July 2010
1 post
June 2010
4 posts
Drop the Dichotomy
Another good piece from Furtick:
Another dangerous dichotomy is our frequent separation of prayer and action. Don’t get me wrong, we all need to rely a lot more on God and less on self effort in our day to day lives. But that doesn’t warrant the divorce of prayer and action. Doesn’t God often call us to action in direct response to our prayers? Aren’t the two supposed to work in tandem?...
Making the Easy Things Hard
From Steven Furtick:
I really do not believe God is going to hold you or me accountable for gifts that He did not give us. But He will definitely ask what we did with what he did give us. So I have decided to orient my life around the most significant thing God wants me to do and it’s the thing that I’m good at. I know my strengths, and I’m leveraging all of my time and energy towards them.
...
May 2010
3 posts
April 2010
6 posts
Less talk about loving my family and more loving...
You know what I’ve realized since my son was born? I’m less likely to post something on Facebook saying how much fun I’m having with family, and instead I’m actually enjoying that time with my family.
I got into the habit of posting to Facebook or Twitter just how much fun I was having with family, or how much I loved my wife, instead of actually doing those things....
Focus on the Social not the Media
Don’t worry. Lots of brands do it. You’ve been taught by an old world that it works this way.
You’re focusing on the “media” in social media. You hear the phrase and immediately think, “Great! Another avenue to push our products and services on to people, just like TV, radio, and print.” If that’s your focus, you’re dead. These platforms are...
March 2010
15 posts
The Cult of Busy
From Scott Burkun:
“I choose not to say Yes to everything. For to do so would make me too busy, and I think, less effective at what my goals are. I always want to have some margin of my time in reserve, time I’m free to spend in any way I choose, including doing almost nothing at all. I’m free to take detours. I’m open to serendipity. Some of the best thinkers throughout history had some of...
Warren Buffet's Letter to Shareholders
All worth reading, but this section is fantastic:
When the financial system went into cardiac arrest in September 2008, Berkshire was a supplier of liquidity and capital to the system, not a supplicant. At the very peak of the crisis, we poured $15.5 billion into a business world that could otherwise look only to the federal government for help. Of that, $9 billion went to bolster capital at three...
Storytellers Week 2
From Elevation Church - Storytellers Week 2: Get Naked Like Tiger - Provocative title with a powerful message. Go behind the Psalms to explore the stories in the life of King David.
Legacy
I want to be known as a husband that always put God first, family second, and everything else a distant third (Matthew 22:37-39).
I want to be known as a husband that would pray with and for his family.
I want to be known as a husband that confidently lead his wife (Ephesians 5:22-31).
Time to stop talking and start doing.
REWORKing
Just finished REWORK by 37Signals founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. Frickin’ genius.
My favorite essays included:
Workaholism
Start making something
Interruption is the enemy of productivity
Meetings are toxic
Your estimates suck
Say no by default
Build an audience
Out-teach your competition
Send people home at 5
Four letter words
The takeaway in my mind were...
Practical Atheist
From NewSpring Church - Practical Atheist Week 2: Is Jesus the Boss of Your Bling? - Yowza. Perry brought it this week. Good stuff right here.
cutting edge
There’s no use in being cutting edge if your people can’t handle being cutting edge.
Take Google’s Wave for example. It might offer some amazingly powerful collaboration tools, but guess what? If your people don’t understand how to use it they’re just going to resort back to the lowest common denominator — email.
Top X lists in social media
To those learning about social media: A “Top 10 ways to jump in to social media” article is not going to teach you jack. You want to learn about social media? Sign up and get in the mix.
To those writing about social media: A “Top 10 ways to jump into social media” article is a lame attempt to increase page views. You’re not saying anything new.
Meetings
Schedule it for a half hour, not an hour.
Start on time.
Stop on time, regardless of whether or not you are finished.
February 2010
12 posts
Is it worth it?
28 People x 6 Hours = 168 People Hours
Simplicity And The Web
This is fascinating. ReadWriteWeb posted an article covering why Facebook wants to be your one true login. The article appears as one of the top results when users search for “Facebook login” on Google. The comments on the article are riddled with confused users thinking that is the new Facebook login page.
What is happening? People are going to Google, searching for “Facebook...
Stand Out
“Other companies in our space aren’t on Facebook. Our customers probably wouldn’t engage us online. This competitor doesn’t have a YouTube channel.”
So what?
You didn’t get into business to do what your competition does. You got into business to be better than your competition.
Stand out.
Find a way and a reason to engage your customers online and do...
Once Upon A Marriage
Nothing like a good series on marriage. Starts this weekend - Once Upon A Marriage
Headline: Apple iPad Shortcomings Spark Questions...
From Time:
Apple iPad Shortcomings Spark Questions About Updates
This headline exemplifies Apple’s philosophy, not just with iPad, but with all of their products. They labor to take away features, leaving you with a core experience that is meticulously refined. To Apple, what they have chosen to exclude does not signify a shortcoming, but a feature.
Good or bad, this is Apple’s...
Small Business Social Media Policy
1) Trust your employees to use common sense.
2) There’s no step two.
January 2010
68 posts
Give Away The Recipie
Jason @ 37signals posted back in June about how brands should be emulating chefs. He said:
These chefs give away their recipes, their secrets. They say “This is how I do it and you can do it too. Don’t worry, it’s not hard, just follow along.”
The more they give, the better off they are. The more they open up, the better off they are. The more they let you inside their kitchen the better off...
Jump In.
Articles giving tips to small businesses on how to use social media are a dime a dozen. They all tell the same basic story. Engage your customers, don’t shout at them. Create engaging content, don’t be an RSS feed. Don’t talk too much, but don’t talk too little.
All of this requires one common element: someone who is actually in the game.
You engage people differently...
Pastebot by @tapbots is changing the way I use my iPhone. If you use copy/paste frequently you need to check it out. Worth the price, easy.
. @fraserspeirs nails it. The iPad has caused “future shock”: http://bit.ly/9WFlgN
Just saw the busiest, most cluttered PPT slide in my life. Must have been literally 150+ URLs on it.
Steven Frank has an excellent piece up. It’s not about the iPad, it’s about a shift in computing: http://bit.ly/bH6HCv
Setting up a new 15” MBP and 13” MBP, and I must say, if you don’t need all the extra power in the 15”, the 13” is very Very sweet.
And the new MacBook Pros will be for individuals who previously had PCs or a PC and a Mac. Virtualization saves the day!