Wow it has been almost a month since I did a Backstage Pass to allow a little sneak peak access into the lessons I learn, re-learn, or the bloopers that I commit. So, let’s take a look into some more from this past weekend.
1. Anytime you do not prepare properly (even though each time this has happened I always felt that I had good reasons until I flopped on my face on Sunday), it will effect your sleep on Saturday night. I could not sleep Saturday night and was up and down and up and down every hour or so. So when I showed up Sunday morning, I was dragging and no amount of Starbucks was going to help. Fortunately the day went ok except me knowing it could have been better.
2. Never try to have a real serious service when the kids and parents minds are on the Super Bowl or other type of after church service stuff. We had to rally the troups several times that Sunday due to where their minds where at. Plus me being tired probably did not add to the situation.
3. Keep your mission at the top and values in line with that mission.
4. There are times you need to nip bad attitudes right away before they walk away and spread them to others on the team.
5. Always keep asking yourself why you do what you do the way you do it and challenge everything. Once you stop doing that you have started to become irrelevant.
6. When you have great team members, it is amazing how much more you can do and how much faster and more efficient you can do stuff. So out of all of my budget items, investing in the team s something that should never slip. I love my team members.
7. When you can foster a spirit of “we don’t care who get’s the credit”, it makes those who do care who gets the credit even more obvious.
Well there it is, the good, the bad, and the ugly. But what a grat God we serve as He has helped me make the proper adjustments for to battle and overcome each one of those.
To God be all the glory!!
Here is another Texting Tuesday post from our questions during our Texting services done in Take TWO’s The Studio. This week we had less questions to post due to bad weather and us canceling all services but the 2pm service. I still want to encourage parents to use what is here as devotional material with your kids. Use it to talk with them on some topics that to tell you the truth have surprised some of us that kids even had on their radar let alone some actually dealing with these issues.
Here we have another batch of questions that have been asked by the kids that we did not get to during our Studio Kids service. It is our desire to get to the place of posting these every Tuesday here on this blog for our Texting Tuesday post. What is a Texting Tuesday post day exactly? We have started to allow kids in our studio service (4-6th grade) to bring their cell phones and use them during our service. We have found out that often times kids have more on their minds that we are aware. The there are those parents who want a way into the thoughts and concerns of their kids but are unsure of how to get this accomplished. Well here is part of our answer for this. Please note, I did not go in and edit spelling or punctuation for this because we wanted to stay as true as possible to what and how the kids asked their questions.
This morning my daughter was running a little later than what she wanted to be doing as she was getting ready for school. So, no big deal she goes ahead and ask good ol’ faithful dad if I could make her a snack bag of Cheez-It’s. And so on I go to do exactly that.I know many are reading and saying, “What’s the big deal with this?” Well actually nothing up to this point but it is what tales place after I make the bag.
My daughter of almost 9 years of age come Febuary comes out and ask to see the bag. So of course I show her and then the praises begin. My daughter compliments me on filling up the bag exactly like she would have. She then ask me if I read her mind? She goes on for a few moments all the while building me up for filling a bag with Cheez-It crackers.
Here is where she and I talked some more about this. She just did a fantastic job as a leader in this situation.
1. My daughter after the ask, she followed up later by inspecting the bag to make sure it was what she was looking for.
2. She asked and briefly told me the bottom line of what needed to be done and then left it for me to do. Great delegation.
3. She then inspected what I did to make sure it was to her satisfaction. But she left me creative room to do the job as I felt it should be done. She did not micro-manage me but allowed me to do a job she asked and I accepted.
4. Finally she built me up through giving feedback to me of my job well done. I felt successful and was willing to do it again because of this great experience she set me up for.
There it is, the basic steps we as leaders need to do when involving others into what we are doing.
So maybe this was a little cheesey, but it is a lesson we should be reminded of often.
Thanks to my daughter.
I must start off this review with a confession. This book took me longer than any other book to read for only one purpose: My life became very busy from the moment I took on this book. This book is an easy read and one that should keep you engaged.
Ralph de la Vega is the author of “Obstacles Welcome” and the president & CEO of AT&T mobility and consumer markets. As the tagline of the book, ‘turn adversity to advantage in business and life’ suggests this book comprises of writer’s lifetime experiences and the theories and attitude he followed to achieve his goals.
I enjoyed how every chapter of the book ends with ‘Takeaway Messages’, giving points to spark continued thinking about through our daily struggles or opportunities in life. His way of looking towards life is admirable and can provide inspiration in thought.
Obstacles Welcome outlines a simple set of strategies for people at every level of society who face challenges in their businesses, education and personal lives.
1. First, de la Vega says, when faced with a challenge we must assess the situation, examining our strengths and weaknesses.
2. We must establish a vision, what we have decided we are going to accomplish.
3. We must create a plan for success, listing the steps necessary to make the vision become reality. “Hope,” de la Vega points out, “is not a strategy.”
4. Lastly we must put the plan into effect, monitoring and adjusting it with incoming information as we progress toward the goal, keeping in mind a solid foundation of values. Ethical practice is not only “the right thing but the wise thing to do,” de la Vega declares.
As the book ends, so I want to end this the same way..
“So now my work continues…creating experiences to convince the youth of the world that life can be more than they ever dreamed if they get an education and use it to bring their own best ideas to reality.
I want this ongoing journey to be their own plane to freedom, helping to lift them above their limitations and landing them where their opportunities have no limits.”
Read this book and maybe you too will pick this heart beat of the author up.
