Categories
motivation

The Opportunity of Change

Winter scene with snow on branches

This weekend, I made my way out into the snow. The roads were slick. So I wore ice cleats. The wind was stiff, so I wore a jacket. Cars and SUV’s were out, so I had a bright orange cap. The winter weather didn’t bother me. In fact, I enjoyed the change of pace.

It would have been easy to chuck it all. It looked frigid outside. The coffee was already brewing and I smelled breakfast. But I knew I would enjoy it more after I went out for a run. The scenery was beautiful, after all. It reminded me of a quote from a book I am reading.

Above all, effective executives treat change as an opportunity rather than a threat.

Peter Drucker in The Effective Executive, Page xviii

I could have decided what was outside was a threat or an opportunity. I am glad I took the opportunity and I got some great views out of the venture. the trees and bushes were covered in snow. By the afternoon, it was all off the branches.

  • Winter scene on a roadway
  • Snowy scene
  • snowy scene with a pedestrian bridge and a creek
  • Winter scene with snow on branches
Winter scenes on a January, morning run

Circumstances are changing all the time, like wet snow on a January morning. Do you see it as an opportunity or a threat? In order to be effective, choose to see the changing environment as an opportunity.

Categories
motivation

Are You in the Right Place for Encouragement?

Cartoon of two boys arguing

This weekend, I’m with friends that have been with us through good and tough times. They were there for us when we struggled in a Southwest venture and when we came back to the Midwest.

It feels good to be among friends that listen and encourage. We all need those friends. And we need to be one of those friends.

My hope and prayer for you is that this blog is that type of encouragement. None of us have to look far to find worry and discouragement. In fact, it is more than happy to find us. I have no desire to add to the easily obtained commodity of doom and gloom.

Look for places that give you encouragement. Look for people that want to build up instead of tear down. Find books and media that are uplifting. It will strengthen you and give you the strength to keep going.

Categories
CHOG News church cartoons Newsletters

Working the Bugs Out

Cartoon of two men standing in water. One says, "We have some bugs to work out before we live stream the service."
Published in the January 2020 Church of God Newsletter

Let’s face it! If you start something new, there will always be some bugs to work out. No matter how well you plan, you can’t expect to make allowances for every conceivable obstacle.

  • Technology never quite works the way you expect
  • There will be some misunderstandings between the team
  • Get used to expecting the unexpected
  • Weather and other natural causes may strike without notice
  • You may not realize how many people are affected by the launch or know how they will react.
Cartoon of two men standing in water. One says, "We have some bugs to work out before we live stream the service."
Published in the January 2020 Church of God Newsletter

If you’re waiting for perfect circumstances, it will never launch. Even if you are able to plan for every possible obstacle, you’ll be disappointed because most of them will never come to be.

Expect a few bugs if you launch anything new. Be fine with it. It’s part of the process. Success comes from addressing the bugs and working them out. Flawless launches may mean you set your goal too low.

I drew this cartoon for the January, 2020 Church of God Newsletter.

Categories
Business

Quality vs. Quantity

Quote: The problem is rather that the important and relevant outside events are often qualitative and not capable of quantification. Peter Drucker

“The problem is rather that the important and relevant outside events are often qualitative and not capable of quantification.”

Peter Drucker in “The Effective Executive”

Peter Drucker’s quote got me thinking. Outside events happen all the time. We hear about a customer that needs our service done a certain way. It may be inconvenient for us, so we ignore it. But then another customer has a similar request.

It may be some quality information. It could positively change the way we do business. But is it quantitative? Could we survey all current and potential customers to get a reliable survey that would confirm what we’re seeing?

Perception versus fact

We can perceive that certain information is valuable even though it isn’t a fact. A customer has a suggestion that we perceive could change the way we do business. Yet, there is no way to know if all current and future customers feel the same way. Do we pursue it anyway? It takes some intuition and perception to know.

We have to get comfortable with making decisions partly based on intuition if we’re doing to move forward. There are just some things we cannot quantify. And that’s the part of business and life that is an adventure, isn’t it?

Categories
motivation

A Little Birdie Told Me

Cartoon of two boys and tweeting bird

The other day, I heard the phrase, A little bird told me when someone wanted to pass along anonymous information. It wasn’t very helpful. Whenever I’ve heard that phrase, it means someone really wants to give gossip instead of something useful.

I like Twitter and I have spent some quality time reading through tweets. It can be entertaining, much like gossip. But it frequently doesn’t leave me a better, improved person, much like gossip.

Cartoon of two boys and tweeting bird

Beware of who you follow and what you listen to. The wrong voice can bring you down and ruin your productivity. An anonymous little birdie can make you wonder who else is grumbling and who can you trust.

The tongue can cause great damage. It’s amazing how incessant chirping and tweeting can affect you.