GreatRidge Station

This is, unashamedly, my I told you so post.

A year ago, in most of my classes, and in conversations with other leaders, I made the assertion that “Best Buy is in trouble–deep trouble–and they don’t even know it.” My rationale was simple. Last Christmas, they were competing on big-ticket items, mostly televisions and surround-sound entertainment systems. The problem with that strategy was that it alienated the very market share that built the company: People interested in small-ticket electronics and media. Rather than pointing out “We’re a great place to buy that small, $20 Christmas gift,” they unintentionally sent the message, “don’t come if you don’t have a load of money and a truck to haul away your purchases.”

The leaders at Best Buy started strangling their business more than a year ago, and 2007 November sales were around $228 million. This year, they were $52 million. They might never have made up the business that they lost, but their strategy alienated their fall-back markets.

Attention, Leaders. You need to learn to read your business and your markets. The fact that I could read Best Buy’s problems a year ago suggests that this kind of thing is knowable. And if it is knowable, the leaders are accountable for it.

One of our CSF students was speaking about one of his final exams with some concern. I shared the following information with him, and thought it might be worth recounting here.

Adult life has brought a number of surprising changes in perception. The first happened when I attended our daughter’s parent-teacher conference at her school when she was in second grade. I realized then that my role had changed forever–I was no longer the kid being evaluated, but the parent being involved in our child’s education. The next happened when I was dealing with employees–hiring, reviewing, and (in one case) terminating. It was then that I realized that the employment process was as challenging for the employer as for the employee..

Now, as a college instructor, I have discovered that the same thing is true, and this is what I shared with this student. Any final project, whether it is a paper, and exam, or a presentation, is just as stressful for the instructor as it is for the student. In a very real sense, it becomes a very personal evaluation of the teacher’s ability to express his or her ideas and communicate knowledge to the students. This is why it is disheartening to an instructor when a student earns a low grade. I encouraged our student to keep this in mind, and remember that every final exam is, ultimately, a conversation with the instructor. It involves managing knowledge, ideas, and information, and presenting them in a way that demonstrates mastery of the material and respect for the instructor. By the end of a course, most of us (instructors, that is) have developed relationships with our students and frankly, we care about them.

Exams and final projects do not exist in a vacuum, but are always positioned in the social, cultural, foundational, and philosophical context of the course.  Keep this perspective in mind throughout a course, and the grades seem to follow.

This same factor applies throughout life. Most of our significant relationships–whether in the workplace, at home, in the community, at church, or anywhere else–only thrive when they are conversations. The two-way-nature of human communication is essential in nearly every aspect of our lives.

The tag line for this blog, as you see above is: “Equip - Delight - Encourage.” Twenty years ago, they would have been morphed into a useless (and, probably, mostly meaningless) mission statement. To my good fortune and great blessing, they took on a far less structured, but more meaningful form. I choose those three words more than 11 years ago, and they capture much of who I am, in all of life.

I worked these out during a weekend-long retreat I took during a particular career crisis in my life (the dissolution of the department of which I was a part). I used the book The Path by Laurie Beth Jones, along with a wonderful little book by Dale Dauten, The Max Strategy, to help me wrestle through some of these issues. Incidentally, when you look at the size to price ratio of these two books, you are likely to object–the price to quality ratio makes them a bargain even at full list price. I can’t say I agreed with everything in these books, but I will say that I found them very helpful–keep in mind that you should always read with a critical eye or two.

These words show up on my screen-saver, on this blog, on my Great Ridge Group business cards, and various other places in my life. They are a constant reminder that I must be about the work to which God has called me.

I decided against doing a series, highlighting each of these concepts. The whole thing bothered me from the beginning, and seems a bit self-serving. I’ll tell you what, I’ll try to live them out, and you hold me to them.

Well, the future stadium for the Minnesota Twins now has a name. They decided to call it Target Field. Or, more accurately, Target Corporation paid a lot of money–more than the next-highest bidder–for the right to call it anything they wanted.

