ClickCease
Business, Faith, Faith at Work
Convene
Do Not Worry

‘Do not worry.’ We’ve read Matthew 6:25-34 in the Sermon on the Mount, but what does that look like on a day-to-day, minute-by-minute basis? God knows our every worry, fear, and concern – and He can handle it. Many thanks to Darrell Passwater, Convene Forum Team leader, for his encouragement to think about how our lives might be different by truly living out this scriptural principle.

Do Not Worry
Greg Leith
Who Will Lead Your Firm the Day After the ...

Got a quick minute to chat? I’ve been wanting to share something with you as you lead in the midst of the election cycle in the USA or when your political election takes place in your country. When the dust settles on the election and the new country leader is declared, one thing will still be as true as it is right now. You’ll still be the one leading your firm the day after the election. Your team members will still come to work the day after the winner is declared. They’ll still be looking to you for leadership, for a paycheck, for a sense of community at their workplace.

What do they want most that only you can deliver? It’s meaning. That meaning they’re looking for begins with you and your leadership. To be sure, what Washington DC does actually can impact your business significantly, however, the president of the United States or the leader of any country does not lead your firm. You do. It’s an enterprise entrusted to you to lead as a steward. It’s a place where people look to you for answers, where people want to be part of a team that cares about them and where people want to be valued, appreciated, and loved. The next president of the country will not show up this week at your office to encourage your team, fix a broken piece of equipment, hire the next team member, sell a big account, or cast a bold vision about how your team will reach your goals and impact the culture.

Who Will Lead Your Firm the Day After the Election?
Chip Neidigh
A Safe Place To Fall
A Safe Place To Fall
Dave Ulrich
3 Principles of Hope That Enable Transitions

As we find ourselves mid-October and a blink away from a new calendar year, it is an opportunity to prepare for how we view transitions. Transitions allow for reflection and renewal, for letting go and beginning anew, and for learning from the past and creating the future. Instead of laying out trends for the next year, I would like to comment on a fundamental enabler of any transition: hope. Leaders who want to improve, CEO’s who work toward excellence, HR professionals who aspire to deliver more value, and employees who seek well-being all achieve their transitions by realizing hope.

Hope integrates many of the positive traits that shape transitions for others and matter to me personally: learning, patience, service, faith, humility, optimism, gratitude, and so forth. I send hundreds of formal and informal e-mails every month to invite people to programs, to thank people for attending programs, to check in on those I mentor, and to stay connected to those I care about. I begin almost every one of these notes with “Hope you are well.” Hope is one of my personal desires, tag lines, and biases and an enabler of any transition.

If I could implant one trait in my family, friends, and colleagues who are undergoing continual transition, it would be hope. 

3 Principles of Hope That Enable Transitions
Business, Communication, Leadership, Talent
Brian Audia
Five Reasons to Build a People-first, ...

If you're a business owner or a CEO looking for ways to grow and improve your company, then Five Reasons to Build a People-first, Purpose-driven Company, by Brian Audia will give you a front-row seat to learning key principles you can implement in your business to outperform your peers!

Five Reasons to Build a People-first, Purpose-driven Company

starbucks

The gospel of Starbucks, given to you

A couple weeks ago, I lost my Gold level status at Starbucks after having it for three or four years. The reason? I did not perform as required to keep my status as an elite member. All at once, I was slightly depressed that I would no longer enjoy the benefits of membership, and extremely determined to regain my status as quickly as possible.

For those of you that need a refresher course on how to qualify for Starbucks Gold Level, here are the rules, taken directly from their website (1 Star = 1 transaction. 30 purchases to get 30 stars):

“Collect 30 Stars within 12 months and step up to the Gold level for one year. Once you’re at Gold level it takes another 30 Stars to maintain Gold level for another 12 months. If you don’t qualify for the Gold level again by your anniversary date (i.e. the date you qualified for the Gold level), you’ll revert to the Green level and lose all your Stars. Don’t let that happen!”

Perform, and we will reward you. Stop performing, and you won’t be part of the club.Those are the rules of engagement. When I first reached Gold, I was elated. They really did make me feel special and prideful by sending a shiny and thick gold card in the mail. But interestingly, with the elation also came anxiety. Now I had to keep proving that I was loyal to them, or else my status would disappear. 30 stars between now and the next 12 months or I’m out. I lose it all.

And that is the case with most reward programs. Get 8 stamps on your punch card at Golden Spoon and they’ll give you a free 8 oz. Yogurt. Keep your savings above a minimum balance with Wells Fargo, and they won’t fee you. Pay $80 a year to Amazon and they’ll put you in the Amazon Prime club.

But here’s what happens with me:

I collected stamps on my Golden Spoon punch card over the course of about five years—yes, five years—until it was brown on the edges and worn like old leather. When I finally reached eight stamps, I happily went in for my free yogurt, ordered it, and then showed them the card…

“We don’t accept those anymore,” she said.

I frowned and tilted my head, “You don’t accept them anymore? I’ve been working at this for five years! What do you mean you don’t accept them anymore?” She didn’t budge. I paid with debit, and on the way out, I threw my punch card in the trash.

With Wells Fargo, I sometimes go below the minimum balance or make too many transfers in a month. Since they have a system of laws and regulations, they fee me.

I bought Amazon Prime when I was a student, hungry for books, and the fast, free shipping was great. But as soon as I graduated, I couldn’t justify the $80. So they took me off the list.

We’re human. We fluctuate in performance. But reward programs are based on your consistency and loyalty.

Let me switch gears here for a quick moment and relate these experiences to another experience. It may or may not resonate with you, but that’s OK.

Unfortunately, over time I’ve seen this “reward program” mentality seep into the way I think about my relationship with God. If I just keep showing up for my time with God at least five days a week, and make a transaction every time, God will keep my Gold level status. If I keep my prayer time at a minimum balance of 15 minutes a day, God won’t fee me. If I show my loyalty by getting eight stamps on my quiet time punch card, maybe on the ninth time, something amazing will be given to me.

None of these are true, of course, but lies like these find out how to seep into the way we think about our relationship with Him.

Thankfully, God does not have a secret club of those who have paid their dues. His words to everyone are “Come to me, and I will give you rest.” His mode of operation is grace upon grace upon grace for those who confess and believe. His call is to follow him, not to appease a system of rules and regulations.

You have a choice: exhaustion through believing the false gospel of performance and earning your own way in. Or replenished life through believing the gospel of Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection. He has performed all of the necessary work for you and he himself is the way in.

This is my body, given for you.

This is my blood, poured out to purchase back your souls.

Leave Some Room

Walk into a Starbucks or most any coffee shop and they will ask whether or not you want “room.”  Usually I request “no room.”  “Room” refers to the amount of room left between the level of coffee in the cup and the top edge of the cup.  Typically, if you want to add sugar and/or cream you ask for “room” which results in space in the cup to add either or both.  Or, if you simply want a safety margin so as not to spill, you would also ask for “room.”  If not, you say “no room” like I frequently do to maximize the coffee. This is often like my life – and maybe yours.  I regularly have “no room” … no room for the unexpected (which I should come to expect), no room for random acts of kindness, no room for taking an extra minute or two with someone, no room to extend a helping hand, no room for patience, no room for …

Life with “no room” is not as sweet or creamy, and a bit unsafe.  So go ahead, start your day with your cup of coffee and “leave some room.”