Month: December 2011

  • Tractors Fly Free, Too

    My love for Southwest Airlines was reaffirmed last night. 

    I fly Southwest whenever I can. I love their easy ticketing, check in app, and seating policies. I love their amazing customer service. And I love their easy Rapid Rewards program for earning free tickets.

    Last week, I flew to Chicago to have some meetings, celebrate the release of the Love is an Orientation DVD, and see some family. While I was visiting my dad in Mishawaka he brought out this amazing gift for Jackson, our 10 month old.

    It’s a late 1950’s Farmall Pedal Tractor. Any self-respecting boy would love this thing… and I can see why grandpa thought Jackson needed it. When he gave it to me he said, “You can carry that on the airplane, right?” I laughed. “Um, no. I’m allowed one personal item and a carry-on but that’s way to big. Maybe I can check it?”

    Like father, like son, right? Neither of us are known for thinking things through. All he knew is it would be awesome and we could figure it out. Well, in this case he must have known I’d figure it out!

    I knew it was too big and too oddly shaped to go on a plane. My plan was to put it in my rental car and take it to a UPS Store in Chicago to mail it. And if that was too expensive I’d find a friend with a child who would love it or even donate it to charity.

    But there was no way that thing would fly. It was too big.

    On Saturday I took it to a UPS Store in Wrigleyville. I waited in line, getting oohhs and ahhhs from city dwellers dreaming of their country upbringing. When I got to the front the clerk was up for the challenge. He carefully measured and found a box for it. Then he did  the estimate for UPS: +/- $250.

    Yikes! That would never work. I left it there for a couple hours, asking him to pack it in a box and look for other options. When I came back it was expertly packed in a massive wardrobe box but it was now officially too large to ship. (USPS doesn’t take boxes that big. And I don’t have the credit to ship it FedEx!)

    I took it and put it back in the car. Literally, it took up half of my rental SUV. This box was HUGE! And I was stressing out a bit about what to do with this tractor. Kristen even suggested that I get on it and ride it to San Diego.

    Yesterday, I took it to my cousin Maria’s house. Maria can fix anything. Literally, McGuiver calls her when he’s in a bind because she is that good. So we took it out of the box and roared with laughter. The UPS Store had bubble wrapped it, bedded it in millions of packing peanuts, and sealed it in this amazingly large box which was 11 inches too big for Southwest’s oversized baggage policy.

    “Let’s just trust Southwest. They’ll figure it out.” I said that not really thinking they would. Even without the packaging it was slightly too long to fit into their policy. At the same time, I have heard and read in Spirit for years how accommodating Southwest can be. (Remember, they even had a reality show all about that!)

    So here I am, walking through Midway with this big, heavy die cast red tractor. Standing in line to check it there were little kids (and their dads) all over wanting to look at it even though it was fully bubble wrapped.

    When it was my turn to check in I put the tractor on the scale and swiped my credit card at the kiosk to print my boarding pass. When the agent came over to grab my bag she started to laugh. “What is this?” So I told her the story about my dad giving this to my son and how I’d tried to ship it and I was just trying to get it home for Christmas.

    She didn’t bat an eye. “He’s going to love it. Just sign this damage waiver and we’re good to go. We’ll get it there.” That was it. No more questions. And no charge. Yes, bags fly free. But this was too big to be considered oversized. No charge, just a smile.

    A few hours later, after an uneventful flight to San Diego, I waited in baggage claim to see how it turned out. I expected it to come out in the oversized bag area, where the golf clubs come out, and would not have too surprised to see parts.

    Then I heard the snickers and giggles. There it was! In all it’s red tractor awesomeness, making its way around the carousel– in perfect condition!

    Thanks Southwest. Your commercials say, “Bags fly free.” But I’d like to point out that Tractors Fly Free, too. 

  • A storied life

    Last night I had a night to myself. I have three kids, happily married, and am aggressively launching two businesses. I never have an evening all to myself. Just one of my favorite towns on the planet, Chicago, and 6 hours.

    I drove over to one of my favorite hole in the wall restaurants, Irazu. (Oatmeal shake, steak el tico, you need to try it.) I hate eating alone! But the food there is so good that it was totally worth it. Then I took the long way back to my friends house… just enjoying the fun vibe of the city. I drove up Western Avenue, across to Lake Shore Drive, then back up Clark to the North Side.

    Even with the scenic route and trying to find parking I was back in 2.5 hours.

    So I sat down and pretty much vegged out watching Sportscenter, which kept my attention for about 45 seconds before I grabbed my laptop and started surfing around on Facebook.

    The new timeline feature has a little app called “map” that I started fiddling with. Essentially, it’s asking you to tag your photos based on location so that you can see a cool map of the places you’ve been. So I started going through my photos on Facebook. Lots and lots of photos. Each with a story and a memory.

    This lead to me looking at pictures on Facebook for a couple of hours. Tagging, remembering the name of the place I was at, and moving on to the next set of images.