This should be a cause for concern. Target is a fine company, and aside from some philosophical issues, I have no complaints about them. Here’s the problem: The sphere of markets, selling, and finance have taken over significant parts of our lives. These “monunuments to our success” signal a change in values. The current Twins stadium is named for Hubert H. Humphrey, one of Minnesota’s favorite sons, and1968 presidential candidate.  This new one is Target Field, but maybe the Tom Burnett, Junior Ballpark would have been far more appropriate. Kids ought to know the answer to that question, too.

Culturally, we’ve given up the idea of commemorating our heroes. The not-so-subtle message is that our highest model to be emulated is not to be found in the great people who have influenced our state, but in the corporate economic giants.

For years, at Twins and Viking games, children have asked their parents “Who is Hubert H. Hump-hrey?” And parents (even Republican parents) knew the answer and told them.

In Indiana, their domed stadium was called the Hoosier Dome for many years, until RCA paid millions of dollars to rename it “The RCA Dome.” By the way the Hoosier/RCA Dome has been replaced by the Lucas Oil Stadium.

The point is that no kid is likely to ask “Who’s Target?” They know, at least they do now, and that’s what’s most important. Someday, kids might ask about Target, just as kids now have reason to ask “Who’s RCA.” Those questions ultimately become irrelevant. Those with the money create monuments to themselves, and when the money goes away, the next “economic-trollop” gets in line to play the game. Target has a 25 year naming rights arrangement for the new stadium in Minneapolis, but if tough times hit, they can always cut their losses and bow to the highest bidder.

Shame on us, when we celebrate companies, and cast off our true heroes. Empire is turning us into economic beings, to the exclusion of all else.  And they think they own us.

Ah yes, the United States finds itself in its quadrennial blizzard of political rhetoric. There was a time in my life when I loved politics, but not so much, anymore. I still love it when politics is motivated by the public good, and not, as is most always the case, by financial gain (this, by definition, makes me a cynic).

None of our major political parties has a monopoly on truth. In fact, it appears that truth and American politics have nothing whatsoever to do with one another. If you want to make sense of the politics of the next few months, you have to be smarter than a commentator.

Here’s my recommendation: Get David T. Koyzis’s book, Political Visions and Illusions. Dr. Koyzis is a friend, a long-distance colleague, and a fellow Bethel alum, and his book is a great help in making sense of our foolish committment to political illusion. See beyond the smoke and mirrors. Read this book. And read his blog.

We have a favorite restaurant (no website, but a map and review). It is wonderful, authentic, and some of the people there have become our friends. Bad news, though–last time we were there they had a sign on the door that said:

Beginning on Sept 2, we will be close for remodelations

The sign was delightful. I love taking pictures of odd signage, but I didn’t take a shot of this one. These are my friends, and I didn’t want to offend.

Part of my job as an educator (here) is grading papers, correcting grammar, and helping people to communicate clearly. Just so you know, I did not mark the sign wrong or put any proofreading marks on it. This points out an important leadership lesson: When we care about someone, we don’t correct them for things that don’t matter. It’s a restaurant, for pete’s sake, not a news bureau. It’s the food and service inside that matter, and not the grammar on the sign at the door. Give people grace on the little stuff, and you earn the credibility to address the big issues of life.

It is important for leaders to know when to let go, and when an issue needs to be addressed. Those can be generally narrowed to a couple of key areas: Core competencies (the things that are part of one’s role and responsibility), Character (the deep down issues of values, beliefs, and convictions, and how those are lived out), and Belonging (do the quality of one’s relationships integrate or alienate a person from his or her community/neighborhood/workplace, in other words, don’t be a jerk).

I tell my students that there are leadership lessons everywhere. Even at my favorite restaurant.
As for us, we can hardly wait until the remodelations are done.

I had an opportunity to spend time with some good friends last night. The gathering was because a dear friend, an elderly gentleman (the father of one of the aforementioned good friends) was in town.

Years ago, he told me that he always wrote under the psuedonym “Ebenezer.”

