Misc

Books I am Reading

1. Linchpin- by Seth Godin. An instant classic. Seth challenges us with the question, "Are you indispensable?" 2. Making Ideas Happen- by Scott Belsky. Releases next month. This book should be read by every person who is required to move things to completion.

3. Plan B- by Pete Wilson. I've said before, and I'll say again, Pete is the prototype Catalyst leader. This is his first of I'm sure many books.

4. Rediscovering Values- by Jim Wallis. Subtitle is A Moral Compass for the New Economy.

5. The Me I Want to Be- by John Ortberg. A spiritual formation book. Classic Ortberg style, which is always great.

6. Take Your Best Shot- by Austin Gutwein. The story of Hoops of Hope. Austin is a hero of mine, and only 15!

7. Drive- by Daniel Pink. One of my favorite business authors out there.

What's on your nightstand?

160,000 hours of service for San Diego

Had the chance to catch up with Miles McPherson recently. Miles is the senior pastor of The Rock Church in San Diego, and author of the book Do Something. In 2009, inspired by the book and the Do Something Campaign, The Rock Church provided 160,000 hours of service from the members of their congregation to the city of San Diego. Amazing! The great thing is, any leader in any community across the country can do this as well. A practical way for all of us to get involved in making our communities better through local Churches.

Hear more regarding the Do Something campaign and ways you can get involved in the interview below.

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/9908894[/vimeo]

Are you a CEO of something?

What are you CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of? Recently read a great article from The New York Times that Scott Harrison had recommended.

The article is an interview with Mark Pincus, founder and CEO of Zynga.

In the article, Mark talks about the importance of each member of your team determining what they are CEO of. This is a really helpful exercise, and one I am doing right now with our Catalyst team.

In quoting Mark Pincus in the article:

"I’d turn people into C.E.O.’s. One thing I did at my second company was to put white sticky sheets on the wall, and I put everyone’s name on one of the sheets, and I said, “By the end of the week, everybody needs to write what you’re C.E.O. of, and it needs to be something really meaningful. And that way, everyone knows who’s C.E.O. of what and they know whom to ask instead of me. And it was really effective. People liked it. And there was nowhere to hide.

I think that was a big lesson for me because what I realized was that if you give people really big jobs to the point that they’re scared, they have way more fun and they improve their game much faster."

Obviously there are only a few leaders over the course of their career who will ever have the title of CEO next to their name. But this is a great exercise, and a great way to engage your team/staff in embracing their areas of responsibility/ownership.

Interview with Pete Greig from 24-7 Prayer, Part Two

This is Part Two of my interview with Pete Greig, founder of 24-7 Prayer Movement, which now has a presence in over 100 countries around the world. Pete is an author, speaker, and also the Director of Prayer at Holy Trinity Brompton Church in London. He is a leading voice on the global church and the next generation. And check out Campus America, a visionary initiative being launched this year. Part One of the interview is here.

In Part Two, Pete and I talk about vision, values, how 24-7 Prayer got started, leading through organizational growth, and Campus America.

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/9852437[/vimeo]

Decide....Now!

As leaders, we have to be decisive. Indecision can be a killer inside of organizations. A few thoughts on being decisive: 1. Do Your Homework- great decisions are usually the result of being informed. We have to do our homework, look at the information in front of us, scan the horizon, and consider all the best options before moving forward on a decision.

2. Understand the context- Many times it comes down to a better/best scenario, which is much more difficult to mange than a good/bad. Good/bad scenarios are easy. I can decide easily and quickly in that situation. Better/best scenarios require more time and a greater sense of context. Everyone on your team needs to understand this.

3. Know Your Values- As Roy Disney stated, "It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are." many times indecision occurs because of lack of clarity on vision and values.

4. Create a Culture of Action- Making a decision doesn't always lead to execution and completing a task or project, but it definitely is part of the process. If you create a system and culture that demands and requires completion, action, and execution, you'll have no choice on whether to decide or not. The system will drive it.

