked.
For more on Good to Great note the summary:
http://www.mbadepot.com/partners/goodtogreat.pdf
and Jim Collins’ website and particularly note
the Collins’ Good to Great diagnostic tool:
http://jimcollins.com/
If we would read the Bible in this way, we would maybe be better off pulling out what it is saying, than trying to make it fit preconceived ideas we have. The Bible is a life study book, loaded with spiritual case studies and enduring principles of Spirit. Just read it for yourself. See what jumps out at you and comes to mind. You can trust that as the Spirit of God speaking directly to you. Share it with a friend and see what comes of it.
The theme for progressing from good and moving to great is to be good, be humble and have patience. Humility with frankness plus respect form a winning combination. "I am not better than you. I respect you as much as I hope you respect me."
What is good?
This is a word that is one of the most vague terms we use. Talk to 20 people and you will probably get 20 different versions. So what is good? For whatever it's worth, here's my version.
Paul, the Apostle in the Bible said to fight the good fight. When he referred to fight the good fight he referred to doing what's righteous (God is Holy and we do all things in the light of what Holiness is. That still is vague and we wonder what that means and we have 1000's of very righteous groups telling us exactly what that means.)
The Apostle Paul goes on to say it is being like God, it promotes faith, expresses love, stays persevering, and is always gentle and kind. 1 Timothy 6:11, 12
Good is God, God is Holy, and to be Good is to be in God. Through Jesus Christ we have this right, privilege and ability to be in God. Jesus said to not call a man Good... "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked him. "Only God is truly good." Luke 18:19
This is to be in the very presence, person of God Himself, The Spirit of Likeness of Himself. Becoming just like Him. Then we are good. So our ability to be Good is limited by our own humanness and we come up with many definitions of what Good is, of which most are partially right but not truly great definitions.
Jesus goes on to say that "I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and they who know me do as I do. We are all one who follow one voice. I lay my life down for my sheep."
He encourages us to take the back seat;
humble yourself before others. John 10:14-17
It's humility among men, not making more of yourself that will make you appear better than others. Being able to appeal for help when needed and not being embarrassed, or too proud. Do not think you should do it all. Ask for help when you need it. Accept help when it’s offered to you. Allow others to bless you with their gifts, abilities as they have them to share and give you. If you have the same gifts as someone else who works with you, lay yours down and let the other one use theirs. The more you give up so others can shine in what they do, and allow them to use their gifts and abilities, the stronger you become as a group.
Patience then comes into play. Jesus, when hearing of His dear friend's sickness, Lazarus, waited a few days before going to him. Consequently, Lazarus died. Martha, Lazarus' sister, was at first upset that Jesus was not there. She told Jesus if you would have come he would not have died. But then she also had confidence in Jesus in that He could do whatever He wanted.
Jesus knew everything has a time and purpose. He waited because there was a greater glory everyone was going to experience. His time was for a certain time so to bring Glory to God (raising Lazarus from the dead).
We can steal of God when we move ahead of His timing and disturb His timing for His Glory. Move on God's timing.
Even Peter, the Apostle failed to be patient. He wanted to take matters in his own hands and he even told Jesus He was wrong. Jesus told His disciples to wait. Wait until the very Spirit of God would come on them... before you take action on His Mission.
Breakthroughs come when we are patient and allow the Spirit to work and then move when that power is with us and goes before us. Not forging ahead on our own, but allowing God's Spirit to do its work, and this Power of Spirit going ahead of us.
So what is great?
According to Jesus, Greatness is living in Spirit Process.
“So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven ."
“But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven !" (Matthew 5:19-20, NLT)
“I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John (the Baptist). Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!” (Luke 7:28, NLT)
“So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 18:4, NLT)
John the Baptist lived a very humble life. A child is open minded and willingly learns, without a sense of self-importance.
So then what is Great?
It is being Holy, Being in God (true Goodness),
and not into just yourself,
being humble around others,
and being patient for God to act on your behalf.
God helps us to be Great like Him?
"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances... I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations.” (Ezekiel 36: 27-30, NASB)
Take the back seat,
wait for Spirit,
then move with the flow of Spirit... Spirit Process!
Then, you will know the power of All God's Creative power
is with you and you will have penetrating breakthroughs.
Progress from good to Great by being in God’s Greatness.
Be humble and allow the talents of others to be expressed.
Be patient and watch Divine Power work on your behalf.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Citizen Power of Connected Voice
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
Citizen Marketers: When People are The Message
was meant to be this way in the beginning, and now as Citizen Marketers points out, we may get the true ideal functional in society. Citizen Marketers by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba recent research shows American enterprise is being put back into the hands of the citizens. America was founded as a government of, by, for the people. The people are now moving into an effective position to do that.
Citizenship comes from an Athenian ideal called "politeria"... a deep and multi-faceted sense of civic identity which encompasses the concepts of "community of citizens, constitution, form of government" and a "way of life."
Citizenship represents the culture of the everyday life. Citizen marketers-- "the age of marketing as culture."
"Citizen Marketers is the story of how amateurs and professionals commingle to assume new forms of ownership in companies, brands, products, and people they closely follow."
Today, with the rapid advances of technology, Internet, blogs, podcasts, satellite, cells, a new age is looking square into our face. The age of "the people rule" is before us and the individual of the mass is no longer lost in the mass. Ants can take on elephants and influence their plodding (and plotting) steps.
Who are these marketers?
According to McConnell and Huba, they are filters, fanatics, facilitators, and firecrackers.They are citizens, or hobbyists at work altruistically... for the good of what they do, for love and passion for what they do, but affecting millions and the actions of the big dogs of the business world. People of the same opinion can find each other, collaborate as One Big Massive voice and recreate brands, products and organizations.
The filters like to collect things (ideas, content) and package into links, stories that as everyday folks relate to other everyday folks.
Fanatics are true believers and evangelists. They analyze and prescribe a course of action to change things. Sell them a defective product and in months, their blogs, podcasts, slide shows will ignite a national crusade. Dell, Sony, record companies have succumbed to citizen uprisings. In mass, they have influence.
Facilitators launch communities. They thrive in building bonding centers where the town hall meeting blazes as a fiber optic event.
Firecrackers hit and run. They make a big deal of something, fast and furious, then move on. They may have a hit video, star on You Tube, have everyone clicking to it in mass, then it's over as fast as it started.
The Citizen Marketers has this about them... personal expression, amateur status, freely given. The message is The People are the Message. Word of mouth is bigger, faster and more grassroots orchestrated than ever. They are honest, real and without agenda. They don't like to be messed with or they will do something about it; if you are kind they will reward you immensely.
How big are they? ... 1%. Every person fits into some small segment of culture and there are others just like them. But united they carry a big whopping stick. Maybe outlaws, not into tradition. Very loyal to each other, these 1%ers find each other. They create what they want. They are hobbyists (participatory) and do it because its fun.
It's the new era of democratization. Working against controlling forces, gaining strength and instead of bowing down to advertisers, they tell companies what they want from them.
Consider Broadband. As of now more than 80 million adults (and growing rapidly around the world) have broadband at home. With blogs, pods, communities on line; chips, digital, wireless, the individual can now be heard, seen, and recognized.
So what we have is everyone is a Publisher, a Broadcaster. (You see there is good reason why Google spent over a billion for You Tube.) What we see is only a glimpse of what is developing in our culture. Technorati (blog search engine) tracks over 55 million blogs (and still growing). Now podcasts are the new thing. Everyone can star on their own TV Show. You can produce it, invite your own audience to view from the community you are part of.
Coming right behind is RSS (Really Simple Syndication). A direct feed system which goes to only those wanting it, and leaving out spam... easy, free, instantaneous. Sociologist are calling all this productive leisure. But that influences branding, product design and company ways.
So why do people involve themselves in "market-helping behaviors?"
Altruism (empathy for others);
personal relevance (truth on who I am);
status (well-connected with the connected).
Citizens Marketers find that "meme" is a controlling theme. A meme is a cultural thing (idea, saying, way of doing) that someone does(says), and everyone almost transcendentally catches on. Citizen meme's spread rapidly. The process of a meme is ... it's noticed and understood, embedded in memory, takes on a form (language, text, picture) and passes from one person to another. Then almost overnight, it seems everyone is doing it, saying it, watching it. One creative persona may light the match that lights thousands of little matches. Before you know it, the culture is lit up by it, doing it, and no one knows where it all really started.
In concluding Citizen Marketers, McConnell and Huba, direct you on how to democratize your business. In the past you made a product and hoped someone else liked it. Now you find the meme buzz, the new pod star, get a few filters together along with some fanatics, and the word starts spreading. Customers are creating designs for companies. These are the one's now winning.