Chuck Dickens ruined that name and redefined it–you all know the story. Ebenezer, in fact, is an Old Testament word meaning “Rock of Help.” It was not a person’s name at all, but a place-name that commemorated God’s faithfulness.

Now in his 80s, my friend Ebenezer is a testimony to God’s unwavering character, compassion, and holiness. He has walked with the Lord Jesus Christ for so many years that his character has been shaped by that ongoing encounter with the Living God. Ebenezer demonstrates through his life that God really is the only reliable rock of help–and Ebenezer has become that same kind of help and encouragement to others.

I will always be grateful for my friend Nelson Roetter and his family. Like this dear brother, may I always seek the true Ebenezer and may I become more and more like Him.

I did something dumb, but I did it before I realized it. I was merging onto a freeway, and I managed to (unintentionally) cut someone off. There was some road construction that was unmarked at the entrance ramp, and that narrowed the highway down to two lanes. Somehow, in all the mess, I failed to see him.

As he passed me, he waved with the universal gesture, meaning “Pardon me, but I find your driving poor and your intellect limited.” Or something like that.

So, here’s the thing: I knew I was wrong. In any other setting I would have apologized and taken full responsibility. It occurred to me that we have many hand gestures to express our irritation with someone stupid (in this case, me), but we have no hand gestures (or none that I could think of) that mean “I’m sorry, I was wrong, and I know it, but it was an honest mistake.”

In our culture, our non-verbal communication is generally combative, generally expressing the idea that “I’m right and you are a moron.” Not only do we lack subltety, we have no way to express any self-deprecating (read that as: “accurate/humble”) assessment of ourselves.  Our non-verbals are unashamedly arrogant–we have a cultural bias that allows us to believe that we are always right. When I’m not right, and I’m willing to admit it, there is no obvious way to express that.

This bothered me for a most of the day. I offended someone without intending to, and the truth is that for all my curmudgeonliness, I still have a compassionate streak.

As I’ve thought about this, I realized that most of the language of our culture suffers the same malady. We are afflicted with a false assurance that we are right and noble, I say afflicted because, I believe, we are generally blind to it. Apologies are rare (even when warranted), and we are generally convinced of our own goodness, worthiness, and entitled-ness. Like gestures on the road of life, we rarely discern the truth about ourselves. And on those rare times that we do, we don’t even have the ability to express it.

Arrogance is death to leadership. Or as the Bible puts it:

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
– Proverbs 16:18

I had a long conversation (by phone) with my sister the other night. She mentioned something that seemed incredible to me; until she had Lasix surgery she had never seen the stars. She had heard about them, and she had seen one of the bright ones (she thought it might have been Arcturus, but I’m guessing Sirius), but she had no idea what a starlit night sky looked like.

She had taken the dark sky for granted throughout her youth and well into her adult years, and she never knew what she was missing. We both found it funny that she had taken an Astronomy class in college as an elective.

I often wonder what one person might see, and consider obvious, that another person might be incapable of seeing at all. We have to assume two things as leaders:

• In our own world, we have 20/20 vision, and everyone else is blind and groping about in the dark.
• When we enter someone else’s world, we’re the blind one in the dark, and they see the world in perfect clarity.
• Once in a while, those worlds overlap. This may mean that we both see (oh, that this would happen more often), or we are both blind (this is far more common). The problem is that we may not even be aware of our blindness.

This is a great challenge for leaders. Jesus addressed a similar situation (in specific circumstances) in Revelation 3:17, in the letter to the Church in Laodicea:

For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

Indeed. So where are the blindspots in your own life, and even in how you see yourself?

Technology and innovation are very challenging, and somehow, Amazon has figured it out quite well.

Among other things, they have brought some key features to the market:

• Constant availability –
  I can shop on my terms, and at my whim. If my computer is working, the information I need is available.
• Global reach –
  I have bought books, via Amazon, from a small bookstore in Sussex, UK, and at least twice from the same small bookshop in northern California. Needless to say, I’ve never visited either place. I just ordered an out-of-print book for my sister from another small shop. Amazing.
• Rich Information –
  As I read the reviews of a given book, I have a pretty good idea if the book might be what I want. I can tell as much from the wording and tone of the review as I can from the reviewer’s comments, and maybe more.
• Branding –
  I look forward to getting that brown box with the little trademark Amazon Smile on it. I feel like I have a personal stake in the company. Frankly, I buy from them because they have earned my trust.
• Community –
  Because Amazon knows my tastes, they make recommendations that are meaningful and (occasionally) perfectly accurate.

