Inventing the Future, Edison Style

by: Sarah Miller Caldicott

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Can we learn to be innovative? What factors allow us to establish a vibrant relationship with the future?

Thomas Edison was the most outstanding figure in an era marked by an extraordinary confluence of American innovation – including the work of Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, George Eastman, Harvey Firestone, John D. Rockefeller, George Westinghouse, and Andrew Carnegie – that accelerated America’s leadership in global business.Edison understood that innovation is much more than invention. Through the establishment of his two extraordinary laboratories at Menlo Park and West Orange, NJ, Edison drove innovation on many levels, including strategic technological, product/service, process, and design innovations.

How did Edison excel in so many different kinds of innovation?

Thomas Edison’s great grand niece, Sarah Miller Caldicott, will retrace her famous relative’s footsteps and explore his timeless methods to innovation success in a talk that will inspire and inform. Her approach is based on Edison’s Five Competencies of Innovation.

Watch the video here:

Inventing the Future, Edison Style

Read more from Sarah here.

Tags: Innovation, Leadership Development, Sarah Miller Caldicott

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The Secret to Leadership Growth

by: Michael McKinney

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The number one way leaders grow is by listening.

Leadership feels like a talking role, but it is predominately a listening role. That can be hard to accept. It feels counterintuitive. A leadership role often makes us feel like we should be talking all the time; like we’re the most important person in the room. We’re not.

Listening takes us outside our own heads. It gives us a chance to see things from a different perspective. It creates options. It creates the space for serendipity.

Listening takes us beyond our egos. Without it we begin to miss very elementary things. When we miss elementary things we crash and burn in a self-made morass of complexity. Listening clarifies.

Listening renews and refreshes. Without it we get stuck and tedious.

When we help others grow, we grow. Leaders guide people and then listen. Listening is the best way to turn someone from a victim (of your talk) to a supporter of your idea. Listening gives others the chance to take ownership.

Listening is the catalyst for making individuals a community.

Listening creates the space for leadership. 

Tags: Leadership Development, Michael McKinney, Staff

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7 Warnings for Aspiring Leaders

by: Ron Edmondson

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Almost on a weekly basis I hear from a young pastor who wants to grow as a leader. He feels the pressure placed upon him and knows that others are looking to him to steer the church on a healthy course. Most of these leaders are humble, knowing that ultimately Christ is the head of the church. What they also know is that there are expectations of their position, decisions that have to be made which are not clearly defined in Scripture, and that seminary didn’t train them to make.

Sometimes it seems I’ve given the same advice many times; either reminding myself or to another pastor. The more times I share the same concept, the more it becomes a short, paradigm shaping idea that summarizes the basic issue the leader is facing. What isn’t always clear is that I’ve learned these concepts mostly by living these concepts. I’ve made more mistakes in leadership than I’ve had success. That’s what this post is about. These are some warnings I’ve observed first hand in leadership positions I’ve held. I’m trying not to continue to live them and I’d love to help other leaders avoid them.

Here are 7 warnings for aspiring leaders:

• What you “settle for” becomes the culture.
• Mediocrity isn’t created. It’s accepted.
• Your actions determine their reactions.
• Don’t assume they agree because they haven’t said anything.
• You’ll never get there just “thinking about it”.
• If you’re the leader, they are likely waiting on you to lead or release the right to lead.
• What the team values becomes apparent by your actions, not your words, no matter how well spoken they might be.

What warnings would you share with aspiring leaders?

Read more from Ron here.

Tags: Leadership Development, Leadership Engine, Ron Edmondson, Staff

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New Year, New Job

by: Mike Gammill

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A friend who lives and works in another state recently asked me for vocational advice. He is in full-time ministry and is happy and loves the people with which he works. However, a new potential position has come on the radar that has all of these attributes plus greater long-term potential. Our conversation revealed five vocational principals and questions to ask if you are wondering if you should look at new position.

1.  Ministry is ultimately about kingdom impact. How is your current position leveraging and developing your capacity to impact Christ’s kingdom? Having a clear picture of your ministry fruit and how God is using your position to develop your ministry capacity is essential in more ways than one. Not only does such a picture help us to hone our ministry strategy and development, it also helps us to see with greater clarity the future for which God is preparing us. Consider the realistic ministry outcomes of your position and compare those with what else you could potentially be doing. In what ways does each further the kingdom? In what ways does each develop you as a Christ follower? Which of these is preferable from God’s perspective? 

2. Every position has a corporate AND a personal life-cycle. Where are you in thelife-cycle of your position? Position life-cycle can be difficult to discuss because it feels impersonal. This can be true for any organization and individual, but even more so in churches because of the highly relational nature of ministry. It also requires a high degree of clarity in regard to goals and expectations of a position and the skills and life-stage of a person who is going to fulfill the position. National averages can give you a good starting place, but make sure you know how long the previous three predecessors lasted in your position. Similarly, be aware of what your work history says about you. If you want to significantly extend the life-cycle of your position or personal history, be prepared reinvent yourself and/or your position when the time comes.

