Big Is The New Small

It’s always a busy time around the Williams’ home with our two son’s running track, activities and sports in general.  We are in the middle of track season right now and our sons (8yo & 12yo) are running with the local YMCA and with a track club (the Eastside Steppers).  The YMCA is moderately competitive as the athletes run and compete against kids throughout the west side of Oklahoma.  On the other hand, The Eastside steppers are very competitive, lots of serious practices (3 times per week) and they even travel to different States.

My boys have always been very competitive and could either win their heat, or at-least finish 1st – 3rd.  Now that they have been running with the Eastside Steppers, they find themselves chasing the leaders during practice.  They practice hard and give it all they got; however they simply have not caught up to the leading runners in their groups.

They had a YMCA track meet last week and my 12yo won both of his heats by a large margin and my 8yo won 1 race and finished 4th in another.  Chasing The Leaders at the Eastside Steppers is making them better, stronger and faster.

As leaders, business owners, bloggers, parents and whatever our deal is.  We will get better stronger and faster if we Chase The Leaders in that particular field.  If you want to be a great writer, follow the leading writers.  If you want to be a great leader, read the leadership books and learn form the leaders of leaders.  If you want to be better, stronger & faster… Learn from the best, strongest and fastest.

A perfect example is all of the touch screen phone and now tablet pc companies chasing Apple products, because Apple is the Leader of Leader in those categories. My son’s will continue to get faster by learning from and Chasing The Leaders on the Eastside Steppers track team.  I will continue to get better, stronger and faster by learning from and Chasing The Leaders.

Are you learning from and chasing the leaders?

Most of us have worked for leaders that are for all intents and purposes are not very good.  I actually learned a lot in my early days of leadership from some really bad leaders.  Not only were they bad leaders, they were oblivious to the negative affects of their poor leadership.   There are many signs that a leader is not a good leader and I have identified 10 Signs below.

The reason I attribute these signs to not being a ”Good Leader” is because a leader has to at least reach the mantle of being a “Good Leader” before they can be a ”Great Leader”  Here are 10 Signs They Are Not A Good Leader… Remember ”They”could be you!

• 1. they are not willing to fail.
• 2. they only talk and never listen.
• 3. they don’t develop and produce other leaders.
• 4. they micro-manage; that’s management not leadership.
• 5. they are insecure or threatened by someone that they lead.
• 6. they are not willing to follow and learn from those that they lead.
• 7. they are focused on pleasing people and what people think.  Consumed with whether or not they look good to their superiors.
• 8. they don’t genuinely care about the people they lead and have difficulty getting people to follow.
• 9. they are willing to make the wrong decision, because of the fear of  fall-out from making the right decision.
• 10. they only dream about being like so and so, instead of being the best they can be.

They either ”don’t do” or “are not working towards” the 5 Things Next-Level Leaders Alaways Do!

Share your thoughts on any of these “10 Signs” and add to the list!

Facebook Infographic from Jean-Jacques Parys on Vimeo.

This video illustrates the undeniable power of Facebook. ENJOY!

I love sharing Christian Hip Hop videos with the BigIsTheNEwSmall.com community, as a matter of fact I think I might start sharing a new one every Wednesday. #FistBump to my man @StevePatton & @rapzilla for sharing this video from @thisl.

I digg seeing the authenticity and raw storytelling that many Christian hip hop artists are putting out.  Watch this video and hear the message feel the message .  It’s real, it’s raw and it’s needed.  My 11yo was looking over my shoulder as I was watching it and said “That’s tight and it’s Christian.”

That’s right, it’s Christian and It’s Tight!

Check out the video and share your thoughts… Better yet share the video!

One of the many conferences that I will be speaking at and doing book signings is the Orange Conference. Orange Conference is the largest family ministry/next generation leadership conferences on the planet.  Some of this years speakers include Andy Stanley, Perry Noble, Reggie Joiner, Sue Miller, Doug Fields, Jud Wilhite, Geoffrey Canada and others.

Would you like to go to attend Orange Conference?  Do you know someone who is deserving, but might not have the resources to attend?  Check out this special message from my friends at Orange Conference below:

Great news—we found three more AirTran tickets!

In April, our children’s curriculum will focus on the character trait of humility: putting others first by giving up what you think you deserve. We decided to put the virtue of humility in practice by asking you, our Orange community, to nominate someone you believe is deserving of a free plane ticket and Orange Conference registration.

Every year, we receive many requests asking for scholarships and assistance to attend the conference. Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate these wishes in most instances. We truly want everyone to make it to the party, but sadly, it doesn’t always work out. And that’s what makes these little gems so exciting for both you and us!

Therefore, in the spirit of humility, please submit the person(s) who you feel are most deserving of this conference package* and why they should be chosen. These would ideally be people who couldn’t make it this year, but you feel like they would benefit by being at The Orange Conference.

Here are just a few suggestions:
• The senior pastor who is implementing the Orange Strategy to change his/her community
• The children’s minister who needs to be renewed in his/her vision
• The student minister who needs to be equipped and empowered
• The college minister who is searching for a solution
• The volunteer who deserves a reward
• The church staff whose conference budget was eliminated
• The parent who desires to better partner with their local church

Someone probably just popped into your head! The next step would be to check and make sure they could attend if they are chosen. After that, it’s up to you to be their champion and send us their story.

Submissions must be sent to occoncierge (at) rethinkgroup (dot) org by Thursday, April 7 at 5 p.m. We will notify the winner on April 11. Depending on the chosen submissions, we can divide the tickets into three singles, a pair and a single, or a group of three. Therefore, we could have multiple winners from multiple churches.