The 3 C's of working with Citizen Marketers:
Contests: The quickest way to experiment with citizen created content.
Co-Creation: Involves customers in the process of creating products.
Community: A customer "call center" throws it out to the community and they'll hack it out for you.
There's a loyalty in all this. It's like a meme, an undefined quality of a person who is faithful to others they see as being like them. An unwritten law of culture, a new power in how citizens are marketers. Our society cries to connect and be one with a mass; a new strength in this Spirit; the new heart of a rally cry.
For more, blogs, articles...
www.citizenmarketers.com
"The tiniest group will become a mighty nation." (Isaiah 60:22, NLT)
"Abraham was only one man when I called him.
But when I blessed him, he became a great nation."
Citizens are given great power.
Isaiah the prophet continues,
"I will teach all your citizens and their prosperity will be great." (Isaiah 51:3, 54:13, NLT)
And Jesus goes on to say,"They will be taught by God." (John 6:45)
"No one will need to teach His neighbor..all will know me." (Jeremiah 31:34, NLT)
There is power in one voice and small groups banning together.
One voice can be very powerful. God has listened to the voice of one righteous person and responded with all His power. He says to those who call to Him continually He will respond. One voice can be empowered by Spirit to make a monumental difference.
God will surely give justice to his chosen people
who cry out to him day and night?
...He will grant justice to them quickly! (Luke 18:7-8, NLT)
The Citizen Marketers is so prophetic as the Scriptures have pointed to this. That some day one voice will have great power and things will happen quickly because of the voice. Then when we add one, two, or three to that, the power increases monumentally. (Matt: 18:19)
We have power to learn from each other. This power, to quickly find what others have learned and connecting it, creates a super-intelligence platform. This combined mind invites the very Presence of God's Mind into the whole works. In Love and Unity is what God, Spirit, the person of Jesus, is all about. We are one creation, of many parts.(see 1 Corinthians 12:12)
God is the integrated total voice of all Creation...harmonizing as one voice. We are like an orchestra, all different, varied, unusual instruments of different sounds, but making a beautiful melody when played in harmony.
David prophetically says, “ few honestly seek real understanding from God.” (Psalm 53:2) God through Spirit wants to speak to each person on earth. Then each of us will hear God and have a portion of God’s Voice. We then speak it to each other to get His Complete Voice. His Voice is One. When we are One, we hear All of What God is saying.
Spirit, God, created a civilization… man as a group, not just individuals. As groups, as One heart, spirit, we then hear God’s voice with every individual voice counting as more important as ever.
With today’s technology, everyone has opportunity to be heard AND share what Spirit is sharing with them. All voices can be heard. We can hear after that more clearly who God is. He speaks not just through individual spoke-persons anymore, but the combination of many as One, all voices.
For this to work, each person must be responsible to hear from God…Spirit personally teaches each person. Then the Divine Voice of Spirit combined to One is truly heard.
“For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all… so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.” (Ephesians 4: 4-7, 10, NLT)
Each person has a responsibility to seek true understanding of Spirit for this to work. “Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.” (Malachi 3: 18, NLT)
Give no rest and relentlessly pursue this voice. God will respond to the community of those with a unified request... of His Character, Spirit and Direction. When we pray, we hear God's voice. When we share God's voice with others and as One Voice, we create the magnitude, power, fortitude of His great strength, love and hope in us.
The Spirit is about power and doing incomprehensive things... beyond what human intelligence can conjure up. Listen to His voice, share His voice with others and see what happens.
Connect in Spirit with His Spirit and unite that Spirit with others. It's the power of the citizens of Heaven, using Heaven's Powers on earth. It is our right and gift as a Citizen of Heaven.
We will move into an era of the most sophisticated communication between humans ever seen on earth. Spirit will communicate between people in Mass. This Mass will hear the same voice and respond as One Unit. We see evidence of this happening. God is sovereignly teaching everyone. He will teach us all. And as One we will see, hear, perceive the same things... from the same direct feed of Spirit.
This will be so sophisticated it will surpass the capabilities we now see in the power of cell phones, emails, blogs, podcasts.
This is Spiritual communication systems of a Spiritual property. A new dimension beyond intellectual property. In just thinking of someone we can communicate to them in Spirit overriding all other forms of available communication. Those connected in Spirit with God will be able to do this.
Spirit communication is available for those choosing to tap it. It will take the unity of one voice... "where two or three agree it will be done." It will take on a power that will change minds, actions, decisions, and circumstances when negotiating and other communications will be ineffective.
Seek this Higher communication systems.
Express your voice in faith.
It will connect, in Spirit, with others.
Then you will truly climb to the top of mountains before you.
4spirit@gmail.com
Citizen Marketers: When People are The Message
was meant to be this way in the beginning, and now as Citizen Marketers points out, we may get the true ideal functional in society. Citizen Marketers by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba recent research shows American enterprise is being put back into the hands of the citizens. America was founded as a government of, by, for the people. The people are now moving into an effective position to do that.
Citizenship comes from an Athenian ideal called "politeria"... a deep and multi-faceted sense of civic identity which encompasses the concepts of "community of citizens, constitution, form of government" and a "way of life."
Citizenship represents the culture of the everyday life. Citizen marketers-- "the age of marketing as culture."
"Citizen Marketers is the story of how amateurs and professionals commingle to assume new forms of ownership in companies, brands, products, and people they closely follow."
Today, with the rapid advances of technology, Internet, blogs, podcasts, satellite, cells, a new age is looking square into our face. The age of "the people rule" is before us and the individual of the mass is no longer lost in the mass. Ants can take on elephants and influence their plodding (and plotting) steps.
Who are these marketers?
According to McConnell and Huba, they are filters, fanatics, facilitators, and firecrackers.They are citizens, or hobbyists at work altruistically... for the good of what they do, for love and passion for what they do, but affecting millions and the actions of the big dogs of the business world. People of the same opinion can find each other, collaborate as One Big Massive voice and recreate brands, products and organizations.
The filters like to collect things (ideas, content) and package into links, stories that as everyday folks relate to other everyday folks.
Fanatics are true believers and evangelists. They analyze and prescribe a course of action to change things. Sell them a defective product and in months, their blogs, podcasts, slide shows will ignite a national crusade. Dell, Sony, record companies have succumbed to citizen uprisings. In mass, they have influence.
Facilitators launch communities. They thrive in building bonding centers where the town hall meeting blazes as a fiber optic event.
Firecrackers hit and run. They make a big deal of something, fast and furious, then move on. They may have a hit video, star on You Tube, have everyone clicking to it in mass, then it's over as fast as it started.
The Citizen Marketers has this about them... personal expression, amateur status, freely given. The message is The People are the Message. Word of mouth is bigger, faster and more grassroots orchestrated than ever. They are honest, real and without agenda. They don't like to be messed with or they will do something about it; if you are kind they will reward you immensely.
How big are they? ... 1%. Every person fits into some small segment of culture and there are others just like them. But united they carry a big whopping stick. Maybe outlaws, not into tradition. Very loyal to each other, these 1%ers find each other. They create what they want. They are hobbyists (participatory) and do it because its fun.
It's the new era of democratization. Working against controlling forces, gaining strength and instead of bowing down to advertisers, they tell companies what they want from them.
Consider Broadband. As of now more than 80 million adults (and growing rapidly around the world) have broadband at home. With blogs, pods, communities on line; chips, digital, wireless, the individual can now be heard, seen, and recognized.
So what we have is everyone is a Publisher, a Broadcaster. (You see there is good reason why Google spent over a billion for You Tube.) What we see is only a glimpse of what is developing in our culture. Technorati (blog search engine) tracks over 55 million blogs (and still growing). Now podcasts are the new thing. Everyone can star on their own TV Show. You can produce it, invite your own audience to view from the community you are part of.
Coming right behind is RSS (Really Simple Syndication). A direct feed system which goes to only those wanting it, and leaving out spam... easy, free, instantaneous. Sociologist are calling all this productive leisure. But that influences branding, product design and company ways.
So why do people involve themselves in "market-helping behaviors?"
Altruism (empathy for others);
personal relevance (truth on who I am);
status (well-connected with the connected).
Citizens Marketers find that "meme" is a controlling theme. A meme is a cultural thing (idea, saying, way of doing) that someone does(says), and everyone almost transcendentally catches on. Citizen meme's spread rapidly. The process of a meme is ... it's noticed and understood, embedded in memory, takes on a form (language, text, picture) and passes from one person to another. Then almost overnight, it seems everyone is doing it, saying it, watching it. One creative persona may light the match that lights thousands of little matches. Before you know it, the culture is lit up by it, doing it, and no one knows where it all really started.