    Looking at all of those pictures reminded me of all the amazing places I’ve been in my life. I’ve lived in several states. I’ve lived in Europe. I’ve visited tons of places in the United States, Europe, parts of Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

    If I’m honest– I’ve lived a pretty storied life. Being in my hometown of South Bend this week reminded me that my life didn’t have to turn out the way that it has. Just like my dad, I could have chosen to live in the same community for 65 years and been perfectly happy.

    All of that reflection lead me to this single thought: Is it that I’m living a storied life or is it that I’m living a life worthy of telling a story? 

    Sure, some could say I’ve been fortunate. They could say I’ve been at the right place at the right time lots and lots of times. But I’d be quick to point out that I was and always am looking for opportunities to better my story.

    It’s not so much that I’ve lived a storied life. It’s that I’ve maintained a posture looking for a story.

    That’s the choice we face each day. Is today a story worthy day or not? You get to decide. 

  • Jesus loves Ron Jeremy

    Ladies and genteman of the jury I submit to you…

    People are hard-wired for Good News. It’s like crack to their soul.

    Yes, Good News can change lives. Anyone’s life.

  • Hard wired for Good News

    Have you ever wondered how you could grow your church? 

    What if I could tell you a way to grow your church and your churches impact in the community?

    Here’s how. It’s mostly free. And it’s totally doable. Guaranteed to not backfire. 

    Be Good News to your neighbors. Not start a Good News program. Not preach about Good News.

    That’s putting it on someone else. It’s a way of saying your role as a leader is to move people without you yourself moving.

    Here’s how you grow your impact in your community– starting right now. Be Good News to your neighbor. Yeah, the person next door to you. Yeah, the family across the street.

    Ask yourself this question– What would be Good News for them? And do it.

    Why will this grow your church? Because we, as humans made in the image of God, are hard wired to love Good News. It’s like crack to our soul. We can’t get enough. We are searching for Good News in an instinctual way we can’t explain. And when Good News happens to us or we even partner with a neighbor to bring Good News to someone else, something deep in our soul reasonates with that.

    Each person is hard wired for God. And the catalyst, universal connecting point? Good News.

    In a post-Christian society, the best way to grow your ministry is to deeply reasonate with the part of people’s soul that defies logics last stand. Good News supersedes all. It’s the Gospels secret weapon.

  • Lessons from the Cloud

    I have a fundamental belief that the problems we experience in church leadership are technologically based. It’s not that we have the wrong mission or wrong people, it’s often that we are working on the wrong technologies. (Programs, agendas, projects)

    You might not see the connections between this presentation and your church. But the parallels are stunning. 

    • Just like at this company, there are lots of committees and their agendas at play.
    • Just like this company, we have legacy programs which are expensive to maintain.
    • Just like this company, there are people who work at your church doing things deemed mission critical that aren’t actually critical to the mission of the church.

    A grocery store company isn’t in the IT business any more than a church is in the building maintenance business. Contextualize that for your church. There are lots of things that each church does which are deemed mission critical but aren’t actually critical to the mission of the church.

    Yet, when we talk about foundational changes in the church, getting back to the core mission, there’s tons of fear internally. Fear is what stops all change. Fear is what stops all dreaming.

    Here’s what we learn from this talk that transfers right into the church.

    1. Different people buy into change for different reasons. The CFO wants to hear you’ll save money. The user wants to know you’re making their life better. Fiefdom owners want to know their fiefs are respected.
    2. End-users are wondering what’s taking you so long.
    3. The hardest shift is within the staff, it’s all about control.
    4. Continuous improvement is an expectation of the end user, even old people. And it changes the culture of the staff.
    5. Spend the time not on making changes but on change management. The changes themselves can happen quite quickly.
    6. Real-time collaboration is a better learning and leadership tool than presentations. (Though presentations still have a place.)
    7. Changing the focus back to our core mission helps the whole organization dream about new ways to live out the mission. Thousands of brains and hearts focused on the same thing is so much more powerful than a handful of leaders guiding the mission.

  • BREAKING: Santa to Cut Back Production in 2011

    PRESS RELEASE

    For immediate release

    NORTH POLE – Citing rising energy costs and increased demands for high tech goods, Santa Claus is forecasting a 13% reduction in the number of gifts distributed to the world’s children on December 25th. The 10 year average gift-per-child (GPC) is 5.2, in 2011 Santa Claus will reduce the average to 4.52.

    Santa Claus, Inc. CEO and Chief Delivery Officer Santa Claus reports, “2011 has been one of our most difficult years. Several factors have lead to our decreasing the per gift child forecast to 4.52. (GPC)”

    In a briefing given via their 4th Quarter shareholder webcast, Mr. Claus outlined the factors which lead to this decision.