Years ago, in my home town of La Crosse, Wisconsin, there was a wonderful record store known as “The Tree Records.” What I loved about The Tree was that they knew my interest in music so well that they made suggestions and even special ordered the impossible things that I was looking for. They always used the same flat, green bags in their store, and it became their trademark–whenever you saw someone carrying that color of package, you knew that they had been to The Tree. Not long before they went out of business, the manufacturer quit making those green bags–I wonder if that record store didn’t die of the grief (I’m joking, but you know what I mean). Well, they went out of business years ago, long before the internet revolution, but Amazon provides that same level of friendly service that I expected from my friends at The Tree.

Now, with Kindle striking up a good deal of interest, Amazon is continuing to grow. Here’s a link to CEO/Founder Jeff Bezos’ recent letter to shareholders. Note that he also includes a shareholder letter from 11 years ago to add perspective and context to his comments.

Regardless of whether you are a fan of Amazon or not, you have to admire the business sense and cultural benefits that this organization has brought to society. Bezos offers a kind of bold, visionary leadership that is rarely seen today. One of the greatest challenges for organizations is to innovate from a position of success or power: Somehow, Amazon has managed to do that quite consistently.

I occasionally get these whims, though my dear wife refers to them by there generic name, hair-brained ideas. So, my most recent whim/HBI was, “hey, why don’t we take an early vacation to Arizona–by train.” Not a bad idea, in my opinion.

So, I sign in to Amtrak.com, discover that there are daily train stops in Yuma, AZ, and decide to see what such a trip might cost. Here’s the message I got:

Sorry, we cannot find train service matching your request. Please try alternate stations/cities.

In other words, go someplace else.

In fiddling around with the site, I discovered that I can go to Yuma if I book it as a multi-stop trip, going first to Chicago, and then to Yuma. Since I haven’t taken a train in Xty years, I don’t know how long such a trip might take–I may find myself waiting a day in Chicago and another day in San Antonio all because I didn’t know the time-tables well enough to schedule myself to stay on the same train all the way through.

This is the business world’s classic difficulty–they say “the customer is always right,” but they mean “the customer is a moron.” The assumption is that if we choose to play on their field, we must play by their rules, but they don’t bother to tell us what those rules are. As a potential new train passenger, a message like “Please try alternate stations/cities” turns into “We don’t like you. Please fly or drive.”

This is a good question for all organizations: Do you assume that your customers have all the same knowledge that you have? Do you insist that people play by your rules, without telling them what those rules are? Do you require them to know your time tables (or their analogues in your world) and interpret them accurately if they want to use your product or service?

Worthwhile questions, particularly if you want to avoid becoming obsolete or irrelevant. It’s how Amtrak keeps missing opportunities to serve the public. I’m a train fan, and they have convinced me to try another mode of transportation.

Daniel Nayeri has written for one of my favorite publications, Comment Magazine from Canada’s Work Research Foundation. He is also one of the three filmmakers involved in the new film Cult of Sincerity. This indie film is notable in that (I believe) it is the first full-length film released first to Youtube.

A few things: First, I strongly recommend it. The film is redemptive in nature, though it is not a Christian Film by most contemporary standards. It is not evangelistic, and yet there is an underlying awareness of the Gospel. The language is coarse, and many of the people I associate with would call it impolite, or worse. Despite the language (or perhaps, because of it) the film is particularly real, human, and compassionate. It addresses some of the core questions of life and meaning in our day with both honesty and mirth. This would work well for starting conversations with people who are looking for answers.