In concluding Citizen Marketers, McConnell and Huba, direct you on how to democratize your business. In the past you made a product and hoped someone else liked it. Now you find the meme buzz, the new pod star, get a few filters together along with some fanatics, and the word starts spreading. Customers are creating designs for companies. These are the one's now winning.
The 3 C's of working with Citizen Marketers:
Contests: The quickest way to experiment with citizen created content.
Co-Creation: Involves customers in the process of creating products.
Community: A customer "call center" throws it out to the community and they'll hack it out for you.
There's a loyalty in all this. It's like a meme, an undefined quality of a person who is faithful to others they see as being like them. An unwritten law of culture, a new power in how citizens are marketers. Our society cries to connect and be one with a mass; a new strength in this Spirit; the new heart of a rally cry.
For more, blogs, articles...
www.citizenmarketers.com
"The tiniest group will become a mighty nation." (Isaiah 60:22, NLT)
"Abraham was only one man when I called him.
But when I blessed him, he became a great nation."
Citizens are given great power.
Isaiah the prophet continues,
"I will teach all your citizens and their prosperity will be great." (Isaiah 51:3, 54:13, NLT)
And Jesus goes on to say,"They will be taught by God." (John 6:45)
"No one will need to teach His neighbor..all will know me." (Jeremiah 31:34, NLT)
There is power in one voice and small groups banning together.
One voice can be very powerful. God has listened to the voice of one righteous person and responded with all His power. He says to those who call to Him continually He will respond. One voice can be empowered by Spirit to make a monumental difference.
God will surely give justice to his chosen people
who cry out to him day and night?
...He will grant justice to them quickly! (Luke 18:7-8, NLT)
The Citizen Marketers is so prophetic as the Scriptures have pointed to this. That some day one voice will have great power and things will happen quickly because of the voice. Then when we add one, two, or three to that, the power increases monumentally. (Matt: 18:19)
We have power to learn from each other. This power, to quickly find what others have learned and connecting it, creates a super-intelligence platform. This combined mind invites the very Presence of God's Mind into the whole works. In Love and Unity is what God, Spirit, the person of Jesus, is all about. We are one creation, of many parts.(see 1 Corinthians 12:12)
God is the integrated total voice of all Creation...harmonizing as one voice. We are like an orchestra, all different, varied, unusual instruments of different sounds, but making a beautiful melody when played in harmony.
David prophetically says, “ few honestly seek real understanding from God.” (Psalm 53:2) God through Spirit wants to speak to each person on earth. Then each of us will hear God and have a portion of God’s Voice. We then speak it to each other to get His Complete Voice. His Voice is One. When we are One, we hear All of What God is saying.
Spirit, God, created a civilization… man as a group, not just individuals. As groups, as One heart, spirit, we then hear God’s voice with every individual voice counting as more important as ever.
With today’s technology, everyone has opportunity to be heard AND share what Spirit is sharing with them. All voices can be heard. We can hear after that more clearly who God is. He speaks not just through individual spoke-persons anymore, but the combination of many as One, all voices.
For this to work, each person must be responsible to hear from God…Spirit personally teaches each person. Then the Divine Voice of Spirit combined to One is truly heard.
“For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all… so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.” (Ephesians 4: 4-7, 10, NLT)
Each person has a responsibility to seek true understanding of Spirit for this to work. “Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.” (Malachi 3: 18, NLT)
Give no rest and relentlessly pursue this voice. God will respond to the community of those with a unified request... of His Character, Spirit and Direction. When we pray, we hear God's voice. When we share God's voice with others and as One Voice, we create the magnitude, power, fortitude of His great strength, love and hope in us.
The Spirit is about power and doing incomprehensive things... beyond what human intelligence can conjure up. Listen to His voice, share His voice with others and see what happens.
Connect in Spirit with His Spirit and unite that Spirit with others. It's the power of the citizens of Heaven, using Heaven's Powers on earth. It is our right and gift as a Citizen of Heaven.
We will move into an era of the most sophisticated communication between humans ever seen on earth. Spirit will communicate between people in Mass. This Mass will hear the same voice and respond as One Unit. We see evidence of this happening. God is sovereignly teaching everyone. He will teach us all. And as One we will see, hear, perceive the same things... from the same direct feed of Spirit.
This will be so sophisticated it will surpass the capabilities we now see in the power of cell phones, emails, blogs, podcasts.
This is Spiritual communication systems of a Spiritual property. A new dimension beyond intellectual property. In just thinking of someone we can communicate to them in Spirit overriding all other forms of available communication. Those connected in Spirit with God will be able to do this.
Spirit communication is available for those choosing to tap it. It will take the unity of one voice... "where two or three agree it will be done." It will take on a power that will change minds, actions, decisions, and circumstances when negotiating and other communications will be ineffective.
Seek this Higher communication systems.
Express your voice in faith.
It will connect, in Spirit, with others.
Then you will truly climb to the top of mountains before you.
Friday, January 05, 2007
The Origins of Purpose
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
"Rethinking how we approach business, PURPOSE: The Starting Point of Great Companies by Nikos Mourkogiannis demonstrates how a visionary sense of Purpose can be used to inspire and lead an organization to greatness."
(www.purposethebook.com/aboutthebook)
"There is a fundamental human need for guiding ideals that give meaning to our actions." A passionate purpose drives a business, personal venture, although it takes a diligent, introspective, patience in seeing purpose complete its revelation to you. A person's "true fame comes from goodness and high purpose. True fame is immortality." (Pericles)
To make your life worthwhile Nikos says "I would need to find a purpose worth living for. This is crucial to all truly successful enterprises. Purpose is the game of champions. Only the strong-minded men and women are suited for it."
Purpose is bigger than ambition and greed, greater than tactics, than strategy. It is the steps to optimal results. It is the source of great achievement, most noble causes, being a genuine contribution to the world around you. Purpose fuels everything. It’s what we want to talk about the most.
When living in purpose, "we are simply a messenger" of Divine Matter. Achievement comes with a humility because we know its origins are from greater powers, so we respect it. As Bach wrote after writing his great compositions, "To God alone be the Glory."
So in competition we must ask "what are we competing for?"
We look beyond what we do to "why we're doing it?"
Nikos is setting a stage for the next generation of business operatives. The senior executives will look deeper and broader to see more than just profits, the young executives will seek to build their enterprises around meaning of existence. "Do the Right Thing well... and doing what is worthwhile."
In Nikos' analysis, purpose revolves around four arenas… Purpose is the pursuit of Discovery (the new), Excellence (the intrinsically beautiful), Altruism (the helpful) and Heroism (the effective).
Leaders do not invent purpose. They discover it. It takes time to allow the purity of purpose to rise above the other substances that may create a shell around it. Most problems are only disguises hiding the true root of a cause. Look past the problem to a cause wanting to show itself.
The enterprise leader has reasons beyond "the business" for running the business a certain way. He communicates the reason, his people accept it, believe it, and follow it. To play a powerful role it must have a moral dimension. It adapts a valued result for human activity.
The four arenas of purpose reflected in great companies:
1. Discovery-- being a leader in re-inventing something important to those involved. Bringing in the new. (a Sony, IBM)
2. Excellence-- being part of a higher good that is recognized by and benefits the community. (a Warren Buffet in investment excellence, Apple’s great products)
3. Altruism-- helping others in a way that increases happiness. (a Walton to create low prices for everyone)
4. Heroism-- an achievement which embellishes incredible improvements in the world. (a Ford, Gates in advancing transportation, technology)
Nikos has these steps to finding purpose from these four.
1. Review your strategy (in which of the purpose arenas does it fit…discovery, excellence, altruism, heroism).
2. Draw out the implications on the purpose and community of purpose.
3 "Know thyself"... understanding your morale ideals and test your purpose against these.
4. Understand your company's traditions.
5. Take a purpose inventory of the top team (each person lives a moral creed).
6. Take a moral inventory of the community.
7. Identify a purpose.
8. Create metrics and models.
9. Test strategy and the purpose.
10. Launch a campaign to make the purpose work.
In Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies, Nikos Mourkogiannisshares comprehensive studies of the four purpose arenas and companies that represent each. He features highlights on morale, innovation and leadership and how purpose creates an enduring eye wall within them.
Nikos has a personal story which gives him life-qualifications for his studies. This study is his personal passion and it shows. He is thorough while explaining it in an understandable way, a somewhat mystifying subject.
