Kem Meyer on Less Clutter & Noise

You are replaceable...

What is the NUMBER ONE way to get the word out about your organization (and keep people coming back)? This is an all-skate--for churches and businesses--everybody now. Ready. Set. Go!

Flyers?	No.
Web site?	No.
Banners?	No.
Advertising?	No.
Free stuff?	No.

None of these things are bad. They ALL can help. But, they are supporting characters. They become ineffective when you give them the lead role in your story.

The NUMBER ONE way to get the word out ABOUT your organization is through the words and actions of the people IN your organization. Every person in your organization is like a walking billboard. How they act, work, talk, respond and treat people represents YOU and leaves a lasting impression on OTHERS.

I'll boldly go here: Before you spend money on marketing, spend money improving the people skills of your people. The return on investment will blow your mind. The sustainability can't be challenged. People skills count more. And, some of your people might need help with that skill. A little shared training goes a long way.

Andy Sernovitz posted this yesterday: You are replaceable. He said if your customer service is average or bad, it doesn't matter if you have a fantastic product.

"Why? Because someone else makes something almost as good.  Sooner or later, most customers will leave you for a company that treats them better (even if the price is a bit higher or the product is a bit worse).

I've had an eFax account for almost 10 years. It works great. But for the third year in a row, they raised the price -- without telling me or even sending a receipt. I just noticed the bill on my credit card. It wasn't an issue of price. It was an issue of trying to sneak something past me.

The first time was annoying, the second time I got angry. This time I walked."

My love don't cost a thing...

Don't have the money to buy gifts for the people you love? Don't let the economy get you down, fun with Photoshop to the rescue. Here's a little something our team sorta stumbled upon by accident earlier this year.

It started as one of Lisa's typical impromptu ideas (she's got a creative faucet that just doesn't turn off). Now, it's evolved and we're planning out teammate birthdays in advance and have claimed it as a team tradition. Gifts on a budget? What a great excuse to get back to the basics.

It's an economical, creative & custom way to say "I love you". Well, at least for us it is. :)

         
 

   From left to right, top to bottom:
   Daryl McMullen, Me, Jami Ruth, Jason Powell,
   and Lisa DeSelm.
  
   As an added bonus, here's two extra pictures
   our family gave as a going away present to
   our friends a couple of years ago. Way more
   fun than an Olan Mills family portrait,
   wouldn't you agree?

 

        

Nike is a church...the swoosh its cross

Reminded of this 2002 article from theooze while reading Phil Cooke's, Branding Faith in 2008. Why did he reference an article that's over six years old? It's still as applicable as it ever was. Want to understand the power of branding with spiritual undertones?

"If sport is the religion of the modern age, then Nike has successfully become the official church. It is a church whose icon serves as an allegory that formulates salvation in a special parabolical and symbolic language. The Swoosh is a window on the border between this world and the other, between your existing self (you overweight slob) and your Nike self (you god of fitness), where salvation is the attainment of the athletic Nietzschean ideal: no fear, no mercy, no second place.

The Swoosh is a true religious icon in that it serves as a representation of the reality and as a participant in the reality; you do after all, have to wear something to attain this special salvation, so why not something emblazoned with that Swoosh?"

Family Night Themes

Since I've been posting about the Meyer Family Nights (what & how), I've got several requests for a list of themes we've used. Admittedly, some nights we take the theme farther than others. And, even at our best...we never pull it off at the level of excellence we see over at the family Conforth and the family Whitaker. But, our kids don't know that! They think it's the best ever no matter what we do. It's the fact we're doing it together. That's all that matters.

How far the theme plays out for us on any given week all depends on our margin. At a minimum, we stick to our basics: Thursday night, no outside distractions, just us, talking about one virtue. At a maximum: we take the theme to the max, weaving in and out of the entire night.

When I can remember, I try to take pictures. 

Here's a list of the themes we've used so far (at least most of them):

• PJ night. We wore pajamas & ate breakfast for dinner.
• Crazy hat night. Pretty self explanatory.
• Dress up night. Mark and I didn't change out of work clothes and the kids dressed up in dress & sports coat. I used cloth napkins, served drinks in wine glasses and set mood lighting at dinner.
• Guys in the kitchen night. I had to work late, so Easton and Mark were in charge of dinner. They created a make-your-own-sub assembly line.
• Mix match night. We all selected an obnoxious wardrobe and switched places at dinner.
• Fall fun. Pumpkin carving, apple bobbing and corn & sausage chowder.
• Tour de fast food night. I was traveling for a week, so Mark took the kids on a progressive fast food dinner night. They went to 10 different fast food places and ordered one thing.
• Owl prowl night. We had a hot dog roast picnic & then moonlight walk through the woods making owl calls.
• Costume party night. Probably our most involved theme. We all dressed up in costumes and carried the Halloween theme into our dinner menu. We had Frankenstein Snot, Decapitated Fried Toads, Chocolate Covered Colon Slices, Eye Balls, Crispy Fingers (with Ear Wax and Blood Dipping Sauce), Decomposing Mummy Sticks, Cat Tails and Spiderweb Punch.
• Backwards night. We walked backwards, ate dessert first, wore our clothes backwards, etc.
• Election night. We dressed in red, white and blue, decorated in elephants and donkeys, reviewed age-appropriate cliff notes about our country's government and watched the presidential election coverage on TV as a family.
• Commitment night. We baked a wedding cake, ate the same thing Mark and I had on our wedding day, and watched our wedding video with the kids for the first time.