3. The church, ministry team, and/or position isn’t designed to meet all of our needs. Many of us have unmet emotional needs we hope ministry can fill. However, ministry isn’t about meeting every need we might throw its way. It will fail us if we expect our church to be a perfect community, our boss to be a selfless mentor, or for our position to transform us into the ideal minister. Each can happen in measure, but we must beware of our expectations and learn from them about ourselves. Our disappointments reveal as much (if not more) about our own growth areas than they do anything else. What do your disappointments suggest about the ways in which you need to grow and rely more closely upon the Holy Spirit? 

4. Trust and alignment with the church’s vision is necessary. Are you fully aligned with the church’s vision and does your ministry further it? Alignment and trust alone won’t assure success, but they are necessary to it. Our vocational vision might not be exactly the same as your the church’s vision, but make sure its either parallel or submissive to it. If not, consider if you are on the “right bus.” A deeper expression of the alignment issue is the trust factor. If trust has been broken on either side for any reason, work to repair it. Broken trust sabotages alignement even where vision is shared. Further, the coping mechanisms and work habits that develop in trust-deprived environments become liabilities down the road. Where this is the case, it’s probably time to start new.

5. The timing of your departure should have little to do with your current position. (This assumes, of course, that you are in control of your departure). I realize this goes contrary to the relational nature of ministry, but generally speaking, don’t discuss a potential opportunity with your supervisor. We all want to think we are all “mature enough” for this conversation, but its not a matter of maturity. Not only could such a conversation be interpreted as an attempt to obtain a promotion or a raise, it also places your supervisor in a difficult position of thinking separately about what is best for you and what is best for the ministry. When you have come to a decision to make a transition, the timing of a resignation (and how much notice you give) should be dictated by what is best for you and your new position. Part of accepting a new position is letting go of the responsibilities of the old; trust them to “fill the gap.” Give yourself as much transition time as you can afford. Ask yourself, “how much time do I need to “hit the ground running?”

Read more from Mike here.

Tags: Leadership Development, Staff, Staff Development

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A Checklist for Making Ideas Happen

by: Scott Belsky

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To help take a look back at 2012, we rounded up our most popular features, essays, 99U Conference talks, and tweets. We hope it gives you a chance to discover (and rediscover) content from throughout the year while providing the spark needed to start 2013 off right.

1. The Power of Negative Thinking

Pop psychology tells us we can’t go wrong with positive thinking. But new studies show that taking account of our obstacles is essential to success.

The gurus claimed these positive images would galvanize your determination. They said you could use the power of positive thinking to will success to happen. But then some important research came along that muddied the rosy picture.

2. Test Your Creativity: 5 Classic Creative Challenges

How creative are you? Find out by taking a few quick tests that psychologists have been using to study creativity for decades.

While creativity “testing” is far from an exact science, trying your mettle at these challenges could yield insight into when, where, and how you’re most creative. Or maybe it’ll just be fun.

3. The 5 Types of Work That Fill Your Day

What type of work are you doing right now? Reactionary work? Problem-solving work? Insecurity work? A look at how to manage your work energy smartly.

All work is not created equal. Try working with an awareness of the type of work you’re doing, and how it’s helping (or limiting) your progress.

4. Why Boredom Is Good for Your Creativity

Why does boredom always emerge just as you’re about to get in gear on a creative project?

On the other side of boredom is the most exciting experience you can have as a creator – the state of being fired up and discovering new possibilities beyond anything you could have imagined before you sat down to work. 

5. How Rejection Breeds Creativity

With a few small changes in your mindset, you can turn rejection into a dramatic boost for your motivation and focus.

While it is never a comfortable experience, the feelings of rejection can actually help us access our more creative selves. Free from the expectations of group norms, we can push the limits of novelty.

Read the rest of the list here.

Read more from Scott here.

Tags: Creativity, Innovation, Leadership Development, Scott Belsky

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7 Specific Behaviors to Improve Your Communication and Leadership Effectiveness

by: Center for Creative Leadership

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Tags: Center for Creative Leadership, Leadership Development, Leadership Engine

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Developing an Innovation Checklist in Your Leadership Pipeline

by: Center for Creative Leadership

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Tags: Center for Creative Leadership, Leadership Development, Leadership Engine

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Still Not Professionals – an eBook by John Piper

by: John Piper

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Still Not Professionals: Ten Pleas for Today’s Pastors is a celebration and extension of John Piper’s Brothers, We Are Not Professionals. With two brief exhortations from Piper and eight others from veteran pastors, this short ebook aims to strengthen and challenge Christians in general, and pastors in particular, for the labor of everyday life and ministry. The contributors were asked to express their “heart of hearts” for fellow leaders.

