Month: August 2007

  • CSR: Romeo Coney Island

    Csr_greatLocation:
    Downtown Romeo on the corner of Main Street and Lafayette.

    Description:
    The Coney Island is the staple of any small Michigan town. This one is quaint and typical. It’s a local lunch spot for students, workers, and just about everyone else. The Coney is simple put the place to go in Romeo.

    Quality:
    I’ve never had a bad thing off the menu. The food is always hot, fast, and cheap. This isn’t the Ritz, but who wants the Ritz at the local greasy spoon?

    Service:
    The stereotypical Cheers where everyone knows your name. (Minus the liquor license and bar rats.) Service is always fast and friendly. They don’t even seem to mind if you are a bit sassy.

    Cost:
    For something with such staple food, it has staple prices as well. A typical lunch with drink is less than $10. They have a great kids menu as well.

    Ranking:
    Fast, solid service with good food ranks high in my book. It doesn’t matter if you are a visitor or a regular in Romeo, the Coney is super solid and I give it a Great.

    Agree or disagree?

  • New Feature: Customer Service Rankings

    Csr
    Today I am launching a brand new feature to adammclane.com. It’s called "Customer Service Ranking" or "CSR" for short.

    For the past few months I’ve been thinking about doing this. The main reason is simply that around my area I do a large amount of shopping, eating, and using services. Unlike most people I know, our family lives, works, worships, and plays all within a very small corner of the globe. With that in mind I’ve often wondered… "I wonder how people know where to go when they visit Romeo?"

    This is my unprofessional attempt to rate stuff. There are 6 rankings… they are pretty self explanatory.

    My criteria will be pretty straight-forward as well. Quality + service + cost = ranking.

    Don’t like one of my rankings? Leave a comment. Want to submit one of your own as a guest ranker? Email me at mclanea@gmail.com

  • Next Stop: Armada Fair

    I just got back from visiting the fairgrounds and getting a sneak peak of what is to come. I am now officially "super excited" about this opportunity at the Armada Fair.

    I think it was also the first time I drove through downtown Armada and realized just how close it is to Romeo. This is 100% within our "demographic" area. We ate at the Armada Roadhouse and it was quite good.

    Looking at the other merchants in our tent… we’re going to have fun. We are between the county health department and tastefully simple and across from a pampered chef booth. And just around the corner is something called "Magic Mushrooms" and some other very odd things. That’ll be super fun!

    I think our plan is simple, direct, and fun as we point everyone to KidsTown and MainStreet.

  • KidsTown on Church Marketing Sucks

    Banner_mock_up_4This week we finalized a lot of stuff for next week’s Armada Fair appearance. One important detail was getting a banner made that will be a part of our display.

    For some help, I submitted my idea to the Center for Church Communications labs. I knew the concept I wanted but didn’t know how else to make it work.

    Long story short, I got loads of help and I ended up with a design that I like very much. I think it will represent us quite well at the Armada Fair and other future events.

    Then this morning I was reading through my blog reader and found out that our process got mentioned on CFCC’s flagship site, Church Marketing Sucks.

    I have to be honest. I was just happy to get some help from professionals. One of the coolest things on the planet is that through the internet you can get access to people that it generally costs money to get access to. I’m no designer, but I get asked to design stuff for the church. (That’s just part of working for a small church… you get asked to "Jack of all trade" stuff.) Being able to go out and get peer review for something is amazing and a gift.

    For anyone finding this site because of the mention there. Welcome! The little orange button to the right will help you subscribe and keep up with me.

