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  • Don’t let the size of the fishbowl stunt your growth

    I'm frequently engaged in conversations about an individual's career through informal one-on-ones, mentor sessions, semi-annual checkpoints, or interviewing prospective new hires. Frequently one of the following statements are made -- ''I feel limited in my current role'', ''I feel like I've accomplished all that I can in my job'', ''I need a new ...
    Posted to Daily Concerns (Weblog) by  csimmons  on June 5, 2008
  • Just Don't Do It

    The toughest decision I make each day is deciding what NOT to do. Every day that I come to the office, I find that there is more to do than can ever be accomplished. I inevitably have to close up my laptop in the evening with some tasks undone and incomplete. I do my best to prioritize the important over the urgent and can generally stay ...
    Posted to Daily Concerns (Weblog) by  csimmons  on April 28, 2008
  • Change or Die?

    We have seen over and over that the biggest hurdle to embracing the real value of better information systems in churches is change management, or should I say the lack thereof? Amongst us church management software vendors, it is even a point of occasional conversation at industry conferences. “If only churches would learn better how to change.” ...
    Posted to Accelerating the Dynamic Church (Weblog) by  jhook  on December 14, 2007
  • Leadership principles from an unlikely source

    On the first day of my first job after college they gave me a book, Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun. I was surprised by the choice of books, what could one learn from a tyrant? But I quickly found that it contained timeless leadership proverbs like ''A wise chieftain never asks a question for which he doesn't want to hear the answer'' ...
    Posted to Daily Concerns (Weblog) by  csimmons  on December 7, 2007
  • Three Definitions of Trust

    Trust is infinitely deep and difficult to fully define yet we rely heavily upon it in every aspect of our lives. In recent months I've come across a few definitions of trust that has deepened my understanding and challenged me as a leader, as a team member, and as a Christian. The first defines the relationship between our company and our ...
    Posted to Daily Concerns (Weblog) by  csimmons  on November 1, 2007
  • Facing a Mid-Life (Technology) Crisis

    Lately I feel like I'm entering into a mid-life crisis. But this one is neither biological nor emotional. Coloring my hair and buying a red sports car won't make me feel any better (ok, well maybe it will). No, this crisis is a technology one. You see, much like when my metabolism slowed to crawl after I passed 30 so has my ability to keep ...
    Posted to Daily Concerns (Weblog) by  csimmons  on June 19, 2007
  • No means ‘No’ when referring to Tomatoes

    Yesterday I pulled into a fast-food joint for a burger (yes, I know those things will kill you). While my stomach was empty I was full of optimism as I carefully placed my order through the faceless drive-in. "A number one with cheese, no tomato, and a Dr. Pepper". The person repeated the order back to me "A number one ...
    Posted to Daily Concerns (Weblog) by  csimmons  on June 3, 2007
  • Just say ‘No’ to the ‘Yes-man’

    I wanted to follow-up an earlier blog by reminding everyone not to surround themselves with "Yes-men" (or women). You need individuals within your core leadership team that will challenge your ideas. Not to the point of being disruptive or insubordinate, but in way that forces you to think through a variety of scenarios and possible ...
    Posted to Daily Concerns (Weblog) by  csimmons  on May 15, 2007
  • Kissing butt or managing up?

    Everyone is accountable to someone no matter who they are or what their role is. A young team member may report to a Manager; the Manager may report to a Director; the Director to a Vice President; the Vice President to the CEO; And the CEO reports to the investors or board members.  Everyone is accountable to ...
    Posted to Daily Concerns (Weblog) by  csimmons  on March 14, 2007
  • Don’t commoditize what God made unique

    Commonly leaders refer to (and treat) individuals within organizations as "resources" as if they're a commodity like grain or corn. You'll hear management refer to their people as their "most valuable resource". They establish Human "Resource" departments. They also refer to them as a "work"-force or ...
    Posted to Daily Concerns (Weblog) by  csimmons  on March 7, 2007
  • We’re Sheep in Human Clothing

    Jesus referred to us as a lot of things, but the most common analogy he used was "sheep".  Jesus always chose his words carefully (I suppose that shouldn't surprise me since he was perfect) so I try not to be offended that Jesus so accurately portrayed us as sheep because I know it's true. Like sheep, we're heavily ...
    Posted to Daily Concerns (Weblog) by  csimmons  on February 15, 2007
  • Perception is 9/10ths of the law

    There’s no getting around it, our choice of words matter.  They have the power to heal and to harm, to bless and to blame, to inspire and to insult.  The Book of Proverbs has plenty to say about this subject , here are just a few of the references (10:19, 12:18, 13:3, 15:1, 15:2, 15:23, 16:21, 16:23, 16:24, 17:27, 18:7, 18:21, ...
    Posted to Daily Concerns (Weblog) by  csimmons  on February 13, 2007
  • I now know what I only thought I knew before

    To kick-off the New Year I decided to do something different in my weekly one-on-one meetings with my direct reports. First, we will be meeting as a group to read and discuss The Leader’s Handbook by Peter Scholtes. Second, the one-on-one meetings will no longer be status updates of their respective departments but instead we will use the ...
    Posted to Daily Concerns (Weblog) by  csimmons  on January 17, 2007
  • One church or a loose confederation of ministries?

    We get to know a lot of churches in conjunction with our implementation of Fellowship One; currently we have sold over 500 churches. Plus we have talked to a whole lot more through the selling process. Clearly there are two different kinds of churches; those that act as “one church” and those that simply act as a loose confederation of ...
    Posted to Accelerating the Dynamic Church (Weblog) by  Jeff Hook  on December 5, 2006
  • It takes LEADERSHIP to change . . .

    In my last couple of blogs, I have been writing about how to make change happen. One of the essential elements of organizational change is leadership. I am convinced that in order for a church to thrive it requires leadership. But just like there are different types of intelligence, leadership takes on different forms as well. Churches ...
    Posted to Accelerating the Dynamic Church (Weblog) by  Jeff Hook  on October 22, 2006