Nikos’ website has more about the book and a profiler quiz online (a quick way to find your purpose arena).
http://www.purposethebook.com/
Purpose is Spirit. In Purpose is Spirit.
Spirit expresses Itself through Purpose.
This is the most powerful force in the universe. This force formed the universe. It flooded the earth totally. It healed people who touched it in Jesus' day. It gave inner joy to Peter the Apostle while he was chained up in a dark, rat infested, cold dungeon. Spirit embedded in purpose lives in you.
Jeremiah was purpose born. He managed to live through mud-filled cisterns with no food for days... but with a message that changed nations.
"I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb.
Before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations."
(Jeremiah 1:5, NLT)
David lived in caves for months because He knew of His purpose. He danced before the Lord when he marched to His "purposed" throne.
“You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.”
(Psalm 139:15-16, NLT)
Isaiah who announced the coming Messiah and a new world in Spirit was purpose disposed.
“Listen to me, all you in distant lands!
Pay attention, you who are far away!
The LORD called me before my birth;
from within the womb he called me by name. He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword.
He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand.
I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.
He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel,
and you will bring me glory."
I replied, "But my work seems so useless!
I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.
Yet I leave it all in the LORD's hand;
I will trust God for my reward."
(Isaiah 49:1-4, NLT)
Purpose may walk a dark road at times, but the promise of its reward is there to those who walk in it. The diligent will experience their purpose if they walk in it and live it.
How to find purpose?
First and foremost, its origin is in Spirit, so you must live in Spirit to find it, know it, live it.
Guide posts to find your purpose.
1. What, with your talents, experience and abilities are you the best at, you do very well almost effortlessly?
2. What are you passionate about? So much so that you drive through all kinds of circumstances to get there. You are relentless in pursuing it. Even after grave disappointments, you come back to it again.
3. What gives you a strong sense of satisfaction that even without reward or recognition, you feel very good about what you are doing? This is a personal, almost secret fulfillment that surrounds living a strong sense of purpose.
Purpose is profound. It can be found by reflection, introspection, observation.
What gifts do you naturally possess? What things come easy for you and you see others compliment you about them... almost to your surprise?
What gives you a sense of fulfillment when you do it, so much that your "heart smiles" and you care little about whether you're rewarded or receive recognition for it.
When you are engaged in a certain activity, it seems your energy is endless and you spend hours and hours never growing tired while in it.
Therein may be your purpose. When these meet, you have a hint, a direction, an idea of what your purpose is.
John Mark, the Apostle, signatured the process of purpose, and the key ingredients that are part of its process. When setting out to do anything called of God, you first
1. Must stay very close to Him and be very intimate in your interactions with Him. It is about knowing Him very well, so you hear His voice without question. To live as close to Him with the same intimacy as in a marriage.
2. Then trust as a child. Have the unwavering faith of knowing it will be done and you can trust God for it. He is your Heavenly Father who does all things for you... Overcomes all insurmountable barriers for us.
3. Give it all you got. Totally put everything you got into it in all areas of your life. God is your provision and you should not trust money, position, skills or any other thing. Give it all for Him as He gives all of Himself for you. When we are in Him, we walk in "Exceptional" Strength and Power.
4. Be aware though that some may desert you. Some who you thought were close to you will leave you and forsake, abandon you.
5. Some will try to harm you for no apparent reason. We share in Christ, as like Him we may at times be persecuted without cause.
6. Have a servant's heart in all you do. Jesus came to serve and be a ransom for us. Be a servant to others. As he asked the blind man, "What do you want me to do for you?"
7. Then you will heal too. His Healing Power will be continually coming through you.
(See Mark 10, New Testament)
John the Baptist had a unique purpose to announce the arrival of the Kingdom of God. Jesus had a unique purpose to prepare the way so many may be part of the Kingdom of God. Paul, Peter, John, The Apostles helped put it into motion.... all with unique assignments, unique character.
ALL are born with a purpose. You are included. You have a Heavenly Purpose, stamped, sealed, tattooed on you. It is directly appointed to you by the very Spirit of God. It's the unique you, like no one else.
It's His Special creation only in you. Purpose begins before we are physically born, continues through earthly life and continues in a Heavenly Kingdom. It is always with you...from before to forever. We are part of a Divine never ending story.
Everyone is important and inside of you dwells this profound powerful driving force... the invincible destiny of purpose. In Divine Purpose, God's Spirit goes with you and the spotlight of His Spirit shines on you. Many see it, we are jubilant in it, and are drawn to the bright light your purpose spreads around you. It's the Light of God's love in you brightening the day of everyone privileged to be in your presence that day.
This is what God, Spirit, the universe has assigned to you to be fulfilled through you in your life. The world stands in line to meet you here, at this intersection of your purpose. It will inspire all those who meet you here.
Find your purpose, live in your purpose and you will create a contagion around you... for who you are, what you believe in, and hope for others to live out their purpose too. Be the unique purpose you are DNA'd for... by The Spirit of God Himself.
There you will shine and exude in-depth Happiness.
The Spirit says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you."
(Psalm 32:8, NLT)
4spirit@gmail.com
"Rethinking how we approach business, PURPOSE: The Starting Point of Great Companies by Nikos Mourkogiannis demonstrates how a visionary sense of Purpose can be used to inspire and lead an organization to greatness."
(www.purposethebook.com/aboutthebook)
"There is a fundamental human need for guiding ideals that give meaning to our actions." A passionate purpose drives a business, personal venture, although it takes a diligent, introspective, patience in seeing purpose complete its revelation to you. A person's "true fame comes from goodness and high purpose. True fame is immortality." (Pericles)
To make your life worthwhile Nikos says "I would need to find a purpose worth living for. This is crucial to all truly successful enterprises. Purpose is the game of champions. Only the strong-minded men and women are suited for it."
Purpose is bigger than ambition and greed, greater than tactics, than strategy. It is the steps to optimal results. It is the source of great achievement, most noble causes, being a genuine contribution to the world around you. Purpose fuels everything. It’s what we want to talk about the most.
When living in purpose, "we are simply a messenger" of Divine Matter. Achievement comes with a humility because we know its origins are from greater powers, so we respect it. As Bach wrote after writing his great compositions, "To God alone be the Glory."
So in competition we must ask "what are we competing for?"
We look beyond what we do to "why we're doing it?"
Nikos is setting a stage for the next generation of business operatives. The senior executives will look deeper and broader to see more than just profits, the young executives will seek to build their enterprises around meaning of existence. "Do the Right Thing well... and doing what is worthwhile."
In Nikos' analysis, purpose revolves around four arenas… Purpose is the pursuit of Discovery (the new), Excellence (the intrinsically beautiful), Altruism (the helpful) and Heroism (the effective).
Leaders do not invent purpose. They discover it. It takes time to allow the purity of purpose to rise above the other substances that may create a shell around it. Most problems are only disguises hiding the true root of a cause. Look past the problem to a cause wanting to show itself.
The enterprise leader has reasons beyond "the business" for running the business a certain way. He communicates the reason, his people accept it, believe it, and follow it. To play a powerful role it must have a moral dimension. It adapts a valued result for human activity.
The four arenas of purpose reflected in great companies:
1. Discovery-- being a leader in re-inventing something important to those involved. Bringing in the new. (a Sony, IBM)
2. Excellence-- being part of a higher good that is recognized by and benefits the community. (a Warren Buffet in investment excellence, Apple’s great products)
3. Altruism-- helping others in a way that increases happiness. (a Walton to create low prices for everyone)
4. Heroism-- an achievement which embellishes incredible improvements in the world. (a Ford, Gates in advancing transportation, technology)
Nikos has these steps to finding purpose from these four.
1. Review your strategy (in which of the purpose arenas does it fit…discovery, excellence, altruism, heroism).
2. Draw out the implications on the purpose and community of purpose.
3 "Know thyself"... understanding your morale ideals and test your purpose against these.
4. Understand your company's traditions.
5. Take a purpose inventory of the top team (each person lives a moral creed).
6. Take a moral inventory of the community.
7. Identify a purpose.
8. Create metrics and models.
9. Test strategy and the purpose.
10. Launch a campaign to make the purpose work.
In Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies, Nikos Mourkogiannisshares comprehensive studies of the four purpose arenas and companies that represent each. He features highlights on morale, innovation and leadership and how purpose creates an enduring eye wall within them.
Nikos has a personal story which gives him life-qualifications for his studies. This study is his personal passion and it shows. He is thorough while explaining it in an understandable way, a somewhat mystifying subject.