The characters are real–in fact I know these people. The faces have all been different at different points of my life, but they were all there. I confess that I saw bits of myself in some of them. Watch it twice, and you will be startled at the complex tapestry these filmmakers have created–art of this quality has a beauty beyond words.

So, I encourage you to see the Cult of Sincerity, with all the aforementioned caveats, whereases, and heretofores. Amen.

The trailer is available here.

After that, you’ll want to see the whole film (just over 1-1/2 hours).

I have long admired the leadership of Herb Kelleher, founder and executive chairman of Southwest Airlines. Now, he finds himself on the hot seat in hearings about his firm’s dealings with the FAA. This is a new story, but so far, the international press seems present a more balanced view than the domestic press (I’ll admit that my research is cursory at best, but there does seem to be a trend).

This situation is one where I don’t know what to think. It is probably worth asking the question: What level of culpability does (or should) a leader hold for the misdeeds of his/her organization? It would be easy to say that Kelleher is responsible, since it happened on his watch, so to speak. The more difficult answer is the realization that Kelleher created the kind of self-led organization that values free thinking, and views policy as mere guidelines.

I would argue that all of this is good: Policies, by and large, serve two purposes:

1. To protect people who do not want to think from having to use their brains. This can best be seen in any administrative office when you hear the phrase, “I’m sorry but there’s nothing I can do.”
2. To codify practices so that people in organizations do not have to reinvent the wheel every time a situation arises. Policies can be used to capture best practices; the problem is that rather than being living, vital documents, they easily become hardened rules.

Kelleher managed to avoid both of these pitfalls by developing his employees’ human agency, and allowing them to make business decisions on their own. No one wants to be treated like a moron, and Kelleher knew how to show respect to his colleagues. This earned Southwest its reputation for customer service and quality, and the fact that it is a highly desireable place to work. At least six of my acquaintances who are airline mechanics have the goal of working for Southwest.

Now, of course, we see the flaw in the culture that Kelleher created. That human agency provided the rationale for cutting corners. That’s probably not the above and beyond the call of duty that Kelleher had in mind. The problem, of course, is that we are all fallen, broken, and ultimately untrustworthy people–as the Bible puts it, we are sinners. Be honest: We cannot even trust ourselves to consistently do the right thing, can we?

So Kelleher is facing what I call the Eden Conundrum. If we give people the free will they need to excel and do profound good, that brings with it the very real possibility that those people will overstep their bounds and do something unethical or harmful to others. Absolute tyranny is the best way to ensure that people stay in line–but Kelleher understands that God didn’t wire us up that way. Sometimes, the risk is worth it. Given freedom, some small percentage of people will almost certainly fall prey to ethical compromise, but that is the price that leaders must be willing to pay. We need to equip people to do work that is meaningful and powerful, even if that practice costs us something.

I suppose, to paraphrase the old 1970s TV commercial, “It’s not nice to fool with the liturgical calendar.” That doesn’t stop me, though.

I have always looked at today as Great Commission Day: March Forth!

Who would have thought that a bad pun could help me remember something so significant.

The term “Great Commission” is a term that Christians apply to Christ’s final command:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” –Matt 28:18-20 (ESV)

In my Monday post, I made the observation that “The burning issues of our day will fade into obscurity behind the gloss of history.” I think I’m right about this one.

Lately, I’ve been reading a good deal of local history of my home town of La Crosse, Wisconsin. I’ve always enjoyed it, and some of the historical figures seem very much alive in my mind, though they were gone long before I came on the scene.

Marcus “Brick” Pomeroy was a local figure with an interesting history. I am quite confident that, had I known him, I would have liked him while I would certainly have found fault with almost all he believed and stood for. Pomeroy was a copperhead, that is, a northerner who was opposed to the policies of Abraham Lincoln. There is no small irony (and a good deal of justice) that Lincoln is memorialized on the lowly, copper penny–take that, copperheads.

