Category: management

  • Two San Diego State Universities: The Power of Winning

    Two San Diego State Universities: The Power of Winning

    I’m new to State. I moved into the College Area in 2008 and quickly adopted them. I’m not an alumni. I didn’t grow up in San Diego. They are just the school that’s near my house and I enjoy going to football and basketball games.

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  • The Machine & The Magician: What you need to know about distraction

    I’ve been learning a lot about the creative process lately. Like you, so much of my life is built around the concept that sometimes I need to be highly productive and other times I need to be highly creative. But, at all times, my work is best when it is both on time and creatively completed.

    The Machine

    Since childhood, we’ve been taught that there are times to sit down and focus all of our efforts on a task. I remember being rewarded as a 6 year old in kindergarten for my ability to sit down and do my work. My teacher had it set up so that each child, during a segment of the day for learning, could work at their own pace. I was really, really good at doing this. But if you looked at someone or whispered to your neighbor or suddenly got up and did a wiggle dance, that was inappropriate & bad.

    In college, you were probably truly challenged academically for the first time– you had to learn how to study and knock hard projects out quickly. Further, you learned that there were times that if you disciplined yourself to focus that you could turn your brain into a task-master machine.

    I knew that I could disappear into the corners of Moody’s library for four hours with a mug of coffee and emerge with a 10 page paper, 25 definitions memorized, a test prepared for, and 2 chapters of a book read with annotated notes for later review.

    The machine is the opposite of creative. It pounds out work. It produces. And when the grades came out the one with the most powerful machine often won the highest grades.

    As an adult I depend on turning on this machine. It takes me a while to get to that “machine” space, but if I put my headphones in with some improvisational jazz, turn off social media, and get into a project I can get there– knocking out a lot in a short amount of time.

    The Magician

    Have you been around babies & toddlers? I’ve had 3 of them crawl around my house in my lifetime. They are born magicians… incredibly creative in what they do. Turn your head for a second and BAM– they’ve done something amazing. Children can take two seemingly unrelated things and tie them together magically. In an instant they can disappear into a pretend world full of adventure, they can create stories out of thin air complete with backstory and plot twists.

    You don’t have to teach a child how to be creative, it’s intuitive. If you allow them to just be themselves they are automatically creative.

    To Review

    The Machine is learned behavior to concentrate hard on a task, it is good.

    The Magician is your natural creative self, the part of you that sees clay and stcks and smiles, it is also good.

    Distraction isn’t bad

    When I am in work mode I tend to think distractions are bad. Positive reinforcement from teachers and success in college taught me that. I get somewhere quiet and predictable. I work very well after the kids go to bed or at my office. Interruptions and distractions feel like the enemy. Phones, texts, Facebook, Twitter, visitors, going to the bathroom… all feel as though they will disturb the machines production.

    But that’s not how it works. Your best work happens because an idea is sparked. When I get peer review of my work and overlay positive feedback with the timing of its production, the things that are most often the best– a creative solution, a breakthrough, an insight, a great paragraph— most often are in my work because the machine got turned off for a time and the magician was allowed to play. Perhaps I was in full machine mode and needed a lunch break? While walking there, my mind still churning on the work, I’ll get an idea or a solution or a insight into that work that I add. But sometimes this happens because a phone rings in another room, or a someone at a coffee shop drops something. Those breaks from Machine mode allow the Magician to play with the thing I’m working with and mix it with something else.

    In fact, I’ve learned that intentionally allowing myself to become distracted can be an excellent way to generate new ideas. Taking a walk, shower, phone call, checking Facebook, listening to a sermon, catching up on the news, pulling weeds in the garden, playing with my kids, goofing off, even doing a small task like packing a box– all of these things allow me to turn the Machine off and allow my naturally creative mind, the Magician, to begin playing with ideas.

    The Machine and the Magician are Playmates

    I’ve learned that the Machine and the Magician are not adversaries. I will not truly be productive if I see the Machine as the winner and the Magician as the loser. (Though many people perpetuate that myth & it certainly seems productive.) My work is at its best when I foster interplay between getting things done and getting things done playfully. My work is best, not when I have hours and hours of uninterrupted Machine time, but when I have concerted time which builds in intentional distractibility so that the Magician has his voice.

  • Celebrating some vision victories

    It’s good to reflect and celebrate vision victories.

    Vision victories are your organizations aspirations you’ve put into action. And not just set into motion or tried but really done.

    The Double Start-up

    I was afraid of self-employment. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure, paperwork, and realities of being a part of 2 simultaneous start-ups. Make no bones about it… sometimes its completely crazy. But more  than a year into it, it’s working, it’s growing, and my vision premise is holding true. McLane Creative & The Youth Cartel are thriving… any look at the spreadsheet confirms it.

    Bam. Vision victory.