Here's a list of the virtues we're covering using Family Night in a Box:

• Priority
• Participation
• Positivity
• Purpose
• Taking Initiative
• Gratitude
• Commitment
• Responsibility
• Patience
• Honesty
• Attitude
• Generosity

When we've completed these twelve virtues, we're going to start using the weekly virtue from the 252 basics curriculum they use in the kid's program at church. (Sample one. Sample two.)

12 powerful life lessons

Excerpt from post over at Think Simple Now.

Paulo Coelho in his wildly popular book (65 million copies sold in 67 languages) tells the story of a shepherd boy and his quest to live his dream. Along the way, the boy meets an alchemist who has the power to inspire personal transformation. This Alchemist gives the boy a number of life’s lessons - lessons that are as fresh and applicable today as they were hundreds of years ago. The lessons by themselves are interesting, but it’s only when they are applied, that the power of personal transformation can be unleashed.

So what can Paulo teach us about life and pursing dreams in the face of obstacles that caused 65 million people to buy his book?

1. It’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary.

2. Support your children in pursuit of their dreams.

3. There is nothing to hold you back, except yourself.

4. There is only one way to learn, and that is through action.

5. Trust your gut (or Learn to recognize omens, and follow them.)

6. Follow your dreams.

7. Know what you want.

8. Make a decision and dive in with massive action.

9. Move on - always look forward.

10. You will encounter obstacles and take detours while realizing your dreams.

11. Don’t fear the unknown.

12. Learn to understand the universal language - the language without words.

Full post.

You know you're in church communications when

Either this list* will make you laugh or make you cry. Either way, I can hear the soundtrack for reading it playing in the background. Can you hear Micheal Jackson singing now? “I’m starting with the man in the mirror. I’m asking him to change his ways. And no message could have been any clearer. If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and then make a change.”

You know you’re in church communications when . . .

1. You’ve used a ‘t’ as a cross.

2. You use the word relevant to describe everything.

3. You use ‘papyrus’ font because it feels ‘biblical’.

4. You use “Curlz” font for anything related to Women’s Ministry.

5. Three type faces are never enough.

6. You’re not allowed to look at anything on the Internet.

7. You often just use pictures from the web when creating brochures.

8. You’ve ever searched for images with “sun bursting through clouds” or “waves crashing on rocks” because that’s what church materials should contain.

9. You’ve used this argument “Jesus and the disciples didn’t use Powerpoint so it doesn’t matter what it looks like.”

10. You use photos of people that represent diversity in the church (even if they’re not there yet).

11. You make the guest response card a PINK insert in the bulletin because you believe if it’s PINK and people don’t have to tear it out, they will definitely fill it out.

* This list was inspired and adapted from a Church Marketing Lab discussion thread.

Secret of success...

One of my secrets to success is Mark Meyer. I wish he blogged more. Everytime he posts, it's good. Really good. His most recent post is about how to be a finisher.

3 Ways to be a Finisher:

• Look for an opportunity to take an initiative that has been stalling out or hanging incomplete at work. Take it, and in your mind make yourself 100% responsible. Do what it takes to get it done and done well. Want to be normal? Be cynical and roll your eyes at how the project is just another company objective that will never get done...
• In meetings and conversations, be the best note taker- pay attention and get the details of what needs to be done whether it's your responsibility or not. Help remind people of the tasks to do, priorities at hand, and assist people by reminding then what needs to get done. Normal is people on your team missing details leaving projects incomplete, clients unhappy, and money uncollected. Fill in the cracks for your team so your team finishes strong.
• Be willing to make a decision. Everyday there are scores of emails and conversations filled with questions, hurdles, and excuses. Bring clarity and be solution oriented... take those things that are spinning and bring them to a finish line. What's normal? Add to the confusion, be vague, ask questions that seem really smart but just keep things undone, offer more reasons why something can't be done and how you don't have enough information. Hide in the multitudes of 80%.