  • Global Leadership Summit 2007: Session 6 & 7 notes

    Global Leadership Summit 2007: Session 6 & 7 notes

    Session 6: Colin Powell

    1. Promote a clash of ideas. Good leaders encourage arguments based on their expertise. Clash is good. But when a consensus comes, that’s it… Follow me.
    2. Create a noisy system. Control environment so that it fosters discussion and YOUR ideas so he can make a great decision.
    3. Plans don’t accomplish work, people get stuff done. The leader has the responsibility to get the environment in place to get the work done. Give subordinates 2/3rds of the time to get a project done
    4. Open door policy. Give people direct access to get direct candid insight from trusted people.
    5. Probe the organization. More interested in raw feedback than politics or threatening behavior. Grass roots feedback by walking around.
    6. Reward best performers. Get rid of worst performers. When people aren’t  pulling their load… It creates animosity from good performers.
    7. Be prepared to disappoint.  Its just part of being a leader, deal with it.
    8. Check your ego at the door. Keep a little disassociated about issues. Otherwise you’ll  get destroyed
    9. Have fun along the way. Hobbies are good. It settles your mind. Doing something you can win is a great diversion from problems you cannot solve.
    10. Fit no stereotypes. Be your own person. Allow your performance to judge you. Prove you are a good soldier first, this will make you an equal. I was raised with an assumption that you would succeed and a strong sense of not wanting to shame the family.
    11. Optimism is a force multiplier. Gives you a massive advantage. It is infectious. But it has to be real.
    12. Things always look better in the morning. Starts your day with optimism. Start days with staff meetings… Tell me what I need to know. 10-30 minutes only. This is more important than today’s tragedy. It builds trust.
    13. War is a failure of diplomacy. It is to be avoided.
    14. How does leadership change on the battlefield? You must respond and react. In action you must speed things up.
    15. Trust the element of instinct. Analysis on the fly.
    16. Be prepared to be lonely. You have to stand on your decisions. Call subordinates to talk and listen to alleviate their pressure. Find ways to deal with it or its overbearing.
    17. What is the role of the church today? Educate on the issues of the day without becoming politicized. It has to focus on making a difference.
    18. What are you focused on? Youth 14-16 years old. (You read that right, Cubs fans… General Colin Powell, the man who could be president if he wanted to is saying no to so many other things so he can help his church do youth ministry.) Teaching them how to be men through the church. Working with minority kids in DC and New York. When you touch a life… You make a difference.
    19. How do you want to be remembered? Faithfulness.
    20. I want to go out in a state of grace. We all have a debt of service we cannot repay.


    Session 7: John Ortberg
    Dealing with fear in leadership

    Greatest fears of a leader

    • Failure
    • Mutiny
    • Criticism; leadership is disappointing people at a pace they can handle.
    • Greatest fear: going after a shadow mission.

    Esther 1: The king wanted to show off a hot wife… She said no. Then the king sent for the courts to handle it.

    The higher you rise, the less truth you learn about the organization. The organization starts to just tell the leader what he wants to hear. Do I want engagement  or compliance?

    So the king gets a new wife. Esther wins a contest to be the new queen. Her role is really just to please the queen.

    In comes hamen. And mordachai tells her… Your job here is not to please the king. It is to help combat the shadow mission of the king and haymen.

    What is your shadow mission? Where does your depravity lead you to? For john it is about finding public acclaim. We all have one area want to chase after.

    The danger with a shadow mission is that it is often close to what or talents are. Its usually only 10 degrees off from our primary giftedness.

    What is your churches shadow mission? For johns church it is “a succesful church for succesful people.”

    What if you had to put it on your statioary or church sign?

    Who is mordechai in your life?

    Do you have regular, honest dialogue about your shadow mission?

    If you don’t know what it is… Ask your coworkers as they know.

    The king asks esther… What do you want? Haymens shadow mission is “more”

    Evidenced by a lack of contentment.

    Will you be willing to name and confront the shadow mission of the people you work with?

    Esther 6:6 picture of haymens stupidity and vast shadow mission.

    Haymen is hung and mordechai is lifted up.

    Esther embraced her mission to die for, what about you?

    Have you to grips with your shadow mission? (temptation)

    Jesus modeled to us how to conquer a shadow mission. Tempted by satan to take the easy way.

    Jesus stares his shadow mission in the face and says no.