At any rate, Brick Pomeroy, the Editor of the La Crosse Democrat, was, depending on who you ask, either a scalawag or a rapscallion. In 1864, he made the following comment about President Lincoln:

[Lincoln is a] fungus from the corrupt womb of bigotry and fanaticism…no worse tyrant and more inhuman butcher than has existed since the days of Nero… The man who votes for Lincoln now is a traitor and murderer… And if he is elected to misgovern for another four years, we trust some bold hand will pierce his heart with dagger point for the public good.”

Sadly, Pomeroy’s words were prophetic, in both senses of the term. He both foretold the future, and spoke to his day in such a way that the wheels of rebellion brought his words to reality. One of Pomeroy’s editorials can be viewed here (and page 2 is the transcribed text in html).
We think little of the copperheads today, and Brick Pomeroy is resting before judgment day. The pressing issues of his day really have been lost the the gloss of history, and the nation still mourns a revered president, who lost his life during what was to be a pleasant night at the theatre.

Every leader must remember that our words have consequences. Pomeroy nearly lost his life after Lincoln’s assassination. Today, he merits no article on Wikipedia, and the building from which he published is gone, torn down in my youth, replaced by a sunken garden, replaced by a McDonalds, replaced by a Brueggers Bagel Shop, and now a vacant building and parking lot. Yes, Brick had a cool nickname, but that’s about all.

This, from Henri Nouwen:

Christian leaders cannot simply be persons who have well-informed opinions about the burning issues of our time. Their leadership must be rooted in the permanent, intimate relationship with the incarnate Word, Jesus, and they need to find there the source for their words, advice, and guidance.

While I do not often agree with Nouwen doctrinally, this quote (from In the Name of Jesus) is particularly relevant to our day. The real wisdom that leaders need is not the wisdom of knowing or doing, but of being. There must be, in our leadership, a sense of the eternal. The burning issues of our day will fade into obscurity behind the gloss of history. What matters is leadership that transcends the day by being firmly rooted in something unchanging–as Hebrews 13:8 puts it, ” Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” He is the source of true leadership wisdom.

Bruce Weame, in an interview from Comment Magazine online, makes the following observation:

When I first heard the aphorism, “I didn’t let my schooling get in the way of my education” (from Mark Twain), I felt it applied very well in my case. School seemed to equate education with itself which was ridiculous because I had learned so much from home and church and just by living in my neighbourhood. And there was always so much more.

As an educator (in the field of leadership, at that) let me remind you that schooling is not the same as an education. Any relationship between the two is strictly coincidental.

All a school can do is provide the tools and framework for learning. The real work of education gets carried out at a very personal level–learning to survive and thrive in a few key areas. One must be able to do meaningful work, one must be able to sustain meaningful relationships, one must learn to contribute to the greater good, one must develop one’s own character and embrace the things to which he or she must be deeply committed, and one must choose and develop his or her relationship with The Almighty. It should be immediately obvious that schooling can do none of these things, and yet, they are the foundation necessary for a true education.

Leaders who do not understand this may be able to exert influence, but they will have nowhere to go. As the Bible notes, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

I once made the comment that “As long as there are parrots, there will always be newspapers.”

Apparently, parrots have learned to take a “digital dump.”

The Capital Times, the afternoon paper in Madison, Wisconsin has gone all digital. There will be an online edition only, and no print edition. I hate to see this paper go away.

Yes, some will say it still exists, but I’ve been around the web long enough to know that they will have to write differently as an online paper than they did as a print paper. In its heyday, it was not a paper with a large subscription base, but it was regularly recognized as one of the top three papers in the country. Quality journalism was its hallmark, and I suspect that those days are gone.

I believe that the Cap Times missed out on an opportunity, though now, we’ll never know for sure. With Amazon’s new Kindle digital-paper reading device, this paper could have made the jump to Kindle’s approach–it looks like paper, it reads like paper, but it is delivered electronically. Such a move would have helped it to sustain its image as a reputable print media outlet, and given it the technological advantages it seeks. Keep in mind that the Cap Times was already online: What they did was kill the printed paper, and with it, any chance of capturing the emerging markets for these new digital technologies.

