Kem Meyer on Less Clutter & Noise

Workflow & timing resources for arts teams…

It’s a complicated concept. How does communication arts work with creative arts? Where does digital media come into the conversation? The answer is somewhere between two extremes; strict, inflexible systems are not any more helpful in the long run than the chaos of no system at all.

Shrink the Church just posted a free resource to help you get your head around the concept of who should be talking to who, when it makes sense to have those conversations, what deliverables hit at what interval and more. What a great tool to use to brainstorm with your team to customize your own framework.

Love it.

Paradoxes of multi-site communication…

This past week, I asked Jeff Bell to spend some time with our communications network talking about the paradoxes of multi-site communication. Here are a few simple bullets of wisdom he shared.

• The goal is scalability, but scalability is not the same thing as duplication.
• Don’t focus on mirroring. Focus on the mission.
• Community is a shared mission, expression is not.
• Value is communicated different ways to different people.
• Our church, and the community developed around it, is not contained in one box and shipped for use in multiple locations. We’re evolving our DNA to live multi-site as a ministry, not as an export.

The Duality of Communication Arts & Creative Arts…

This past week, I asked Jason Miller to spend some time with our communications network talking about the collaboration between our two departments (we have so much overlap). Here are a few simple bullets of wisdom he shared.

• We don’t have to tell the whole story, we just have to tell the same story.
• We’re more effective when we plan man-to-man versus zone defense. Zone defense protects turf to execute a regimented play. Man-to-man allows players to execute judgment. I’m less concerned with defining the process and more concerned with defining the people who need to be involved in the process.
• Bottom line it. Don’t get caught up in the fireworks of the idea and miss the point. So what’s the point? Can you communicate it? If you can’t, you’re in love with your own idea.
• Embrace conflicting viewpoints as a positive. It’s how you find the panoramic view.

Love, laughter and lunacy in 140 characters. Brilliant!

My friend, Kevin Hendricks, recently published his first book.

Addition by Adoption: Kids, Causes & 140 Characters.
hits the Amazon shelves TODAY! It's a collection of tweets
(you heard me right … a book authored in Twitter) featuring:

• funny and bizarre things his kids do
• the causes they support
• the story of his son's adoption.

This book is creative, funny, inspiring and a quick read.
Plus, a portion of the proceeds will go to charity: water.

I like Kevin. He’s giving, witty, edits, yo-yo-s and is trained to roller skate. I’ve been moved by his quips for years now and am grateful he’s assembled some of them in a handy dandy portable book I can carry with me wherever I go.

How to know if you're drawing, crossing or blurring the lines ...

Sometimes it’s hard to know the right thing to do when communicating across departments or locations. There are constant realities you’re navigating through…

• Personal Conflict. Each group attracts different personalities, skill sets and vocabularies. Sometimes these differences make it hard for stakeholders to understand each other so they avoid each other. When stakeholders aren't speaking to each other, it makes it very difficult to communicate effectively. 
• Extra Time. It’s time consuming to share important information with others. Under pressure to demonstrate more results quickly, people don’t take the time to communicate.
• Willy Nilly Crucials. It’s common to document processes and policies, but too often organizations lack clarity in defining what information needs to be shared between departments. 

Be sure to focus energy on the items in the proactive column to effectively work around these realities.

REACTIVE…

PROACTIVE…

Over communicate. Everybody doesn’t need to be in on everything. When all lines of communication are open to everyone, communication declines. Obsess about content. The organization around your message—emotional, environment, ritual, political—is crucial. It can reinforce your content or kill it. Rob the white space. When we’re eager to fix move too fast. Creating margin for listening, self-awareness and reflection is necessary to discover what really matters to other people.

Identify what’s really needed. Each department should develop a list of the kind of need-to-know (versus nice-to-know) information they feel is lacking from other departments.  Invest in team time for leaders.  Focus on relationships between department heads. Team building between a handful of key people can dramatically improve how well the whole staff works together. Apply the JFK principle. Ask not what other departments can do for you. Ask what you can do for other departments. Lead the way by sharing insight with other teams on a regular basis.

NOTE: This post originated from a hodgepodge of notes I’ve collected on this subject. I don’t remember where everything came from, but some of it was inspired by this book and this article.

Change the world by embracing change…

People are threatened by people different than them and by situations they don’t understand. They increase efforts to control the world, destroying it in the process.

Pride and conceit appear when people get comfortable. And, the church is full of two types people; those who are set in their ways and those who aren’t. I am encouraged and motivated to change the world by embracing change.

Daley Hake is coming to town first of June (ish) …

I just heard from the LA rock star who made my Indiana family look like rock stars.

DALEY HAKE is coming to Grand Rapids, MI!

He’ll be there the first week of June (give or take a few days) and I’ve got inside scoop that’s he’s going to be in a shooting mood. You want a booking (personal, professional, family or corporate)? Email Julie direct julie@daleyhake.com to make it happen.

If you’re not familiar with his work, here’s some samples to give you an idea of what he’s made of.

Daley Hake Photography, Los Angeles CA

Catalyst giving away 1 free iPad per week through October…

Any Catalyst event I attend leaves me with enough inspiration, new connections and practical take-aways to last for the next 12-18 months. I’ve never been a part of any of their experiences, or interacted with anyone on their team, and left the same person I was going in. My perspectives (and my toolbox) are always expanded.

Catalyst Conference, October 6-8, Atlanta, GA

This year’s lineup includes some of my favorite authors and speakers. If you want to stay comfortable with your own status quo, you probably shouldn’t come. If you’re ready to be challenged and motivated—then we’re getting somewhere.