Nikos’ website has more about the book and a profiler quiz online (a quick way to find your purpose arena).
http://www.purposethebook.com/
Purpose is Spirit. In Purpose is Spirit.
Spirit expresses Itself through Purpose.
This is the most powerful force in the universe. This force formed the universe. It flooded the earth totally. It healed people who touched it in Jesus' day. It gave inner joy to Peter the Apostle while he was chained up in a dark, rat infested, cold dungeon. Spirit embedded in purpose lives in you.
Jeremiah was purpose born. He managed to live through mud-filled cisterns with no food for days... but with a message that changed nations.
"I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb.
Before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations."
(Jeremiah 1:5, NLT)
David lived in caves for months because He knew of His purpose. He danced before the Lord when he marched to His "purposed" throne.
“You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.”
(Psalm 139:15-16, NLT)
Isaiah who announced the coming Messiah and a new world in Spirit was purpose disposed.
“Listen to me, all you in distant lands!
Pay attention, you who are far away!
The LORD called me before my birth;
from within the womb he called me by name. He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword.
He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand.
I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.
He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel,
and you will bring me glory."
I replied, "But my work seems so useless!
I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.
Yet I leave it all in the LORD's hand;
I will trust God for my reward."
(Isaiah 49:1-4, NLT)
Purpose may walk a dark road at times, but the promise of its reward is there to those who walk in it. The diligent will experience their purpose if they walk in it and live it.
How to find purpose?
First and foremost, its origin is in Spirit, so you must live in Spirit to find it, know it, live it.
Guide posts to find your purpose.
1. What, with your talents, experience and abilities are you the best at, you do very well almost effortlessly?
2. What are you passionate about? So much so that you drive through all kinds of circumstances to get there. You are relentless in pursuing it. Even after grave disappointments, you come back to it again.
3. What gives you a strong sense of satisfaction that even without reward or recognition, you feel very good about what you are doing? This is a personal, almost secret fulfillment that surrounds living a strong sense of purpose.
Purpose is profound. It can be found by reflection, introspection, observation.
What gifts do you naturally possess? What things come easy for you and you see others compliment you about them... almost to your surprise?
What gives you a sense of fulfillment when you do it, so much that your "heart smiles" and you care little about whether you're rewarded or receive recognition for it.
When you are engaged in a certain activity, it seems your energy is endless and you spend hours and hours never growing tired while in it.
Therein may be your purpose. When these meet, you have a hint, a direction, an idea of what your purpose is.
John Mark, the Apostle, signatured the process of purpose, and the key ingredients that are part of its process. When setting out to do anything called of God, you first
1. Must stay very close to Him and be very intimate in your interactions with Him. It is about knowing Him very well, so you hear His voice without question. To live as close to Him with the same intimacy as in a marriage.
2. Then trust as a child. Have the unwavering faith of knowing it will be done and you can trust God for it. He is your Heavenly Father who does all things for you... Overcomes all insurmountable barriers for us.
3. Give it all you got. Totally put everything you got into it in all areas of your life. God is your provision and you should not trust money, position, skills or any other thing. Give it all for Him as He gives all of Himself for you. When we are in Him, we walk in "Exceptional" Strength and Power.
4. Be aware though that some may desert you. Some who you thought were close to you will leave you and forsake, abandon you.
5. Some will try to harm you for no apparent reason. We share in Christ, as like Him we may at times be persecuted without cause.
6. Have a servant's heart in all you do. Jesus came to serve and be a ransom for us. Be a servant to others. As he asked the blind man, "What do you want me to do for you?"
7. Then you will heal too. His Healing Power will be continually coming through you.
(See Mark 10, New Testament)
John the Baptist had a unique purpose to announce the arrival of the Kingdom of God. Jesus had a unique purpose to prepare the way so many may be part of the Kingdom of God. Paul, Peter, John, The Apostles helped put it into motion.... all with unique assignments, unique character.
ALL are born with a purpose. You are included. You have a Heavenly Purpose, stamped, sealed, tattooed on you. It is directly appointed to you by the very Spirit of God. It's the unique you, like no one else.
It's His Special creation only in you. Purpose begins before we are physically born, continues through earthly life and continues in a Heavenly Kingdom. It is always with you...from before to forever. We are part of a Divine never ending story.
Everyone is important and inside of you dwells this profound powerful driving force... the invincible destiny of purpose. In Divine Purpose, God's Spirit goes with you and the spotlight of His Spirit shines on you. Many see it, we are jubilant in it, and are drawn to the bright light your purpose spreads around you. It's the Light of God's love in you brightening the day of everyone privileged to be in your presence that day.
This is what God, Spirit, the universe has assigned to you to be fulfilled through you in your life. The world stands in line to meet you here, at this intersection of your purpose. It will inspire all those who meet you here.
Find your purpose, live in your purpose and you will create a contagion around you... for who you are, what you believe in, and hope for others to live out their purpose too. Be the unique purpose you are DNA'd for... by The Spirit of God Himself.
There you will shine and exude in-depth Happiness.
The Spirit says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you."
(Psalm 32:8, NLT)
Friday, December 15, 2006
Power in an Hour
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
The hit-home theme in The Power of an Hour is focus.
Author Dave Lakhani coins the concept "fearsome focus."
He shows how to be focused, productive and exceptionally effective in business and life.
As a trained kick boxer and SWAT Law enforcement officer, he learned how to execute high levels of concentration in very critical short episodes of time. When applied to our lives you can gain precise powerful focus. An hour is the best period of time to stay at one's peak in mental concentration and getting and staying in a great work flow. The rule is to organize the day in one-hour focused blocks of time. Here's his structures for doing it.
First you must discover where you need to change.
Clearly identify what you want to change.
Apply both critical and creative thinking structures for finding new solutions.
Identify the next steps and schedule change.
Take action.
Finally, you evaluate, measure and reward your success.
The process is much more powerful than appears. The power comes from following the processes precisely. The greatness of it is that it can easily be molded into our behavior to make it a functional style of work. Some see this as too simplistic. Although, if and when you do it, it works.
After you have identified what you want to change,
Lakhani gets you into the process for focus. This is his signature theme...fearsome focus.
The first four steps set the stage. This precedes the "delving into" part that gives you a fearless head start mentally.
1. Clearly define on what you'll focus your effort on.
2. Define, simple and clearly, the action steps necessary to accomplish the project.
3. Surround yourself with the tools, all the tools, materials, resources you will need while on the project. (This is so important as when you don't have them and break from your focus, you lose great amounts of mental momentum. This can break flow, which creates productivity power and helps you produce at extremely high quality levels.)
4. Do not allow distractions to divert your attention. (The 45/15 rule helps with this. Explained later.)
5. Launch into the project. When you have your plan for the project (#2) before you, you just start. You then move from step to step, dismiss distractions, and get right back to your focus.
6. Evaluate your progress by checking action steps, and instantly reengaging.
7. If you are confronted with interruptions, mental distractions, just acknowledge them. Do what you need to do to dismiss it and instantly reengage. "Instant" re-engagement is also critically important. With your plan at hand, you can do it... instantly.
8. Continue all action steps until completed.
9. Acknowledge completion and relax.
His 45/15 rule applies to all his processes, except critical thinking(where you stay engaged the full hour). Lakhani advocates working for 45 minutes on the project and then taking 15 minutes to send the email, return the phone call, get a drink, go to the restroom. He feels 45 minutes is a good momentum time, but after 45 minutes higher levels of quality effort begin to wane. So break, do a few other things, take care of the distractions...phone, email, or anything mental that is bugging you, or something you can handle quickly. This frees your mind for full engagement as you move into the next hour.
Now with your plan at hand, reengage again on the next project or the next part of the project you were on. Again, with your tools at hand, your next 45 minutes defined on what you plan to accomplish, you start.
Some ask about writer's block. He says with his method he doesn't get writer's block because you have prepared the brain to reengage. When you condition it to start... it starts. It gets used to just starting.
Tips for focus success:
--Schedule specific times that you focus. Try to make them the same everyday or week. Focus responds very much the same way to predictable times.
--Create an environment that supports your focus, and focus in that environment consistently.
--Expand your ability to concentrate. (This skill is learned by working through his book-- one hour at a time.)
"What specifically do I what to focus on?"
--Evaluate the areas of my company that I most want to improve and develop a complete plan with action steps to improve.
--Evaluate the information collected from previous questions and work through the answers to fully understand why I am undertaking this action.
--List the specific steps that are necessary to achieve the desired results.
--Add deadlines to each step.
--Note who will be involved in or responsible for each step if others are involved.
