Big Is The New Small

Have you ever found yourself in a group, on a team, in an organization or in a situation where “Everyone Is Thinking It, but No One Is Willing To Say It.”  Most of us have been in those situations and sometimes there’s even a little internal chuckling that goes along with the thoughts.  The internal chuckling, rolling of eyes and secret non-verbal codes are the beginning of more serious and detrimental behaviors.

These types of environments will always impede individual and organizational growth.  The bottom line is this: “Mr. & Mrs. Autocratic Leader, You Are Killing Your Team.”

On the contrary, some of the most thriving organizations in the world have cultures where everyone is thinking and saying the same thing.  Creating this open, honest and safe culture always begins and ends with the CEO, Senior Leader and or Executive Leadership Team.

If you want to know if you have one of these “can’t speak” environments, simply ask.  If you find yourself in a culture where people can’t or don’t speak up, it’s time for you to do something about it.  It’s time to speak up, lead up and be a catalyst for fostering a culture of mutual thinking and speaking — a culture of success.  If you’re a senior executive, work hard to ask the right questions, to create an environment of openness and a culture where people don’t have to hold their tongues.

Of those who say nothing, few are silent.  ~Thomas Neiel

Share your thoughts and experiences with these types of environments.

I read a profound African Proverb last week that challenged my thinking and it should challenge yours as well.  It should challenge you to not get distracted by people, events and thoughts that in the grand scheme of things really don’t matter.

Don’t get distracted by the critics, successes, bumps in the road, temporary setbacks or things that you don’t understand or don’t have any control over.

The result of those distractions will be a premature exit from the road to success.

The primary reason people fail is not because they don’t have the skills or abilities, they fail because they get distracted.  There will always be plenty of opportunities for success and there will be even more opportunities to get distracted.  Stay focused and Don’t Get Distracted.

“The lion does not turn around when a small dog barks.”

~African Proverb

Are you getting distracted?

Individuals and businesses are always trying to find ways to increase their level of success.  This drive and will to succeed leaves folks scouring around trying to find advanced methods to foster success. This search for success leads to trying many of the latest greatest ideas from their industry.

Some will try a new idea a month, others will come back from a conference and implement ten new ideas and some may make drastic changes as a result of an article or book they’ve read.

Some of the greatest success stories and brands that other’s are trying to mimic are built on a couple of good ideas.  Not 5, 10 or 20, but rather a couple of good ideas. As a consultant I’ve had the opportunity to work with organizations ranging from Fortune 100 Corporations to Personal Brands.  No matter who I’m working with, my goal is to help organizations and individuals come up with and implement couple of good ideas.

If you want to succeed and you want your brand to be successful, stop trying to come up with a million ideas and simply devise and implement a couple good ideas.

You Only Need A Couple Good Ideas. 

At the conclusion of each calendar year I start to plan, plot, dream, think and prepare to make things happen in the upcoming year.  I have a “System for Success” comprised of quarterly goal setting and tools for follow-through that contributes to making things happen in the upcoming year. Putting God first coupled with this “System for Success” has produced colossal results for my family and I.

As I was thinking of my motto for 2012, two words simply came to mind.  Those two words are “Go Big!”  My blog and personal mantra has been dream BIG. think BIGGER. for the last four or so years. Go BIG is a close cousin to dream BIG. think BIGGER.   This year I will use #goBIG when leading my family, my clients, mentees and as general encouragement for others.

What is #goBIG all about?  It’s simple: Go BIG, Take Risks, Don’t Play It Safe, Step Out, Put Your Cards On The Table, Pursue Those Dreams, Start That Business…

• #goBIG For God
• #goBIG For Family
• #goBIG For Everything else

Theologian Williams Shedd says it this way, “A ship is safe at harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.”   The same is true for you, you are safe on the sidelines, you are safe doing more of the same, you are safe settling for what is rather than searching for what could be, you are safe settling…  That’s not you were made for, you were made to #goBIG.

Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, Drink wine with a robust heart. Oh yes-God takes pleasure in your pleasure! Dress festively every morning. Don’t skimp on colors and scarves. Relish life with the spouse you love Each and every day of your precarious life. Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange For the hard work of staying alive. Make the most of each one! Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily! This is your last and only chance at it, For there’s neither work to do nor thoughts to think In the company of the dead, where you’re most certainly headed. ~Ecclesiastes 9:7-11 MSG

Each day is God’s gift, open your gift daily, Seize Life and #goBIG.

This week my family will gather at the table to set individual and family goals.  We will implement game plans and systems for success in 2012.  I will encourage everyone to dream BIG. think BIGGER. with the caveat this year of “#goBig!”

2012 is the year to #goBIG!

Are you committed to #goBIG in 2012?  What’s your motto for 2012?

Mali Music – The Job Experience [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO] from Anthony Brooks on Vimeo.

Check out this music video by @MaliMusic, listen to the lyrics, embrace the story line and feel the cinematography. What do you think about this song and this video? What stood out to you, what moved you? Share your thoughts!

Great TED Talk by Cameron Herold about teaching our kids to be entrepreneurs.  It goes with this verse and it’s really a new way to think about raining kids, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for life.”  Talks about traits of CEO’s like Steve Jobs, Ted Turner and more.

Cameron asks the question is your kid bored in school, failing classes, at odds with peers: This child might be an entrepreneur. At TEDxEdmonton, he makes the case for parenting and education that helps would-be entrepreneurs flourish — as kids and as adults.

This is a brilliant, candid and honest talk. Very reminiscent of the way I thought and operated as a child.

Watch this video and share your thoughts.

Let me get straight to the point.  I attend and speak at many church planting, leadership and ministry conferences each and every year.  Each conference has it’s own unique flavor and I have my favorites for a variety of reasons.