• Andy Stanley (Principle of the Path should be required reading for every human…)
• Seth Godin (All Marketers are Liars one of my favorite books of all time…)
• Daniel Pink (A Whole New Mind one of my favorite books of all time…)
• Francis Chan (Crazy Love will mess you up in a good way…)
• Christine Caine (Heard a message from her in 2008 that is still stirring in me…)
• Perry Noble (Says the things nobody else has the guts to say…)
• Craig Groeschel (You know any Christian Atheists…)
• Gabe Lyons (UnChristian is where the rubber meets the road

I thought you’d want to know so you could make plans. When you register, you could win an iPad. They’re going to choose one winner every week until the first week of October. I don’t know if I’m ALL ABOUT the iPad yet, but I am ALL ABOUT winning a free one. :)

For kicks, here’s the highlight reel from last year.

Catalyst 09 Highlight Video from Catalyst on Vimeo.

8 lessons for creating social impact…

An excerpt from 8 Lessons For Creating Social Impact (Fast Company). What a great article. (Thanks for the link, Brian!)

“Unfortunately, designers tend to fall prey to ideas that are too attractive and we don't generally have the patience for the lengthy process to see initiatives through to the point of meaningful results (particularly if those results run counter to our attractive ideas).

1. Undervalue Your Own Ideas. They may seem pretty clever to you, but chances are that they won't work the way that you are imagining. Trust me on this one.

2. Don't Pursue Perfection. Keep close to the messy realities on the ground. And test your ideas while they are rough (they will likely stay that way for a long time).

3. You Are Not the Only Creative in the Room. Social entrepreneurs are not only creative, they are fearless. You may find yourself struggling to keep up.

4. Your Perspective Is Not Automatically Unique. Research and empathy are critical to inform and inspire the design process. But it takes time to develop a viable perspective. You won't walk in with one.

5. Learn From Your Elders. There are a number of creative professions, such as urban planning, that have been engaged with social issues for some time. Yet they are rarely represented in current discussions. You would think that this generation of designers are the first to take on social impact.

6. The Web Will Not Save You. While the Internet and mobile technologies are important points of leverage, you need to resist the temptation to assume that communities will miraculously adopt and value these tools just because we thought them up.

7. You Better Be In It for the Long Haul. Ideation is just the beginning. Ideas are cheap. The determination and stubbornness to see them through is critical. Don't underestimate the time it will take.

8. Don't Celebrate Too Early. The design world has hurt its credibility with many social impact organizations by celebrating the wrong thing: Clever ideas that capture our imagination (like the Lifestraw or the Hippo Roller) but have major challenges in the field.”

Three things to consider before your next roll-out...

"If you believe that people hate change and that it is your job to change them, they will hate it.  If you believe that people thrive on change and that your job is to unleash it, you will tap into  a limitless source of ingenuity, energy and drive that will allow you to take your big ideas into big results."

- Michael T. Kanazawa

A centralized system routes information and functions through a main hub to free up resources in other areas. Whether it's for communications, data entry, support ticket-tracking, or something else, the goal of a centralized system is to increase:

• accuracy; bad content leads to poor service
• accessibility; easy-to find resources and easy-to-run reports
• seamless flow; no conflicts or dead ends, start-to-finish distribution
• continuity; a consistent experience across multiple touch points
• cost savings; eliminate manual legwork and duplicate efforts

All of this should be a good thing, right? Right. Except...

Many times anyone outside the central "hub" perceives the system as a bottleneck for their work and a loss of control over their job. The average person doesn't associate "systems" with "good times". And, you won't motivate anybody to replace "what they're used to" with a new policy or rule.

If you're looking for buy-in to generate momentum for a new system across your organization, you've got to figure how how to communicate what people "get out of it" as well as "here's what's at stake if we don't."

• DON'T say: "Everybody has to start doing it this way from now on."
• DO say: "Hey...you've got a job to do, hopefully this will make that job easier."
• DON'T say: "Things are getting out of hand so we're implementing a new policy"
• DO say: "We've reached a size where our old methods are hurting us instead of helping us and here's what we need to adjust."

"It's not that people hate change...they just hate how you're trying to change them."

Jason has implemented quite a few new Tech Ops systems over the years and I've appreciated how he communicates changes along the way. Here's some examples...

1. Why do we need new technology guidelines? To maximize empowerment and minimize liability. These guidelines allow you to do what you want to do without blowing yourself (or the church) up in the process.
2. Why do I have to run my technology purchases through you when I'm paying for it out of my budget anyway? Dude, that's a great question. We don't need to approve your every move, but face it...we're always a stakeholder. Even if you buy that phone or laptop with money out of your own piggy bank, you'll end up using it at work and that affects all of us. Go through IT and it will increase the church's buying power and support capacity. Cut us out of the conversation, and it will ending up hurting you and the rest of the team. Remember "call before you dig"?  It's like that. 
3. Why do we all have the same computers? Equipment standardization across an organization of our size is like a secret weapon. Yes, you may lose your ability to express your individuality through the computer on your desk, but you'll also lose a mountain of technical barriers. Because we're standardized, our machines are compatible with each other; we can swap pieces and parts on the spot with low to no cost. Plus, our support responsiveness is like BAM! because our depth of knowledge makes us experts on one main platform. What does this mean to you? Less downtime and more productivity (believe me, you'll appreciate this when--not if--your computer goes down).

Before you roll-out your next new system, here's three things you want to be sure you can communicate.

1. Current Reality: Use practical examples and stories to describe the situation.
2. Solution: Introduce one thing that's changing and a couple of next steps. Keep it simple. Allow room for questions. There's a chance you may have missed something.
3. Benefits: Don't take anything away without giving something back. Either identify a tangible pain point that will be eliminated or a value gained as a result of the new system.

[This is an edit to a post I originally published in October 2008.]