--Allocate and schedule the time for this action plan and associated steps to be implemented.
--How will you define success so you know that you've been successful?
--What is the one action step you can take this very moment that will initiate this action plan?
Then in the rest of the book he continues to lay the ground work for critical thinking, creative thinking, setting the stage, identify blocks, destroying blocks. He has a chapter for each of these.
He features personal areas: relationships, finances, self-improvement, mental vacation, life visioning, overcoming fear and reinvent yourself. Plus he has nine business hour chapters: business focus, time management, management, sales and marketing, customer experience, making connections, mentoring, giving back, the final hour and calling it a day.
All these areas can be assigned priorities for change. He leads you through making it an hour of power.
I have found in reading books, an hour of reading time at a sitting is the most productive, focused, mentally attaining hour I can have. It is better to split a more ambitious read in three separate hours during the day...morning, midday and late day. I can read most books in three or four days. The more you do it, the more your concentration increases to pull important information off the page. It's like anything...the more you do it, the faster and better you get at it. I overview a book, create a plan for reading and then stick to the plan. It works for me.
Dave Lakhani’s website is:
http://www.powerofanhour.com/
Life coach, Lora Newman, elaborates on how the law of attraction works the same way to bring into our lives what we focus on. It has strategic effect on us at work and at all times.
“Where you focus will expand. If you think about your woes and worry about things that have not happened, you are putting energy into those things and likely to bring them about. The trick is to focus on and have faith about the things you do want. This breathes life into them and increases the probability of them happening. You find what you look for.” www.loranewman.com
www.lifeuniversitycoach.com
Then there's the power hour to add to the list.
It's the power hour that Jesus used. It's the power that can come to you in Spirit. The power that over comes temptations, life's most cruel events. It leads you from death to live in everything. It gives you the power to live Super-naturally. A power that goes out to elicit every force available in the universe that will come jettisoning to your aid.
Jesus said, “Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. He said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Couldn't you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak." (Mark 14: 37, 38, NLT)
Jesus asks... can't you pray just one hour.
Why is this so significant?
After His intense, highly focused hour in prayer Jesus was able to:
--overcome a beating that should have killed him... the most barbarous beating a person could face;
--carry a splintered, piece of wood on a back of raw torn flesh;
--then keeping enough composure in the most excruciating pain a person can't even imagine, asking God to forgive those who are doing this to Him.
This is just not possible in human means.
And it is not possible in a human context.
This is what the power hour can do. Jesus had the most incredulous experience ever.
What He faced and went through was unimaginably horrendous.
He even died... but more than that, remarkably... He didn't stay there.
The Spirit of God itself re-entered His body and He appeared in just three days to those who knew Him.
What's this all about?
It's about the Power Hour. Just one hour.
The same Spirit that Jesus had can enter you in the Power Hour.
The Spirit will come to you to strengthen you, and move you into a Super-natural life. This Spirit draws to you every conceivable and inconceivable force that exists and can come to you. All the forces that are available in the endless structures of the universe… come running to you.
This one hour, put in your routine of the day can mobilize the strength you need, deter distractions that may rob from you, and give you unfathomable results. This is the Power Hour in Spirit.
It is a focus on God's Great Spirit that brings you all you can imagine, plus more… more than you can even dream up. Add the Power Hour in Spirit. Tap into what Jesus tapped in to.
And no matter what you face, the seemingly unattainable achievements that loom just ahead of you, you can Super-naturally rise from the face of death to Super abundance in life. This Spirit brings love, happiness, contentment. Your day will walk in the Super-natural systems from above that control what is here on earth.
Take time for your power hour focus in Spirit
and see Jesus Spirit, death defying power
work in you!
4spirit@gmail.com
The hit-home theme in The Power of an Hour is focus.
Author Dave Lakhani coins the concept "fearsome focus."
He shows how to be focused, productive and exceptionally effective in business and life.
As a trained kick boxer and SWAT Law enforcement officer, he learned how to execute high levels of concentration in very critical short episodes of time. When applied to our lives you can gain precise powerful focus. An hour is the best period of time to stay at one's peak in mental concentration and getting and staying in a great work flow. The rule is to organize the day in one-hour focused blocks of time. Here's his structures for doing it.
First you must discover where you need to change.
Clearly identify what you want to change.
Apply both critical and creative thinking structures for finding new solutions.
Identify the next steps and schedule change.
Take action.
Finally, you evaluate, measure and reward your success.
The process is much more powerful than appears. The power comes from following the processes precisely. The greatness of it is that it can easily be molded into our behavior to make it a functional style of work. Some see this as too simplistic. Although, if and when you do it, it works.
After you have identified what you want to change,
Lakhani gets you into the process for focus. This is his signature theme...fearsome focus.
The first four steps set the stage. This precedes the "delving into" part that gives you a fearless head start mentally.
1. Clearly define on what you'll focus your effort on.
2. Define, simple and clearly, the action steps necessary to accomplish the project.
3. Surround yourself with the tools, all the tools, materials, resources you will need while on the project. (This is so important as when you don't have them and break from your focus, you lose great amounts of mental momentum. This can break flow, which creates productivity power and helps you produce at extremely high quality levels.)
4. Do not allow distractions to divert your attention. (The 45/15 rule helps with this. Explained later.)
5. Launch into the project. When you have your plan for the project (#2) before you, you just start. You then move from step to step, dismiss distractions, and get right back to your focus.
6. Evaluate your progress by checking action steps, and instantly reengaging.
7. If you are confronted with interruptions, mental distractions, just acknowledge them. Do what you need to do to dismiss it and instantly reengage. "Instant" re-engagement is also critically important. With your plan at hand, you can do it... instantly.
8. Continue all action steps until completed.
9. Acknowledge completion and relax.
His 45/15 rule applies to all his processes, except critical thinking(where you stay engaged the full hour). Lakhani advocates working for 45 minutes on the project and then taking 15 minutes to send the email, return the phone call, get a drink, go to the restroom. He feels 45 minutes is a good momentum time, but after 45 minutes higher levels of quality effort begin to wane. So break, do a few other things, take care of the distractions...phone, email, or anything mental that is bugging you, or something you can handle quickly. This frees your mind for full engagement as you move into the next hour.
Now with your plan at hand, reengage again on the next project or the next part of the project you were on. Again, with your tools at hand, your next 45 minutes defined on what you plan to accomplish, you start.
Some ask about writer's block. He says with his method he doesn't get writer's block because you have prepared the brain to reengage. When you condition it to start... it starts. It gets used to just starting.
Tips for focus success:
--Schedule specific times that you focus. Try to make them the same everyday or week. Focus responds very much the same way to predictable times.
--Create an environment that supports your focus, and focus in that environment consistently.
--Expand your ability to concentrate. (This skill is learned by working through his book-- one hour at a time.)
"What specifically do I what to focus on?"
--Evaluate the areas of my company that I most want to improve and develop a complete plan with action steps to improve.
--Evaluate the information collected from previous questions and work through the answers to fully understand why I am undertaking this action.
--List the specific steps that are necessary to achieve the desired results.
--Add deadlines to each step.
--Note who will be involved in or responsible for each step if others are involved.
--Allocate and schedule the time for this action plan and associated steps to be implemented.
--How will you define success so you know that you've been successful?
--What is the one action step you can take this very moment that will initiate this action plan?
Then in the rest of the book he continues to lay the ground work for critical thinking, creative thinking, setting the stage, identify blocks, destroying blocks. He has a chapter for each of these.
He features personal areas: relationships, finances, self-improvement, mental vacation, life visioning, overcoming fear and reinvent yourself. Plus he has nine business hour chapters: business focus, time management, management, sales and marketing, customer experience, making connections, mentoring, giving back, the final hour and calling it a day.
All these areas can be assigned priorities for change. He leads you through making it an hour of power.
I have found in reading books, an hour of reading time at a sitting is the most productive, focused, mentally attaining hour I can have. It is better to split a more ambitious read in three separate hours during the day...morning, midday and late day. I can read most books in three or four days. The more you do it, the more your concentration increases to pull important information off the page. It's like anything...the more you do it, the faster and better you get at it. I overview a book, create a plan for reading and then stick to the plan. It works for me.
Dave Lakhani’s website is:
http://www.powerofanhour.com/
Life coach, Lora Newman, elaborates on how the law of attraction works the same way to bring into our lives what we focus on. It has strategic effect on us at work and at all times.
“Where you focus will expand. If you think about your woes and worry about things that have not happened, you are putting energy into those things and likely to bring them about. The trick is to focus on and have faith about the things you do want. This breathes life into them and increases the probability of them happening. You find what you look for.” www.loranewman.com
www.lifeuniversitycoach.com
Then there's the power hour to add to the list.