As We Forgive and 40 Days of Forgiveness

As We Forgive is one of my favorite documentaries in the last several years. Directed by Laura Waters Hinson, the film has received critical acclaim, including the Gold Winner for Best Documentary at the 2008 Student Academy Awards. Executive Producer Stephen McEveety (Braveheart) released As We Forgive on October 6, 2009.

Now, the story continues with a 40 Days of Forgiveness campaign. Starting on February 17 and lasting through April 4th, universities, Churches and other groups are invited to engage their communities around the topic of radical forgiveness by hosting film screenings of As We Forgive to ultimately build a "Living Bricks" village of reconciliation in Rwanda. In partnership with Prison Fellowship, the Living Bricks initiative was created to equip repentant ex-genocide prisoners in Rwanda with the tools to build critically needed housing for their victim's families. The Living Bricks Village will ultimately be an incredible community of genocide survivors and ex-genocide prisoners who live peacefully as neighbors through reconciliation. This is an incredible and radical idea and one worth supporting.

The goal of the 40 Days of Forgiveness Campaign is to partner with 40 Churches, schools, universities, and individuals to host local screenings with the end goal of raising funding to build new homes in the Living Bricks Village. The cost of each home is $5,000, with 100% of proceeds going directly to the village.

This is a great project to get involved in. The 40 Days of Forgiveness is also an opportunity for groups to engage their communities in discussions and studies on the power of forgiveness and redemption.

Please consider hosting a screening in your area.

To learn more about how you can be involved in the 40 Days Campaign or to host a film screening in your community, visit the As We Forgive website or contact the As We Forgive office at 804-301-6788.

Interview with Jim Daly, pres of Focus on the Family

The latest Catalyst Podcast features an interview with Jim Daly, President of Focus on the Family, and author of Finding Home. Ken Coleman sits down with Jim to discuss the Tebow Superbowl commercial, the future of Focus, and Jim's personal story of adoption. Also included in this episode is an interview with Jeb Stuart, writer/director of the recently released film Blood Done Sign My Name, and classics such as Die Hard.

Listen to the episode or download from itunes.

Top Twelve Events in 2010

Here is my list of the top twelve events for leaders in the Church to attend in 2010: 1. Catalyst- yep, it's first on my list. I'm biased, but I would put Catalyst #1 even if I didn't have a business card by the same name. And this includes Catalyst East in October, Catalyst West in April, and Catalyst One Days throughout the year.

2. Q- April 28-30 in Chicago.

3. Drive- May 3-5 in Atlanta.

4. Chick-fil-A Leadercast- May 7 in Atlanta.

5. The Orange Conference- April 28-30 in Atlanta.

6. Hillsong Conference- July 5-9 in Sydney, Australia

7. ARC All Access Conference- April 27-29 in Baton Rouge.

8. Exponential- April 19-22 in Orlando.

9. Leadership Summit- August 5-6 in Chicago.

10. Unleash Conference- March 4 in Anderson, SC

11. National Leadership Forum- March 10-12 in Lakeland, FL

12. Right Now Conference- November 11-12 in Dallas, TX

This list doesn't include any online events. Only in-person experiences.

What did I forget?

Interview with Carlos Whittaker

My good friend Carlos Whittaker of Ragamuffin Soul is busy these days. A new album, leading worship all over the country, creative consulting, and of course keeping us all informed, entertained, and inspired through his blog. I found a few minutes to catch up with Carlos while he was recently in Nashville. Of course at a Starbucks!! I figured I would go ahead and include Part One and Part Two of our interview.

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/9631794[/vimeo]

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/9633065[/vimeo]

6 Must Haves as a Leader right now

1. Leaders must have courage- the ability to risk and actually make a decision and do something. Quick to action. 2. Leaders must have conviction- a strong and compelling vision, and passion to pursue it.

3. Leaders must have a clear calling- understand how God has wired you.

4. Leaders must have authenticity- honest, humble and sincere. Willing to sacrifice. Willing to protect their teammates and take the fall.

5. Leaders must be willing to learn- leaders are readers. and have an insatiable desire to know more.

6. Leaders must be in touch with reality- ability to understand the context of our day. Plan for the future while leading in the present. Informed enough to make the tough decision.