Full post.

I love Daryl's new site

Daryl is our web director. He runs point for the total web experience at Granger Community Church. He protects the online touch points and helps lead the teams for all web services and deliverables (public and backoffice).

He just updated his site. I think he's in the right role, don't you?

What the President-Elect (And All New Execs) Should Do

This is a smart article was written by John Baldoni prior to the election outcome. I like it. Not just advice for our President-Elect, but all executive leaders. I'd go as far to say there is insight for all people with leadership influence to glean. If you are leading any group of people in today's uncertain times -- students, churches, businesses, communities, a family --this list applies to you, too. You'll want to read the full article, but here's an excerpt.

While some may expect our president to be a financial savant or a global policy strategist, in reality he is neither. He serves as the leader of our nation. Looking at the presidency from the perspective of taking a new position, there are ways to get an insight into the job that have parallels for any chief executive.

• Be realistic. The problems facing the United States are not going to be solved easily. It gives false hope to pretend that they will be. Part of the solution will involve the American people. Be prepared to ask them to sacrifice, too.
• Go to the problem areas. Rather than hold a grand summit, make a point of visiting leaders where they work. See how they operate. Judge firsthand what the problems are before you begin to develop solutions.
• Build a coalition. The challenges facing our nation and our world are too big for one party or one nation to solve. Stock your cabinet with people who have not always agreed with you. Put some folks of the opposite party on it.
• Treat federal agencies as your partners. Running against Washington makes for good campaign politics, but once elected you need to deliver. It would be interesting to see the president-elect hold town hall meeting with government employees on their turf.
• Look for success stories. Visit the high-performing companies. Ask questions about how they have achieved success. At the same time, visit humanitarian organizations. Discuss their needs but also learn how they solve problems.
• Inspire optimism. Franklin Roosevelt hit the ground running in March of 1933. Upon taking office he declared a bank holiday; shutting the banks was the first step in restoring stability to the nation's fragile financial system.

Barack Obama will have the hindsight of history... he must reach out and touch people where it matters, in their hearts and minds.

Branding Faith

I just met Phil Cooke today. He sat in my session this morning at the National Outreach Convention. I'm glad I didn't find that out until the session was over. If I had known he was sitting in there the whole time I would have been too nervous.

Have you read his book, Branding Faith? Here's where Phil is coming from. In his words...

"One of the great frustrations in my career has been seeing great churches and religious organizations crippled because of wrong advice."

"I propose that we need to dramatically change the way we publicly express our beliefs." 

Here's the deal. This book is smart, original, practical and comprehensive. It's completely relevant to any person of faith living in today's culture to help us un-do some of what we've done. Until you have a chance to read it for yourself, I've shared some of my favorite excerpts (some paraphrased).

Communication

• "A generation ago the question was, 'What is Truth?' Today, the question is, 'What's the point?'" - Billy Graham
• It's not about chasing the latest new thing. It's about interpreting what that new think means to your audience.

Branding

• At its most basic level, branding provides answers to the simple human need to differentiate one thing from another.

• Branding could be the single most misunderstood term in American business. As a result, churches and not-for-profits have mistakenly applied it's principles in a variety of disastrous ways, and many end up thinking that branding is something born in the bowels of hell.

Quality

• A higher quality production might not generate a better response time at the moment, but it will impact the overall perception of your ministry.

• Certainly, a single product or commercial may resonate with an audience, causing them to respond regardless of the production quality. But there's no question that over the long haul, quality always wins out. It's a matter of the brand story you want to leave in the mind of your audience. What do people think of when they think of you?

Advertising

• During the past few years there has been a trend in advertising and marketing to explore the connection between religion and branding. As advertisers search for more and more effective ways to connect products with consumers, they've stumbled upon the power of "meaning".

• If you can link a product to a consumer's personal identity, the connection becomes far stronger and the relationship sticks for a much longer period of time.

Change

• "In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists." Eric Hoffer, social philosopher.
• Change is often perceived as an unfair encroachment on a person's territory, and he or she worries about failing or looking bad--especially to superiors. This is understandable, but it's absolutely necessary we communicate to ministry professionals that change does not mean they've been doing something wrong. It's not about mistakes; it's about responding to the changing culture with a fresh, new approach.

Information Overload 

• Whatever good this abundance brings to the world, it also brings confusion and clutter for people trying to make sense of it all.
• A pastor with a heart to reach men realized that another 30-minute program wouldn't help separate him from the ministry pack, so he started producing 30-second spots and used them to sponsor the local sports report on a network TV channel. As a result, he's reaching more men during those 30-second breaks than all the full-length Christian programs in his market combined. He writes the spots around male-oriented subjects and speaks into the lives of thousands of men every night during the network news.