You’ll find these chapters tap into profound human themes, in both the pastor and his flock, and will be of use, we hope, beyond the North American context of the contributors.

Download your copy of Still Not Professionals here.

Find more from John Piper here.

Tags: John Piper, Leadership Development, Staff, Staff Leadership Roles

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One Lesson of Zig Ziglar’s Legacy that will Change Your Life

by: Will Mancini

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Zig Ziglar died November 28 2012 at the age of 86. He was motivational maven with millions of followers. His twenty-plus books, uber-positive style, and Christian influence are manifested clearly through his ubiquitously sticky quotes. Dave Ramsey tweeted yesterday, “What’s your favorite Zig Ziglar quote?” Here are my favorites with regard to vision and clarity.

As the rest-in-peace tweets and favorite quotes filled the social air waves, I found myself asking, “Was there a special secret to Ziglar’s success?” I believe so.

If you trace Ziglar’s career in sales, one thing is abundantly clear: He was a great salesman because he was a great student; a student of people, a student of life and a student of other salespeople. In fact his success at its core was driven by his continual intake and carnivorous digestion.  Think about it for a minute. Does someone as prolific and successful as Ziglar just sit around thinking of quotes to write? Of course not. Rather, the accelerated learning-living-learning cycle just keeps snowballing. The wisdom, combined with the opportunity to teach others over decades and decades gets remixed and refined into powerful, unforgettable nuggets.

Remember, most very successful people can conveniently stop learning because of the fruits of their success. But a few successful people keep pouring the jet fuel of continued learning to really take them to the top.

One thumbprint of Ziglar’s appetite for learning is the preface of his 2003 updated edition of Secrets of Closing the Sale:

Over the past fifty years it has been my privilege to be in as many actual sales situations, selling goods, products, services or job opportunities as virtually anyone who ever carried the tile of salesperson. Additionally it has been my privilege to share the platform with and learn from some of the greatest speakers and sales trainers our country has produced.

He goes on to name twenty-six individuals. And continues…

Over these fifty years I have been a pack rat. I have taken copious notes from many great trainers. In addition I have clipped innumerable sales articles from newspapers and magazines and have learned much by watching salespeople in action. My library includes books and manuals from the greatest writers and trainers of the last fifty years, and I have over a thousand hours of recordings from these and other speakers.

The lesson that Ziglar’s life inspires me with is simple. Never stop learning. Once you master a category, the real master keeps learning even more. What’s keeping you from reaching the top of what God is calling you to do? Look first to what stops your learning. When was the last time you took copious notes at something that you considered yourself to be really, really good at?

You will find a lot of Ziglar quotes if you look, but his greatest secret is not the most citied quote:

“Life is a classroom — only those who are willing to be lifelong learners will move to the head of the class.”  – Zig Ziglar

Tags: Leadership Development, Learning, Will Mancini, Zig Ziglar

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Learning How to See

by: Seth Godin

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If you want to make something new, start with understanding. Understanding what’s already present, and understanding the opportunities in what’s not. Most of all, understanding how it all fits together.

Watch the last two minutes of the classic film, 2001. Today’s technology would allow someone to make a short film like this with very little effort. But could you? The making isn’t the hard part, in fact. It’s the seeing.

Would you have the guts to go this slow? To use music this boldy? To combine iconography from three different centuries over two millenia?

Where is the explosion of the death star and where are the hackneyed tropes of a hundred or a thousand prior sci-fi movies?

Stanley Kubrick, the film’s director, saw. He saw images and stories that were available to anyone who chose to see them, but others averted their eyes, grabbed for the easy or the quick or the work that would satisfy the boss in closest proximity.

When everyone has the same Mac and the same internet, the difference between hackneyed graphic design and extraordinary graphic design is just one thing—the ability to see.

Seeing, despite the name, isn’t merely visual. I worked briefly with Arthur C. Clarke thirty years ago, and he saw, but he saw in words, and in concepts. The people who built the internet, the one you’re using right now, saw how circuits and simple computer code could be connected to build something new and bigger. Others had the same tools, but not the same vision.

And all around us, we’re surrounded by limits, by disasters (natural and otherwise) and by pessimism. Some people see in this opportunity and a chance to draw (with any sort of metaphorical pen) something. Others see in it a chance to hide, to settle and to sigh.

The same confidence and hubris that Kubrick and Clarke brought to their movie is available to anyone who decides to give more than they ‘should’ to a charity that has the audacity to change things. While others believe they can (and must) merely settle.

In our best possible future together, I hope we’ll do a better job of learning to see one another. 

Some people see a struggling person and turn away. Others see a human being and work to open a door or lend a hand. There are possiblities all around us. Not just the clicks of recycling a tired cliche, but the opportunity to be brave. If we only had the guts.

Read more from Seth here.

Tags: Authentic Leadership, Leadership Development, Seth Godin

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