    It is God who is working in unseen ways to use you when you chose His mission over your shadow mission.

  • session five notes

    most helpful session so far.

    Session 5: Michael Porter Focusing on trying to do good in the community.

    Main idea: How do you do well at doing good? How do you serve effectively?

    The church is an institution that is a unique aspect about our country… We try to help transform society.

    Principles that add more impact. Assumtion is that most churches are not very effective in all that they try to do. Ultimately, the church gets poor results.

    Most churches don’t think strategically. The effective ones do and provide measurements .

    Most of our doing good is about the do gooders and not the recipient… We must not fall into that trap. We must focus on results. Some philanthropic efforts actually do more harm than good.

    Questions for leadership groups: How does your organiAtion set goals? What are we trying to achieve? What area will we serve? Too many, less is better for results. How will we deliver value to the recipients? How do we align the people?

    Points about goals: Define value: social benefits per dollar value. If you can’t so it better than someone else, just give them the money to do it. You have a societal responsibility as we all pay for that tax deduction

    You must measure to guarantee effectiveness.

    How to decide where to serve your community -worthiness of the cause is a trap… That isn’t something your able to argue… All issues are important. -Partly… This comes from your passion. -chosing must be based on Where can I add the most social benefit? -this can be determined by assessing your community to discover the most pressing needs of you community. What other organizations are there? Reinventing the wheel with your name on it is a tragedy. OUTSOURCE!

    Internal question: What type of human resources do we have? This helps us know what we can actually do.

    Where can we add more than just unskilled labor? Where can we do more than give money? Where can we use our skills for social good?

  • Conference Inspiration

    Legalpad
    If you read my notes from yesterday you may think… Adam, you are wasting your time going to this conference.

    If all I were getting was their content, I’d agree. But here’s the thing about conferences. (I have 2-3 more to go to this fall as well.) When I am listening to a great innovator or a great teacher or a great marketer talk about his thing… it actually spurs on my ideas.

    An interesting thing happens to me when I sit and listen. I generally grab a legal pad and start coming up with some of the most clear, concise, and effective ideas I will ever get. It’s an amazing thing as a speaker is doing his/her thing and it triggers this thought that I furiously write down.

    At NYWC during a message I came up with our identity formation thing I call "Light Force 101."

    At the Summit 2006, MainStreet was born. As were several things that made Light Force tick last school year.

    At NYWC 02, my "pop quiz" review was born.

    The Acts message series of 2006-2007 was born at Founder’s Week 2005.

    On and on. Right now I have so many projects swirling around for the ministry of Romeo that I need this time to get clarity. So there is the very practical "good stuff" of a conference in that I get encouragement and can network and recharge… but these conferences are also a major innovation time for me as well.

    It’s time spent that pays massive dividends for me.

  • The Summit, Day 1

    Well, day 1 was pretty much what I expected. A couple good sessions and one that was a sleeper. (Who decides to put the boring one after lunch?) Anyway… here are my notes. These are super raw and will provide perhaps far too much insight to how my brain works.

    Session 1
    Bill Hybels: John 10 casting vision.

    The most compelling vision is worthless without corporate ownership. Are people willing to
    die for the vision of the church? Its all about process.

    Mt Sinai vision casting vs. Team vision casting. Lead by the question
    of where do you see our organization in the next 5 years?

    Subsequent vision process: ask people what they think of your first
    vision draft. What excites you? What scares you? What are your secret
    concerns? Then adjust!
    Vision declaration: people have lives… You need to remind them of
    the vision consistently and often because they forget the vision.
    Would you be willing to die for your own vision? Are you an owner or
    an employee? Acts 21 Paul was willing to be bound and killed for God’s
    vision for Jerusalem… Are you willing to pay the price? It is the
    difference between your people following the vision and not.
    Bill closes with an example of how he sacrificed for the WCA vision.
    You have to own the vision… Be an owner and not a hireling.