It's the power hour that Jesus used. It's the power that can come to you in Spirit. The power that over comes temptations, life's most cruel events. It leads you from death to live in everything. It gives you the power to live Super-naturally. A power that goes out to elicit every force available in the universe that will come jettisoning to your aid.
Jesus said, “Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. He said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Couldn't you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak." (Mark 14: 37, 38, NLT)
Jesus asks... can't you pray just one hour.
Why is this so significant?
After His intense, highly focused hour in prayer Jesus was able to:
--overcome a beating that should have killed him... the most barbarous beating a person could face;
--carry a splintered, piece of wood on a back of raw torn flesh;
--then keeping enough composure in the most excruciating pain a person can't even imagine, asking God to forgive those who are doing this to Him.
This is just not possible in human means.
And it is not possible in a human context.
This is what the power hour can do. Jesus had the most incredulous experience ever.
What He faced and went through was unimaginably horrendous.
He even died... but more than that, remarkably... He didn't stay there.
The Spirit of God itself re-entered His body and He appeared in just three days to those who knew Him.
What's this all about?
It's about the Power Hour. Just one hour.
The same Spirit that Jesus had can enter you in the Power Hour.
The Spirit will come to you to strengthen you, and move you into a Super-natural life. This Spirit draws to you every conceivable and inconceivable force that exists and can come to you. All the forces that are available in the endless structures of the universe… come running to you.
This one hour, put in your routine of the day can mobilize the strength you need, deter distractions that may rob from you, and give you unfathomable results. This is the Power Hour in Spirit.
It is a focus on God's Great Spirit that brings you all you can imagine, plus more… more than you can even dream up. Add the Power Hour in Spirit. Tap into what Jesus tapped in to.
And no matter what you face, the seemingly unattainable achievements that loom just ahead of you, you can Super-naturally rise from the face of death to Super abundance in life. This Spirit brings love, happiness, contentment. Your day will walk in the Super-natural systems from above that control what is here on earth.
Take time for your power hour focus in Spirit
and see Jesus Spirit, death defying power
work in you!
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Starbucks Experience about Knowing
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
www.spiritsavvy.net
The Starbucks Experience by Joseph Michelli...
5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary.
It is an idea that many thought would not catch on in America. Why buy European-style coffee costing $3 a cup, when you can get it faster and cheaper at your local convenience store. It has become a phenomenon of growth that is still sweeping America. Using the principles of "being" that establishes connection with the customer is the cog turning out more cups of coffee most could ever imagine.
Those who work for Starbucks are made to feel part of the company. They develop skills in people connection, respecting differences in people's tastes, and service beyond what they would normally be expected to do.They have gained loyalty with those who work for them by making them feel like they own the place. Everyone with at least 20 work hours a week gets health insurance and they can participate in the company's stock option program... which in other companies it is a special benefit only for the high level executives.
Everyone is trained in coffee fundamentals. They know coffee. According to Starbucks knowledge is power. When employees have the knowledge they make the company powerful in what it sets out to do. In light of this, the work force has grown from 100 in 1987 to 100,000 in 2006. The secret under the knowledge factor is the Green Apron Book. In this 100 page training manual, each employee masters the information and learns the art of "ways of being."
The ways of being are:
be welcoming
be genuine
be knowledgeable
be considerate
be involved
The 5 principles they brew throughout the company are:
1. Make it Your Own
2. Everything Matters
3. Surprise and Delight
4. Embrace Resistance
5. Leave your Mark
1. Make it your own. To do this they all embrace the Green Apron Book. They not only remember the names of the customer. They know them. They know about their families, their daily routine, their good and bad experiences, their loves and dislikes... The process taught is connect, discover, and respond. Do for the customer what matters to them based on what you know is important to them.
They also know their business. Starbucks teaches coffee. What it is; where they get it; why they roast it the way they do; what it is good for. The "partners" as Starbucks calls them, are taught coffee thoroughly. The anthem they sing to is "be knowledgeable, love what you do, and share it with others." This is all part of the connecting reciprocation that goes on every day with the partners and their "friends" who drink coffee.
2. Everything matters.They pay close attention to detail by design. Everything in the environment matters...napkins, open space, floors, how they do it, what is served...skim, whole, half and half, soy milk. The details matter. Everything matters. The culture is fun... that matters. Details on customer's lives… that matters. Recognition for small things well done… that matters. Be playful and being profitable all in one... that matters. Starbucks looks at it all and it all matters.
3. Surprise and delight. Whoops! Showed up an hour before the Starbucks is scheduled to open. "Shucks, no coffee now." But wait. A partner opening that day sees you at the door, runs to the door, opens it and asks, "Want some coffee?" When you don't expect it, they want to surprise you. Give you a card on your birthday, a free shot and say "have a happy birthday"... now how did they know that.
The partners, in getting to know you, look for the little things to do that absolutely delight you. Just came back from a big exam, "hey how about some tranquil tea today to calm you down." Now was I acting a little stressed today?
The partners are trained to observe behavior and respond accordingly that will surprise you. Be attentive, see how you can help and anticipate surprises the customer will enjoy is a theme line. Be spontaneous and a delight for the customer. When there is a need...BAM... the partners see it and immediately fill it.
4. Embrace Resistance Motto: "Never try to beat them; Always try to join them."
Regardless of a customer's attitude, consider if a complaint is valid. If it is, respond in a resolving way. If a customer is unreasonable, try to be as reasonable as you can, and realize there is more to the complaint than maybe the complaint itself. Help them through it.
Complaints may be your best friend because they may let you know when you are slacking. These experiences can make you better, when responding to make things better from them, and they will bring you back more customers when the ways you handled it so courteously gets around. Make friends with potential enemies and make them your ally. Correct mistakes quickly.
5. Leave your mark. Starbucks has a social conscience. They are involved in the community, and encourage their partners to be too. "Corporate social responsibility should not be a fad, but in way global business is done. "
More on the author Joseph Michelli: www.josephmichelli.com
When you read Paul the Apostle,
it looks like Starbucks took some things out of Paul's play book:
“Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” (Romans 12: 15-18 NLT)
Relating to people is being happy when they are happy, consoling when they are sad and doing all things to live in harmony with them. The foundations for building great relationships come out of these principles. The issue is about knowing people, listening to them and responding to their likes and dislikes.
Quite simple actually, but it seems we get so much in the way in doing this. When in Spirit, dealing with people is easy. When we stay in love, the love of God with us, we respond lovingly to all things. The key area is "knowing."
Everybody wants to be known for who they are,
be known about,
and have someone care about what they know.
Jesus made a very stern comment on God's feelings about "knowing."
"Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, 'Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!' "But he called back, 'Believe me, I don't know you!' (Matt. 25: 11, 12, NLT)
"You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it...."
"On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's laws.' (Matt. 7: 13, 14, 22, 23 NLT)
Knowing is important in relationship and God is saying that if you don't have a relationship knowing Him for who He is, that He then doesn't know you. He knows us for who we are but "knowing" here is more than that.
Knowing is about having a close, intimate, interactive relationship.
Knowing God and God knowing you is an interactive intimacy. He is saying that if you are intimate with Me, I am intimate with you. He comes to us, but then we must come close to him. Those who seek Him with all their hearts will find Him the Scriptures say. Our Heavenly Father knows all our concerns (Matt 6:32).
All He asks is we enter in His Presence with Him. To really Know Him, just like people want us to know them for who they are. He wants us to know Him for who He is. He asks us to talk to Him and listen to His Divine thoughts of unlimited wisdom. He will share them with us if we just take time to get to know Him too.
The reasons people want us to know them are the same reasons God wants us to know Him. He is a personal person and wants to be known personally too.
Jesus did what the Father told Him to do. So Jesus explained, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. (John5:19, NLT)
Jesus’ desire was to know the Father and do exactly what He said. Again, we see the picture of intimate relationship… a knowing and understanding of each other, an appreciation for each other.
He wants to show us too and He wants us to see what He is up to. We can see this when we go into His inner presence and intimately interact with Him. It happens, WHEN you spend time there.
This Spirit brings the very Spirit of God close into our working, everyday activity of our lives. This is the Spirit Jesus had in all He did. Read all of John 5 and you see how He lived in the Father, and the Father lived in Him and He only lived to please the Father.
" I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me."
" Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life."
Being loving, kind, compassionate, forgiving, understanding are part of Spirit virtues
and since it IS Spirit, when we allow Spirit in us,
we Are that too.