    • The price of oil globally has continued to increase costs across the board. While the North Pole complex is able to offset some of these costs with their 2009 initiated solar program during the summer months for toy production and shipping/receiving periods, when winter sets in the plants become fully dependent on diesel generatored power.
    • Grain costs for the reindeers has more than doubled in 2011. To offset this for the 2012 season Santa Claus has a team of elves working on a new formula which will combined traditional grains and Fruit Loops with filler from letters children mail to the North Pole during the Christmas season.
    • Labor prices for the North Pole plant have continued to outpace inflation. With rising health care costs and new concessions for wage increases after October’s “Occupy Santa” protests, overall labor prices have increased 9% while production decreased 18% year-over-year.
    • With newspaper and magazine circulation at an all-time low, Santa Claus’ Wish List and Letters to Santa Claus paper recycling programs have decreased revenue sharply. To offset this loss in revenue, Santa Claus, Inc CFO Mrs. Claus has opened an Etsy shop to sell officially licensed mittens, work gloves, sleigh seat covers, and hats.
    • While the release of the Kindle Fire has helped some, North American children are demanding more highly priced toys under the tree for Christmas. Santa has limited each child to one Apple product. Though Santa Claus, Inc is the single largest purchaser of Apple products globally, the price controls by the Cupertino computer maker have not allowed Santa’s elves to negotiate significant discounts. “It’s really a Wal-Mart thing.” Claus reports. “Apple is afraid that if Bentonville hears we are getting a better price than them they will lose their contract.“
    • Significant infrastructure investments have been made exploring an additional toy storage depot in the Southern Hemisphere. Claus reports, “While it makes sense logistically to store some gifts in the South Pole, the South Pole elves are difficult to work with. Frankly, they have sticky fingers– and I don’t mean because they’ve eaten too many candy canes. In the 1980’s we tried a similar endeavor and had to cease operations when we discovered South Pole elves were selling gifts on the black market to China during the summer months.“

    Despite the reduction in the GPC, Mr. Claus is expecting a Merry Christmas. “We don’t let a high fuel prices, elf labor issues, or Wal-Mart stop us from fully enjoying Christmas.”

    The early forecast for 2012 GPC is set to increase significantly in 2012. “Ah yes, with 2012 elections in the United States we will see many more adults on the naughty list. And that’s good for American children as we will be able to spend more on children’s toys.” 

    Press contact and interview requests: press@northpole.org

  • My geeky newsletter starts tomorrow

    Starting tomorrow is my new, totally random, and hopefully useful newsletter– Remnants.

    If you’re into webby things and you want to take a deep dive into the geeky side of web stuff, like how to actually build stuff. Than this is for you.

    If not… I’d suggest not subscribing. 

  • Learn from me next Saturday in Chicago

    Here’s the deal. I am scheduled to teach two classes next Saturday in Chicago. But as of right now… no one has signed up! I’ve got plenty of people interested as watchers on Skillshare but no one has ponied up the money to attend the class. If I don’t get 4-5 people by Monday at midnight Pacific I’m going to cancel the classes and watch football instead.

    I’ve actually just lowered the cost of the class from $25 to $20 to make it a bit easier.

    Growing Your Business with MailChimp

    Mailchimp is an amazingly powerful tool. Whether you are a small start-up, a restaurant, a band, or a non-profit– Mailchimp can help you grow your business. In this 2-hour class we’ll quickly cover the basics of the service and quickly dive into unleashing the power of this amazing email marketing webapp. We’ll talk about lists & groups, templates, integrations with tools like Eventbrite, Facebook, and Salesforce, and email marketing strategy.

    Register here

    Blogging 101

    This class will be laid back but full of experience, practical application, and practice. As a full-time blogger and blog coach I’ve helped countless bloggers get going for their own blogs and even launch small businesses. Topics covered: (But not limited to) – Getting started for free – Choosing the right platform – Customizing your blog – What to write about – How to write for response – How to build a tribe – Intro to analytics and other measurement tools – Principles of social media interaction The class will be two hours. But the format is loose and I won’t leave until I’ve answered all of your questions. My goal is that you walk away with a firm understanding of what to do AND ready to get started.

    Register here

  • Just Friends, No Benefits

    Kind of reminds me of the movie When Harry Met Sally.

    It seems some things in college life never change, right?

  • People are fragile

    “Make sure you take your shoes off today.”

    “Pardon me? I didn’t hear you.” (Taking my headphones out of my ears)

    “You look busy. Don’t forget to take your shoes off today. It’s a beautiful day. Trust me. Go outside, take your shoes off, and walk around. It’ll connect your chi to the earth and your soul will sing to the sun. We need to celebrate that stuff or we we’ll go crazy.”

    “OK, thanks for the tip.”

    “EVERYBODY! TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF RIGHT NOW! CONNECT TO MOTHER EARTH!” (She turns and whistles, literally, as she leaves the shop.)

    The store erupts into sheepish snickers.

    All I wanted was a cup of coffee.

    Somehow in the process I must have made the mistake of making eye contact and saying good morning to my advice-giving-homeless-traveller. My mind was on getting to the office and settling in. But this happy-go-lucky woman flashed me out of my insular space to leave every person in the store staring at me.

    As I was leaving the shop the owner shouted at me… “Hey, sir! Sir!” I turn around to see his huge smile. “Don’t forget to take off your shoes today, OK? It’s good for your chi.”

    Watching the woman walk across the park, happily smiling, skipping, and talking to anyone and everyone– I couldn’t help but chew on this reality: 

    Life is fragile. People are fragile. I am fragile.

    In our innocence we are fragile. In our pain we are fragile. In our addictions we are fragile. In our wonderings we are fragile. God has created us, all of us, as fragile.

    Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

    Matthew 6:26