    OpenYM.org

    Late last night I was working on some details for Open Seattle, Open Boston, and Open Paris. In the midst of that I realized… Wow, what a vision victory. At this time last fall Open was a nameless white paper. Actually, it was a PDF saved on my desktop called “YouthMinCamp-v4.pdf.” That’s really all it was. An idea, something I had a vision for, but had no plausible way of knowing if we could pull it off.

    About a year ago I started talking to people, essentially shopping the idea around and seeking partnership to make it happen. And the first one really is happening on October 6th.

    Bam. Vision victory. 

    TYC Publishing

    When I joined the Cartel with Marko one of the 4 things we said we wanted to do was publishing. We talked about publishing books and resources but, in truth, that was all vision for me and zero knowledge of how that works. (Obviously, Marko knows a thing or two about publishing!) We dipped our toes in the publishing waters over the past year with 2 titles but have really put a lot of steam into it this summer, going into the fall. For me, this has meant learning how to make a Word document (aka manuscript) into a book/iBook/Kindle book. We’re really close on our next release and have several more in the hopper. A year ago… the hopper was a dream, now its a total reality.

    Bam. Vision victory. 

    The Summit & MSMC

    It’s crazy. These two events are so solid. The genesis of both of these came from Marko, I really didn’t do much more than build the website and send out some emails for the Campference in 2011. The Summit was an idea Marko had as a white paper similar to Open for a while that we decided to give a shot in 2012… we had no idea how much people would like the concept. But both of these have been much more “our babies” in 2012. From inviting speakers, finding locations, themes, marketing, etc… both of these were great visions that have taken mountains of execution to get to the point where they look to be pretty successful in 2012.

    Bam. Vision victory. 

    Family R&R

    My last 2 years at YS and my first 6 months or so at the Cartel were at a mind-numbing pace. While I was having fun at that pace, my family wasn’t. So Kristen and I had a vision to rest better as a family. We protect Sunday as a family Sabbath. We go to the beach regularly, we go to ball games together, we took 3 camping trips in the past 12 months, on and on. It hasn’t been easy but the impact on our family is visible. We are closer, we have more “McLane-ness,” and we are on a sustainable pace.

    Bam. Vision victory. 

    It’s one thing to have vision. Vision is free. But vision is just a pipe dream without execution.

     


  • Going 3 million miles

    Irvin Gordon's 1966 Volvo“I have a feeling I’ll be dead long before the car.” ~ Irvin Gordon

    Mr. Gordon has put almost 3 million miles on his 1966 Volvo. The average person drives a car 15,000 miles per year around where they live.  At that rate Gordon has driven his car 200 years. According to my calculator Mr. Gordon has driven his car, on average, 65,000 miles per year.

    Most people put about 100,000 miles on a car before they get a new one. And if you’re in youth ministry you generally get a car with about 100,000 miles on it and drive it to about 220,000 miles when it implodes into a cloud of rust, dust, and repair bills.

    The story of Gordon’s isn’t just that his car has lasted a long time. It’s that he’s created a way to use his car in such a way that endures, seemingly, forever.

    Create Something Enduring

    As I think about Gordon’s 1966 Volvo I can’t help but think about the things that I care about in my life. I certainly hope my relationships and the stuff I’m doing can last 46 years… and hopefully long after I die. But this story causes me to ask some important questions about getting there.

    • How can I maintain relationships in a way that will endure 65,000 miles of usage in a year?
    • Can I create systems for my life that are seemingly infinitely maintainable?
    • Am I even aware of the engine that makes everything work, or do I just go along until something doesn’t sound right?
    • Is my pace sustainable for the long haul?
    • Are the things I’m creating going to outlast me?

    ht to Detroit Free Press

  • Proactive vs. Reactive

    The past year or so has taught me all new levels of being proactive that I’d never needed to be before. 

    • Shipping orders for our store, tracking packages, and making adjustments to our shipping rates to keep up with USPS.
    • Um, getting people to buy stuff from said store means that I have to order from the manufacturer, build their shipping costs into my costs, market the products, and a whole bunch more stuff.
    • Helping a wide variety of organizations with their web development needs has meant deeply listening to what they are asking for and proposing solutions they aren’t even imagining.
    • Not having a boss or board has meant that if I’m not on top of it, I’ll work 80 hours per week every week and never take a vacation.
    • Taxes. Oh for the love of all things, I have to track sales tax, city business tax, state & federal income tax, and social security tax. Most of them are due on the same days but you’ve got to watch it! One of the reasons I’m so shy about hiring someone right now is taxes!

    I won’t bore you with the details of all the things I need to stay on top of as a small business owner.

    The point is that when I’m proactive I catch things before they are problems. I discover opportunities I didn’t even know about. I catch mole hills before they are mountains.

    For me, I live in a weird space of half business and half ministry. It’s good business for me to keep on top of things and anticipate stuff to just keep a step ahead. But it’s also a good ministry practice.