    I thought Hybels did a fine job. He set the pace for the rest of the sessions to come. Jason said when he was done, "OK, I heard what I needed to hear." That’s worth the price of admission right there.

    Session 2:
    Carly Fiorina

    • Learning from various disciplines prepared her for leadership.
    • She quit law school because she didn’t love it. This was hard because she had to disappoint her parents.
    • Teamwork makes things fun. Its more fun to win together.
    • Since she was an anxious child, fear was a big part of her life. As a result she has learned to detect fear as well how to overcome it as a manager.
    • The complexity of being a female leader in a male world. She told a story about a meeting and confronting someone who wanted to close a deal at a strip club.
    • Her strategy for being a female in a male world. Any type of prejudice comes from fear. Next, it isn’t your problem… Instead find common ground and focus on your goal.
    • Motivation is the measurement of a leader. Leading is about new directions.
    • Give people a compelling reason to  believe that the vision is worth the pain.
    • Deal with the realities of the process.
    • Unlocking potential in people is a massived motivator… Take a chance on others.
    • Leadership development never ends… There is something to learn from everyone… Even bad experiences.
    • Put people outside their comfort zone to develop.
    • Dispassion is an important factor of a leader… Objectivity helps you see what needs to be done. It helps you make the right choice.
    • She talks about getting labeled the most powerful woman in business. She calls it a joke… But was flattered as well. She felt like that fame made her lonely. It killed her authenticity…
    • They started seeing a label instead.
    • The phrase the HP WAY became a hinderance instead of a motivator. It became an excuse to stop innovation.
    • Risk taking is part of the dna of an innovator.
    • When the end came… Chicago 2005.
    • Some internal business got leaked to the WSJ and that caused a major issue. When she confronted the parties… She was fired.
    • It was done in a back room meeting way.
    • She was asked to resign in a way similar to the ministry way… But she chose to not sell out and told the truth to the media. She said she wouldn’t sell out her character. At the end of the day integrity is more important than keeping her job. The truth was more important than saving face to the media.
    • "there is a gift in everything."
    • She is now experiencing freedom… Which she relishes.
    • Currently she is looking to find what’s next for her full time. In that sense she is waiting.
    • Bill closes by praying for Carly.

    I thought the interview was solid but I wondered if I had just read her book if I would have gotten more out of it.

    Session 3 was with Floyd Flake. I am sure he is a remarkable man. But he didn’t say anything I thought was remarkably applicable to my ministry or leadership development. I love the concept of community development and hope to one day unleash that concept in our town… because we desperately need it.

  • Blogging the Summit

    Tomorrow I’ll join a few thousand folks at the local satellite of Willow Creek’s Leadership Summit. Last year’s was quite good. I am really looking forward to getting challenged to think and act like a better leader. I am also looking forward to blogging my thoughts.

  • My kids are speed demons

    This week my kids tagged along on my favorite youth group trip of the year, we just call it "Michigan’s Adventure." Actually, it’s a camping trip where we spend one day at a small amusement park and one day canoing in rural Michigan.

    Kristen and I spent all day Monday at the park hanging out with our kids. What was so fun is the expression on Paul’s face as he experienced his first roller coasters. He went on all the rides they would let him on and just squealed with joy as they twisted, turned, dropped, and spun. When we got off the big swing thing I asked Paul about it and he said, "This is my favorite, I felt my butt go in the air." It was then we knew we had created a monster! Later, I took Megan on the kids roller coaster called "Zack’s Zoomer." As soon as we were done we decided to try it with Paul… and he loved it! In fact, he made us get right back on it and do it again.

    Being a youth pastor is unlike a lot of gigs out there in that my "work" needs to see my family. It may seem like a cheesy excuse to bring my kids, but it is clear that it is healthy for my kids to be around my work. I don’t do it often but this is one trip they get to come on.

    Having them along for the ride (and other events where we invite the whole family) is helping me see the importance of this thing called "family ministry" and it’s relationship to a healthy youth ministry.