It looks like the New York Times and the San Jose Mercury News have already made agreements with Kindle to distribute their content digitally. Admittedly, Kindle is not perfect, at least not yet, but it’s time is coming; it is already miles ahead of any previous digital document technology, and full-color, higher-resolution models are in the works. The leadership at the Cap Times was either unaware of the technology, or too blind to see its benefits. Either way, a great paper loses. And so do we.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I read a lot. One of the things I stumbled across (which, no doubt, will interest my friend and long-distance colleague David Koyzis) was a prayer used by those individuals who paint icons in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

As I read it, I thought how appropriate it is as a leadership prayer. Here it is, in its entirety:

Teach me, Lord, to use wisely the time
which You have given me and to work well
without wasting a second.
Teach me to profit from my past mistakes
without falling into a gnawing doubt.
Teach me to anticipate the project without worry,
to imagine the work without despair
if it should turn out differently.
Teach me to unite haste and slowness,
serenity and ardor, zeal and peace.

Help me at the beginning of the work
when I am the weakest.
Help me in the middle of the work
when my attention must be sustained.
And especially fill all the emptiness of my work with Your Presence.
Lord, in all the work of my hands,
bestow Your Grace so that it can speak to others
and my mistake can speak to me alone.
Keep me in the hope of perfection,
without which I would lose heart,
yet keep me from achieving perfection,
for surely I would be lost in arrogance.

Purify my sight when I am doing poorly,
for one is never sure that the work will turn out badly;
Yet when I am doing well, one is never sure
that the work will turn out well.
Lord, let me never forget
that all knowledge is in vain unless there is work.
And all work is empty unless there is love.
And all love is hollow unless it binds me
both to others and to You.

Lord, teach me to pray with my hands, my arms, and all my strength.
Remind me that the work of my hands belongs to You
And that it is fitting to return this gift to You.
Yet, if I work for the pleasure of others,
like a flowering plant in the evening
I will wither.
But if I work for the love of goodness,
I will remain in goodness.
And the time to work for goodness and for Your Glory is now.

Consider this prayer as you go about your daily work, and remember that your work has meaning before God. Do not fall into the trap of believing that some work is secular and some work is sacred, but remember that for those who have repented and put their trust in Jesus Christ, everything is sacred. In the words of Abraham Kuyper, “There is not a square inch on the whole plain of human existence over which Christ, who is Lord over all, does not proclaim: ‘This is mine!’”

May we, like the iconographers, honor God through the work we do.

Someone once introduced me as a “vociferous reader.” I don’t often read outloud, and when I do, I rarely do shout, beller, or otherwise cause a commotion. Therefore, I must assume that he meant that I am a “voracious reader.” I hope so.

My reading, in fact, drives my wife nuts. I am easily distracted by words, and anything on paper demands to be read. That’s the easy part. These days, anything on the internet demands equal time. I know who invented Puffed Rice, but (in her words) can’t remember to put my morning coffee cup in the dishwasher.  She might argue that my reading has not improved her life. I would disagree, though. She admits to being happily married to me, and I suggest that it is my appetite for verbiage that makes me the fascinating human being that she thinks I am. I give myself far less credit. I am now and always shall be a bit dorky. There are no word nerds listed in the 100 most interesting people.

All that aside, we do what we do because of the way God wired us up. My interest in books and learning (which, Solomon has assured me, will have no end), have helped me to develop a meaningful–even useful–interest in leadership, education, organizational development, and program evaluation.

I heard an interview with the rebel educator John Taylor Gatto, and for all of his critcs, he made a great point: There is more to literacy than being able to read. He argued that there is passive literacy–the ability to take in information and make sense of it, but there is also active literacy–the ability to take what is learned and pass it along to others in a way that they can make sense of it. I love the concept, and I’ve found it particularly helpful in my work.

This blog is really my attempt to express some of the ideas that come into my life: To be a producer rather than solely a consumer of information. I do that in other ways, as well, through my teaching, my service as a leader, and my work as a consultant. There are limits however. Those things that I cannot express with words, I attempt to express with my life. That, my friends, is both frightening and humbling.

Now, please excuse me while I put my coffee cup in the dishwasher.