    Proactive vs. Reactive

    I think a lot of ministry people get in trouble because they are in a reactive posture as opposed to a proactive one. They are a step-behind the needs of their congregation instead of leading them into a new future.

    A reactive posture is dealing with bad news when your people need good news from you.

    Never forget that people come to Jesus because they need Good News. Not just spiritual teaching, they need Jesus to be their provider, their rescuer, their day-to-day Savior, and their healer.

    And when you can help them be proactive about that? Solid gold.

  • The Realistic Truth of Chasing Dreams

    I’m chasing a dream. 

    And,  to be perfectly blunt, dream chasing is more fun at 36 years old than it was at 18 years old.

    Hard work pays off

    As long as it’s hard work towards your dreams, that is.

    In June of 1994 I worked 14-18 hours per day, 7 days per week. It was the summer before my freshmen year at Moody and I needed to have $5000 in savings before August 15th to pay for my first semester.

    I worked on a paint crew from 6:00 am – 2:00 PM. I painted dorm rooms, locker rooms, offices, and hallways. I made $4.80 per hour, plus free summer housing. Then I’d go back to the dorm, shower, and run to my second full-time job where I scooped ice cream from 4:00 PM – close. Most nights I came home from that job between 12:00 AM – 1:00 AM. There I made a whopping $6.50/hour. On Saturday & Sunday, when I didn’t work on the paint crew, I’d often work from open to close at the ice cream shop.

    I did this for the entire summer. Before the first day of freshmen orientation I picked up both my paychecks and when I made the deposit my savings balance was $5200.

    Truth? This was an awesome season for me. Yes, I worked hard. Yes, it’s all I did. But I was chasing a dream of paying for college with cash. And it paid off. I was very proud of myself because I had a lot to be proud of.

    In June of 2011, after a long process, Kristen and I decided to chase our current dream. I wish I could say that it is less work in 2011 – 2012 than it was in 1994. But that would be a lie.

    Dream chasing is hard work. 

    Practical realities

    • I work 12-16 hours 5-6 days per week. That often means going to the office from 9-5 and  then after the kids go to bed working from 9-1.
    • I’m not a fan of bookkeeping & accounting. I just kind of stink at it.
    • Working from home & co-working is funky. People tell me all the time, “You must love the flexibility.” I suppose I have a lot of flexibility. But one way or another I’ll be sitting in front of this screen 12 – 18 hours per day.
    • As our businesses grow so do the levels of complexity. Mo’ money, mo’ problems I guess. More like, mo’ money, mo’ lawyers.
    • Vacations are SUPER expensive. Sure, I’ve budgeted to take weeks off. But it can be hard to relax when you know the meter isn’t running.
    • The payoff can be great. My friends are quick to point out how awesome it is to “keep what you make.” Unfortunately, I also keep what I don’t make.
    • Taxes are no fun. Small business ownership involves a complex game of juggling taxation. Sales tax, city tax, income tax, write offs, lots of stuff you don’t think about if you’ve got a regular gig.
    • Juggling takes concentration. Working with lots and lots of people on lots and lots of projects at the same time is a rush. But it also means you always have to keep focused. Take your eye off what’s next, even for a minute, and you have 3 conference calls scheduled for the same 30 minute time block.
    • It’s all about risk management. It takes a while to get into the rythym of knowing when to play it safe and when to gamble. The simple truth is that if you never gamble a little you’ll never reap the rewards of a bet. Business ownership depends on some of your projects paying back 10x the bet. The trick is knowing when to take those risks and when to walk away.

  • Go real fast!

    There’s a lot of talk about “balance” and “boundaries” and all sorts of phrases like that. I’m always interested when I hear this in Christian circles because the men and women of the New Testament were incredibly out of balance and the very reason Christianity spread was because it refused to have boundaries.

    But I digress. Back to the present-day.

    Just an observation. Two kinds of people seem to talk about work-life balance.

    1. People who are already financially successful. There’s something about a person with passive income from their investments and ideas that makes them a bit preachy about work-life balance to people who aren’t quite in their tax bracket.
    2. People who have legit 9-5 jobs. OK, I admit it, I’m jealous of you. I gave up my 9-5 gig in 2002 and small parts of me have regretted it. (Like the parts of me that got the direct deposit and did countdowns until I got 4 weeks vacation instead of 3.) But yeah, if you have a job that you can completely contain into your work day, awesome.

    That leaves a whole lot of schmucks just like me. People on the pathway to achieving some measure of success in the work they are passionate about.

    So here’s what I’m learning when it comes to work-life balance. And here’s the obstacle that I’m learning to overcome.

    The work-life balance people above? They don’t know what they are talking about. 

    When life is going way too fast, when you have too much on your plate, and when your instinct and those work-life voices are screaming in your ear about balance?