*Orange Conference tickets and airfare that have already been purchased will not be refunded. Hotel, ground transportation and meals will be the responsibility of the winner. Airline tickets are only good for AirTran, so please consider travel before submitting.

In addition to a chance to win tickets and airfare, I’m giving everyone the opportunity to win a BIG Orange Prize package.  The package includes:

• A one year subscription to a leadership curriculum called YouLead.  To find out more info go to http://youleadorange.com The subscription is worth $250 and covers 5 people at 1 church.
• 1 copy of the book Think Orange by Reggie Joiner
• 1 copy of the book Parenting Beyond your C

For your chance to win the BIG Orange Prize Package all you have to do is these 3 things:

• 1. Leave a comment below stating that you would like to win.
• 2. Share this message through Twitter or Facebook: Want to win tickets, airfare & prize packages to the Orange Conf. Click Here:  http://bit.ly/gScQAG #thinkorange
• 3. Go check out the Orange Conference website.

I will randomly draw from the comments for the BIG Prize Package.  Check back tomorrow to see if you won.  Thanks for reading and #ThinkOrange

Failure is defined as - an act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful; lack of success. That definition is clear, however it’s not about whether or not you fail, but rather how you handle the failures.  If you name anyone who has done great things, you will find a failure resume and an understanding of how to fail.

Often times people on the outside looking in at successful people assume the success was achieved with ease, good luck and on the first try. That is rarely the case, it’s usually the result of people who know how to fail.  A couple of well known examples include: Walt Disney and Abraham Lincoln.  Both knew how to fail and experienced failures that would cause most people to close up shop and begin playing it safe.

Some of Walt Disney’s Failures and setbacks included:

• Multiple bankruptcies.
• Being told no for years as he tried to build a Theme Park.
• Being laughed at when introducing a talking mouse cartoon to studio executives.

Walt Disney took those failures in stride, didn’t care what people thought and learned how to fail.  The result is one of the most successful stories in American History.  As a matter of fact, I just received an offer from Disney World in the the mail as a former guest of the amazing theme part that naysayers said wouldn’t work.

A relatively long list of Abraham Lincoln’s Failures and setbacks included:

• 1831 – He lost his job.
• 1832 – He was defeated in a run for Illinois State Legislature.
• 1833 – He failed in business.
• 1835 – His sweetheart died.
• 1836 – He had nervous breakdown.
• 1838 – He was defeated in run for Illinois House Speaker.
• 1843 – He was defeated in run for nomination for U.S. Congress.
• 1848 – He lost re-nomination.
• 1849 – He was rejected for land officer position.
• 1854 – He was defeated in run for U.S. Senate.
• 1856 – He was defeated in run for nomination for Vice President.
• 1858 – Again he was defeated in run for U.S. Senate.

Abraham Lincoln took these failures in stride and learned along the way.  He learned to follow his dreams and not being limited by his failures and setbacks.  Lincoln learned to dream BIG. think BIGGER.

In 1960 Lincoln was Elected President and will main one of our nations most successful Presidents.  We must learn how to fail by focusing on our dreams, learning from our mistakes, not being crippled by the naysayers and being willing to take risks.

Risks + Failure ÷ Dreams = Success

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” ~Michael Jordan

Are you learning how to fail?  Share your thoughts.

If you need a good laugh, check this 10 minute piece out from comedian Broderick Rice.  He impersonates some famous tv preachers including Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, TD Jakes, Eddie long and others…  Remember, laughter is good for the soul. Enjoy!

Over the next couple of months I will be speaking at quite a few churches and conferences and I’m really looking forward to sharing the message of Church Diversity.  I’ll share more about the other events later; however today I want to share about one of the events that I’ve been invited to speak at and that’s the Dynamic Church Conference. The Conference is being held at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, TX :: May 11-13.

This is the conference created by Fellowship Technologies, makers of the leading web-based church management software, Fellowship One. In my sessions I will be sharing about Church Diversity and Social Media Strategy.

There are two-different tracks and many different sessions to choose from including the DC11 Return On Ministry Track, which is geared towards executive church leaders (over 25 sessions). There will be over 50 sessions focused on educating users of Fellowship One software.  . You can save $50 on your registration by using the special code “swilliams.”  You can get more details and register for the conference here.

If your church uses Fellowship One, this is a must-attend conference for your entire team.  I’ll see you at DC11.

I’m not sure it’s the BIGGEST Book Blog Tour on the Planet, however it does make for a good blog title.  I’m happy to announce, the release of my book Church Diversity - Sunday The Most Segregated Day Of The Week is rapidly approaching.  The scheduled release date is April 19th.  We already have a list of some amazing bloggers lined up for the blog tour, but I decided to open it up to other bloggers, readers and friends of BigIsTheNewSmall.com.

The blog tour is scheduled for only be 2 days April 19th & 20th.  For those of you who would like to participate in the blog tour, receive a sample chapter to review and ultimately a copy of the book, you can sign up right here. It’s a simple name and email address form that you need to complete.  Once you complete the form, my publicist will be getting touch with you and provide the details.  There will be many, many, many bloggers participating and I’d love for you to be a part.  To be eligible, I also need you to leave a comment below stating that “you’re in” along with your name and blog information.

If you have not had a chance to check out ChurchDiversity.com, please do so here.

dream BIG. think BIGGER.

Here is a video of a live worship recording of “Be Thou Exalted” from the soon to be released album You Hold It All. This is one of Integrity Music’s fresh sound of worship rising up from New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Featuring Brad Parsley, Jared Anderson, Glenn Packiam, Mia Fieldes and Desperation Band’s Jon Egan, this powerful album features twelve amazing worship songs that celebrate the incredible faithfulness of our God.  

You can pre-order here.