Catalyst West best rates end TODAY

I'm really excited about Catalyst West this year on April 21-23, 2010 in Orang County, CA. The speaker lineup is powerful- Andy Stanley, Erwin McManus, Louie Giglio, Mark Driscoll, Donald Miller, Dallas Willard, Charlene Li, Kay Warren, and many others.

Chris Tomlin, Vicky Beeching, Carlos Whittaker, Jonathan and Candi Shelton, and Aaron Keyes will be leading us musically.

Plus, Tripp Crosby, Tyler Stanton, and Jud Wilhite as our hosts once again.

If you haven't registered your team yet, make sure you do TODAY. The best rates on tickets end today, so go ahead and get signed up.

Our theme is Unusual Tomorrow. As you'll see from Tripp and Tyler below, we've been working on time travel, and we think we've had a big breakthrough......

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/9476684[/vimeo]

Hillsong United, U2 and Coldplay

Three of my favorite bands in the world. Hillsong United, U2 and Coldplay. Very popular. Love their style. Love their music. Would love to see them all at the same concert. That would be epic.

Even though these 3 bands are very different and very unique, I think there are some commonalities among the three of them. So here's my 5 things I think they have in common regarding their music:

1. singable- songs that are great for corporate worship, or for concert environments.

2. chantable- lines that are very memorable. and easily chanted among thousands.

3. rememberable- i can still remember lyrics from U2 songs in the 80's. They create anthem songs.

4. danceable- yep, lots of their songs make you want to dance.

5. clappable- a common trait among lots of songs, but when you combine that with chantable, it makes for uber power arrangements.

A One Week "Break"

I've been on a break for the last week. An unintended break. Quite possibly the worst case of the flu ever. At least for me. It's amazing how simple things become when you are stuck in bed just trying to wait on the medicine to take effect. Miserable, but simple. And the really bad daytime TV doesn't help!

But I'm back! And just in time for celebrating Presidents Day. So more from me tomorrow.

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Interview with Scott Belsky and Michael Hyatt

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The latest edition of the Catalyst podcast features interviews with Scott Belsky and Michael Hyatt. Scott is the founder and CEO of Behance, a company that delivers products and services to help organize the creative world. Scott also founded the 99% Conference, and is the author of the soon to release book Making Ideas Happen.

Michael Hyatt is the President and CEO of Thomas Nelson, and uber popular blogger, speaker, and social media expert.

Listen here or download from itunes.

Both Scott and Michael will be part of our Catalyst West event on April 21-23. Make plans to be there!

What Makes a great Team?

Two great teams are playing each other in the Superbowl on Sunday. Colts vs. Saints. There are lots of qualities that make up a great team, but thought i would point out just five that seem to be evident in these two teams.

1. Humble yet confident leader- both coaches seem to exude these two traits.

2. Skilled linchpin- Most of the time this is the quarterback for a football team. Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. I would consider them linchpins for the Colts and Saints, as Seth Godin has written about in his new book. Every great team has to have at least one linchpin who is crucial to the success of the team.

3. Clear Vision and Clear Goal- in the NFL, every team has the Superbowl as their ultimate goal for the year. But only for a few is that goal a reality. Great teams have vision that inspires and goals that are attainable.

4. A cause greater than themselves- for the Saints, they truly are playing for the city of New Orleans.

5. Constantly getting better- great teams continue to improve. The Saints got better after their loss to Dallas that gave them their first defeat of the year. Same with the Colts. Great teams don't allow for mediocrity to set in. They push themselves on a daily basis, and that accountability is held by the team, not necessarily just by the leader.

College Football Signing Day today

Today is signing day for College Football. I love this day. One of the most popular posts I've ever had here has been on College Football- the best team of the Decade. And more recent the Best College Coach of the Decade. Thousands of high school seniors across the country are signing on the dotted line with the college of their choice.

Recruiting these athletes has become a year long job, and simultaneously an internet/media frenzy.

Oklahoma. Texas. Florida. USC. Alabama. Ohio State. and on and on. If I'm signing today, I have two hats on the table. Oklahoma and Alabama. You can guess who I go with.

If you were signing today, who would you pick?

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