One of my favorites is the Velocity Conference put on by ChurchPlanters.com.  This conference is right outside of the ATL (Atlanta, GA) and it’s a jewel of a conference for church planters, ministry leaders, volunteers and anyone that wants to learn, grow and connect.  This years dates are February 27th & 28th.

The speaker line-up is amazing, including: Sam Chand, Jud Wilhite, Shawn Lovejoy, Stacey Spencer, Geoff Surratt, Pete Wilson, Tony Morgan, Ed Stetzer, Amy Bloye, Ron Edmondson, Derwin Gray, Mac Lake, Brian Bloye, Artie Davis, Patricia Lovejoy, Ed Stetzer, Brandi Wilson, Myself and way too many to name in one blogpost.  For a limited time the registration is only $79, yes only $79 and that’s for a limited time.

SPECIAL OFFER FOR BigIsTheNewSmall.com Readers: Starting now through January 15th Velocity Conference is going to offer a 20% discount off the #Velocity12 registration for everyone who registers with my special discount code: #velocity12Williams. (Only $63)  Click here for more details and click here to register.  Don’t forget to use #Velocity12Williams for your 20% discount.

I hope to see you there.

A God-Shaped Life — (Prov. 11:17-32 MSG)

When you’re kind to others, you help yourself; when you’re cruel to others, you hurt yourself.

Bad work gets paid with a bad check; good work gets solid pay.

Take your stand with God’s loyal community and live, or chase after phantoms of evil and die.

God can’t stand deceivers, but oh how he relishes integrity.

Count on this: The wicked won’t get off scot-free, and God’s loyal people will triumph.

Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful face on an empty head.

The desires of good people lead straight to the best, but wicked ambition ends in angry frustration.

The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.

The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.

Curses on those who drive a hard bargain! Blessings on all who play fair and square!

The one who seeks good finds delight; the student of evil becomes evil.

A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.

Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air; common sense tells you it’s a stupid way to live.

A good life is a fruit-bearing tree; a violent life destroys souls.

If good people barely make it, what’s in store for the bad!

Don’t you just love the lists of how to do this and how to do that.  Well as 2012 rapidly approaches, our love for the “Top 10 Ways” types of lists only increases.  We develop a mindset that says lay out the path, show me the tools and give me some new ways to think.

The driving force behind our interest in these types of lists is an inner desire to grow.  We want to do things different, we want to think different and we want to be different, as long as the end result means growth.  Growth is a critical component of the vehicle that drives you down the road of success.

Below is a straight to the point list of how leaders can increase their leadership in 2012.

12 Ways Leaders Can Increase Their Leadership In 2012

• 1. Truly Embrace The Team Concept: There is no “I” in team and teamwork makes the dream work.
• 2. Don’t Play It Safe: Be willing to take some risks.  Your risks can be calculated or not, either way you need to get off the shores of playing it safe.
• 3. Give Credit & Take Blame:  Give credit where credit is due and be willing to look in the mirror and say, “My Bad” or “It’s My Fault!”
• 4. Don’t Be A Yes Man or Yes Woman:  Be willing to step up and challenge things when they need to be challenged.  This can be the process of leading-up or leading-down.
• 5. Don’t Lose Your Cool:  Remember the 3C’s in all situations – Cool, Calm & Collected.
• 6. Empower Your Team:  Release your team to do their job.  Don’t be a micro-manager.
• 7. Minimize Meetings:  Reduce the number of meetings, the length of meetings, the necessity of meetings and the list of who needs to attend the meetings.
• 8. Get To Know Your Team Members On A Personal Level:  Know what’s going on in the lives of your team members outside of work.  Know their interests, their children’s interests… To know is to care.
• 9. Take Time To Develop Your Team Members: Leadership development isn’t a system but rather an on-going act of moving people from where they are to where they need to be. If you want your overall leadership capacity to increase, you must increase the capacity of those around you.  Leadership development isn’t optional, it’s a necessity.
• 10. Surround Yourself With The Best: Be willing to hire people that may be smarter, sharper, more opinionated and maybe even all around better leaders than you are. Empower and release those people to strengthen your team and compliment your leadership.
• 11. Shh Listen For A Change:  Don’t be the person who is always talking – Shh, Be Quiet and Listen for a change.
• 12. Ask The Difficult Questions:  This is where candid evaluation/assessment of everything will make the leader and the team better.  Ask questions like:  Are the individuals that I have on my team making me better?  Am I a my way or the highway leader?  Are we going in the right direction?  Who on my team got us here, but won’t get us there?  Am I making those around me better personally and professionally?  Am I open to receive candid feedback?  If my position, role, title or formal authority was removed would those around me still be willing to follow?  The list of questions goes on and on.  Ask the tough questions and embrace the tough answers.

Do any of these 12 ways resonate with you?  What ways are you going to increase your leadership in 2012?

The Christmas holiday season has officially come and gone.  The realities of that statement has many people scratching their head and asking the question.  Now What?  I think the best thing you can do after the Christmas season is over is to remember.

• Remember the heart that you had for giving.
• Remember the sense of relief after all your gifts were purchased.
• Remember how much better it felt to give than to receive.
• Remember the smiles on the children’s face as they opened their gifts.
• Remember the breaking of bread and fellowship with friends and family.
• Remember the laughing, singing, smiling and praising.
• Remember watching football, basketball and Christmas movies.
• Remember the Salvation Army Bell Ringers that brought a smile to your face.
• Remember how good you felt.
• Remember the true reason for the season: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:11

It’s The Day After Christmas…  No What?  I say remember how you felt during the special moments of the season and allow the to propel you into a successful, focused and cheerful New Year.

Do you think remembering the precious moments can help propel you into a successful New Year?