    Give them a wink and hit the gas real hard.

    Seriously.

    It’s your instinct to slow down that is killing you. That’s what is keeping it a one-man show or a 10 person shop when it can become a whole lot bigger than you. You’ve got to go a lot faster than what you think you can handle in order to really start to grow.

    To grow you have to get past the current capacity you have and define a whole new capacity.

    And you won’t discover that new capacity for that organization until you go real fast!

    Photo credit: Mario Pleitez via Flickr (Creative Commons)

  • Giant slayer

    I can’t speak for you. But for me– there are some giants on my radar to slay. 

    I could be introspective and talk about the giants I overcome in the inches between my ears. But if I’m honest, there are some very real giants out there for me to slay. Big, ugly, hairy, scary ones who have an addiction to anabolic steroids.

    It’s not for everyone

    I’ve been on this giant slaying journey for a long time. And I’ve won some pretty good battles. And I’ve met some other slayers along the way.

    One thing that’s been a lesson for me is that there are some folks out there that wear giant slayer t-shirts but are just locker room giant slayers. They talk a big game until the giant looks at them.

    Those people have romanticized giant slaying. They don’t have the skills for fighting nor the stomach for killing. Worse yet, they are paralyzed by a fear of losing.

    They are fans of giant slaying.

    To the victor goes the spoils

    It’s championship time in college basketball. And during this time a fascinating phenomenon is observed. In a close game the final shot goes up. If it goes in there is pandemonium on one side of the bench. If it doesn’t, the other side goes bizerk.

    Have you ever noticed how fast the losing team exits the floor? The winner sticks around and enjoys the moment. But the losing team? They dash for the locker room.

    That’s they way it is in real life, too. Winners survive to play another day. And losers go to the locker room and talk about shoulda, coulda, woulda, and next time.

  • American Airlines CEO quits on moral grounds

    American Airlines, once the largest airline in the United States, declared bankruptcy. This is not surprising news for the beleaguered airline industry; what is different is what is emerging from the wreckage. Gerard J. Arpey, American’s chief executive officer and chairman, resigned and stepped away with no severance package and nearly worthless stock holdings. He split with his employer of 30 years out of a belief that bankruptcy was morally wrong, and that he could not, in good conscience, lead an organization that followed this familiar path.

    Read the rest

    Trying to think of the right word for Gerald Arpey’s choice… hmmm… oh yeah… Morals.

    Remember when those in power were known for their high moral standards? Remember when the person at the top represented the organizations highest standards of excellence and character.

    Maybe we should  get back to that? Maybe we should ask organizations to hire people who will uphold the values of the organization above the profits of the organization?

    We should celebrate Mr. Arpey’s choice. He upheld the moral high ground that the company should pay its debtors and retiree benefits while the rest of the board made the immoral decision to file for bankruptcy as an easy way out “because everyone else is doing it.”

    I also found it interesting that American Airlines is calling it a retirement while the New York Times is reporting it as resigning because he thought the board was morally wrong. I wonder which is the truth?

    Hint: The company who declared bankruptcy in order to get away from paying their debts might just be protecting their behind from Wall Street while the guy who quit because he thought that was wrong is likely telling the truth.

    On top of that– Arpey didn’t hold the board hostage by taking a massive golden parachute. (In fairness, I have no doubt that with 30 years of service and having made $14.34 million in the last 5 years, that Mr. Arpey is hitting the bread line any time soon.) He just said… “You know what? If you make this move you are making it without me.”

    I like that in a leader. 

  • Playing Up

    In sports, playing up is a core skill to improving your game. 

    I remember as a student at Moody Bible Institute, watching scrub players play pick-up basketball with visiting NBA players. The scrub played better basketball because of the NBA players. They made shots they didn’t normally make. They played better defense. They saw the court better. When playing with 2 NBA players on their team they looked like a Division 1 ball player.

    A few years ago I volunteered at a PGA Tour event. I kept score for the Pro-Am and watched a single PGA Tour player make the rest of his foursome better. (One guy went -8, 64!) They drained putts from 30 feet. They made smart decisions when their ball ended up in trouble. And they all were surprised by their scores. The PGA Tour player pulled the guy who shot 64 and told him to try to qualify for the Tour.

    Even as a high school coach I always wanted my freshmen and JV players to play up against the varsity any time I could. And we intentionally pitted our league champion golf team against the best teams in the state knowing they would likely get beat. Why? Because even if they lost it would make them better players.

    When you play with better competition your own game will always elevate.

    Rise and shine

    Here’s the deal. It doesn’t matter what you do for a living– you need to play up to improve your game. 

    I learned the power of this a long time ago and it’s paid of for me over and over again.

    Want to be a better writer? Play up.

    Want to be a better designer? Play up.

    Want to be a better speaker? Play up.

    Want to be a better husband? Er, don’t play up there. Love your wife.