When we know Jesus,
live in Him, He is us, we know Him and He receives us into the kingdom.
He will say... I know you.
But we must live interactively, intimately, listening to Him and following His directions only.
What is most important is what God thinks of you. Although when dealing with men, when you live in Spirit the Character of Spirit is a very sweet aroma to every one you meet. Everyone wants that. And in Spirit, you also "know" people, are naturally caring and will do things that surprise them. ( Because you "Know" them and know how to respond to them.)
Spirit in Jesus is the higher road and the path that leads to a knowing beyond our naturally abilities as is what Jesus is saying in John 5.
God already knows you. He wants you to Know Him, to be intimate with Him, in intimate communication with Him and allow your Spirit to have intimate intercourse in Him, in Spirit.
When we know each other, we express the Spirit of God. This is also a profound mystery. But taking time to know each other, living caring, and believing in each other, within that the Power of Spirit is manifested.
When we love, care for and live in harmony, the Spirit of God goes to work on behalf of all involved.
Live in Spirit. Take time to Know God. And express His love to everyone you meet, and the Greatness of God will be around you in a most surprising way.
4spirit@gmail.com
www.spiritsavvy.net
The Starbucks Experience by Joseph Michelli...
5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary.
It is an idea that many thought would not catch on in America. Why buy European-style coffee costing $3 a cup, when you can get it faster and cheaper at your local convenience store. It has become a phenomenon of growth that is still sweeping America. Using the principles of "being" that establishes connection with the customer is the cog turning out more cups of coffee most could ever imagine.
Those who work for Starbucks are made to feel part of the company. They develop skills in people connection, respecting differences in people's tastes, and service beyond what they would normally be expected to do.They have gained loyalty with those who work for them by making them feel like they own the place. Everyone with at least 20 work hours a week gets health insurance and they can participate in the company's stock option program... which in other companies it is a special benefit only for the high level executives.
Everyone is trained in coffee fundamentals. They know coffee. According to Starbucks knowledge is power. When employees have the knowledge they make the company powerful in what it sets out to do. In light of this, the work force has grown from 100 in 1987 to 100,000 in 2006. The secret under the knowledge factor is the Green Apron Book. In this 100 page training manual, each employee masters the information and learns the art of "ways of being."
The ways of being are:
be welcoming
be genuine
be knowledgeable
be considerate
be involved
The 5 principles they brew throughout the company are:
1. Make it Your Own
2. Everything Matters
3. Surprise and Delight
4. Embrace Resistance
5. Leave your Mark
1. Make it your own. To do this they all embrace the Green Apron Book. They not only remember the names of the customer. They know them. They know about their families, their daily routine, their good and bad experiences, their loves and dislikes... The process taught is connect, discover, and respond. Do for the customer what matters to them based on what you know is important to them.
They also know their business. Starbucks teaches coffee. What it is; where they get it; why they roast it the way they do; what it is good for. The "partners" as Starbucks calls them, are taught coffee thoroughly. The anthem they sing to is "be knowledgeable, love what you do, and share it with others." This is all part of the connecting reciprocation that goes on every day with the partners and their "friends" who drink coffee.
2. Everything matters.They pay close attention to detail by design. Everything in the environment matters...napkins, open space, floors, how they do it, what is served...skim, whole, half and half, soy milk. The details matter. Everything matters. The culture is fun... that matters. Details on customer's lives… that matters. Recognition for small things well done… that matters. Be playful and being profitable all in one... that matters. Starbucks looks at it all and it all matters.
3. Surprise and delight. Whoops! Showed up an hour before the Starbucks is scheduled to open. "Shucks, no coffee now." But wait. A partner opening that day sees you at the door, runs to the door, opens it and asks, "Want some coffee?" When you don't expect it, they want to surprise you. Give you a card on your birthday, a free shot and say "have a happy birthday"... now how did they know that.
The partners, in getting to know you, look for the little things to do that absolutely delight you. Just came back from a big exam, "hey how about some tranquil tea today to calm you down." Now was I acting a little stressed today?
The partners are trained to observe behavior and respond accordingly that will surprise you. Be attentive, see how you can help and anticipate surprises the customer will enjoy is a theme line. Be spontaneous and a delight for the customer. When there is a need...BAM... the partners see it and immediately fill it.
4. Embrace Resistance Motto: "Never try to beat them; Always try to join them."
Regardless of a customer's attitude, consider if a complaint is valid. If it is, respond in a resolving way. If a customer is unreasonable, try to be as reasonable as you can, and realize there is more to the complaint than maybe the complaint itself. Help them through it.
Complaints may be your best friend because they may let you know when you are slacking. These experiences can make you better, when responding to make things better from them, and they will bring you back more customers when the ways you handled it so courteously gets around. Make friends with potential enemies and make them your ally. Correct mistakes quickly.
5. Leave your mark. Starbucks has a social conscience. They are involved in the community, and encourage their partners to be too. "Corporate social responsibility should not be a fad, but in way global business is done. "
More on the author Joseph Michelli: www.josephmichelli.com
When you read Paul the Apostle,
it looks like Starbucks took some things out of Paul's play book:
“Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” (Romans 12: 15-18 NLT)
Relating to people is being happy when they are happy, consoling when they are sad and doing all things to live in harmony with them. The foundations for building great relationships come out of these principles. The issue is about knowing people, listening to them and responding to their likes and dislikes.
Quite simple actually, but it seems we get so much in the way in doing this. When in Spirit, dealing with people is easy. When we stay in love, the love of God with us, we respond lovingly to all things. The key area is "knowing."
Everybody wants to be known for who they are,
be known about,
and have someone care about what they know.
Jesus made a very stern comment on God's feelings about "knowing."
"Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, 'Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!' "But he called back, 'Believe me, I don't know you!' (Matt. 25: 11, 12, NLT)
"You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it...."
"On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's laws.' (Matt. 7: 13, 14, 22, 23 NLT)
Knowing is important in relationship and God is saying that if you don't have a relationship knowing Him for who He is, that He then doesn't know you. He knows us for who we are but "knowing" here is more than that.
Knowing is about having a close, intimate, interactive relationship.
Knowing God and God knowing you is an interactive intimacy. He is saying that if you are intimate with Me, I am intimate with you. He comes to us, but then we must come close to him. Those who seek Him with all their hearts will find Him the Scriptures say. Our Heavenly Father knows all our concerns (Matt 6:32).
All He asks is we enter in His Presence with Him. To really Know Him, just like people want us to know them for who they are. He wants us to know Him for who He is. He asks us to talk to Him and listen to His Divine thoughts of unlimited wisdom. He will share them with us if we just take time to get to know Him too.
The reasons people want us to know them are the same reasons God wants us to know Him. He is a personal person and wants to be known personally too.
Jesus did what the Father told Him to do. So Jesus explained, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. (John5:19, NLT)
Jesus’ desire was to know the Father and do exactly what He said. Again, we see the picture of intimate relationship… a knowing and understanding of each other, an appreciation for each other.
He wants to show us too and He wants us to see what He is up to. We can see this when we go into His inner presence and intimately interact with Him. It happens, WHEN you spend time there.
This Spirit brings the very Spirit of God close into our working, everyday activity of our lives. This is the Spirit Jesus had in all He did. Read all of John 5 and you see how He lived in the Father, and the Father lived in Him and He only lived to please the Father.
" I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me."
" Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life."
Being loving, kind, compassionate, forgiving, understanding are part of Spirit virtues
and since it IS Spirit, when we allow Spirit in us,
we Are that too.
When we know Jesus,
live in Him, He is us, we know Him and He receives us into the kingdom.
He will say... I know you.
But we must live interactively, intimately, listening to Him and following His directions only.
What is most important is what God thinks of you. Although when dealing with men, when you live in Spirit the Character of Spirit is a very sweet aroma to every one you meet. Everyone wants that. And in Spirit, you also "know" people, are naturally caring and will do things that surprise them. ( Because you "Know" them and know how to respond to them.)
Spirit in Jesus is the higher road and the path that leads to a knowing beyond our naturally abilities as is what Jesus is saying in John 5.
God already knows you. He wants you to Know Him, to be intimate with Him, in intimate communication with Him and allow your Spirit to have intimate intercourse in Him, in Spirit.
When we know each other, we express the Spirit of God. This is also a profound mystery. But taking time to know each other, living caring, and believing in each other, within that the Power of Spirit is manifested.
When we love, care for and live in harmony, the Spirit of God goes to work on behalf of all involved.
Live in Spirit. Take time to Know God. And express His love to everyone you meet, and the Greatness of God will be around you in a most surprising way.
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