Kem Meyer on Less Clutter & Noise

Are you looking for a vendor or a partner?

Sometimes you need to hire a job done. But, before hiring any outside professionals (e.g., consultants, vendors, firms, agencies, etc.), there are key things to consider in the selection process. Technical skills or industry knowledge alone does not make for a successful union. Too many consultants optimize their businesses for themselves - not their customers. It's the difference between a strategic partner and service provider.

When we're looking for outside help, we need more than templates, products and a one-size fits all approach. We're looking for "A trusted advisor. A mental sparring partner. Someone with the flexibility of a great vendor, yet the resolve of a doctor who is not prepared to give bad medicine." With inspiration from this FutureLab document, I've created a list of things to look for in a partner.

1. Someone who focuses on solutions instead of products. Many consultants listen to a client's request for a solution and come back with an answer that fits their in-house capabilities and compensation models. We're leery of people who are quick to offer a product-only solution (their product only). I count on outside experts to help us navigate and give us good working options from which to choose. Third-party solutions are a good thing--don't build from scratch just because you can. Proprietary methods and strategies can take years instead of months to implement. In one short conversation, it is evident whether someone is interested in selling products or taking a personal interest in your continued success.
2. Someone who improves upon your ideas. Many consultants will do what you want--no questions asked. That's not a good thing. We're interested in someone who will tell us what is out there, challenge us and help us see potential problems with our objectives. We may have a great vision and plan to reach the vision that won’t sustain today’s technology or client environments. A partner will help us continually look at the big picture and avoid making decisions with blinders on. It’s their job to educate us about the potential consequences of our decisions, good and bad. Do they have the ability to serve as our "mental sparring partner" or not?
3. Someone who can reveal the cost of failure. Most consultants don’t talk ROI. Instead, they emphasize the budgets they manage as well as the client list, certifications and awards they have. While some of that is important, it’s more important to demonstrate they’ll make back more than they spend on your services. Name dropping is not a good sign--run away.
4. Someone who owns the troubleshooting. Our long-lasting partnerships are with people who demonstrate client-service to a fault. A “can-do” attitude is overlying tone of all interactions. As the expert, it is their job to tell us how something will work and ensure that it does. With all the technology solutions and resources available today, there is always a solution. It is our expectation that we will never hear “it can’t be done” but rather "here's what we CAN do."
5. Someone who educates your team to be self-sufficient. How our partner plans to transfer their knowledge to our in-house team needs to be part of the deal. Proactive is better than reactive. I want someone who will bring solutions to our attention that will improve our situation.
6. Someone who helps you grow into it. It's important to partner with someone who not only sees the current picture of today's reality, but also helps prepare you for course changes or growth without breaking or forcing you to start from scratch.

By the way, during my season on staff at Granger, there are a few companies who deliver on "all of the above." I consider them to be “strategic partners.”  While we've worked with other great people as well, these four companies rise to the top because of the size, scope and length of the relationship. They complement us -- focusing on the areas we are weak so we can stay focused on the areas where we are strong. We are better because of them.  

• AspireOne. Branding and web experiences.
• Fellowship Technologies. Database management.
• Lightcast. Media streaming.
• Commerce Guys. Ecommerce customization and implementation.

Fight Information Obesity. How to simplify your marketing...

Recently Guy Kawasaki invited me to share a few words over on the Amex Small Business Blog. Inside scoop? He edited my original submission because he said it was obese. That's ironic. Made me laugh. And, he was right. You can always cut words. And, then you can cut again. Here's the edited article. Better than the original.

Fight Information Obesity...How to simplify your marketing.

Information overload occurs when we receive more information than our brain can process. Even if it’s good information, too much of a good thing isn’t good anymore. Whether you’re an information addict or Zen advocate, information overload affects us all.

If you’d like to contribute something of real value that improves quality of life, it’s as simple as dialing back your own volume. Here are five ways you should be looking to help reduce the stress for your customers.

1. Stick to the facts. Don’t over-sell, over-fluff, over-explain or over control. Just provide the information someone needs to self-sort and self-decide. People don’t need a page on the philosophy for every business, product, or event. They do need to know who it’s for, what it is, when it happens and how to get it.

2. Stick to the point. Start with the end in mind before you take action. If you know the purpose behind your letter, brochure, or meeting, it makes it easier for you to stay on track and focused. Otherwise, it’s hard to recognize your own excess. Do you want people to show up, respond, or buy? What are you asking them to do? If you can’t answer that question easily, neither can they.

3. Consider the crowd. Does your announcement (printed or verbal) apply to everyone or just a handful of people? If it doesn’t affect the masses, it’s going to land like dead weight. Don’t punish the crowd to keep a few people happy (even if they are the most vocal). Find a way to talk about the 20% that affects 80% of your audience.

4. Don’t intrude. Unless they’ve asked for it, people welcome your mass emails as much as a salesman ringing the doorbell during family dinner. Respect personal space and put information in a place easy for people to find when they want or need it.

5. Deflate your self-importance. Are you more attached to what you have to say than to who you are talking to? People are more inclined to read and respond when something is delivered from their point of view—not yours. Work hard to think like your audience to find ways to connect.

Life is overwhelming enough as it is. Your business, church, school, or social cause shouldn’t be piling on more and adding to the confusion. Look at your own emails, mailings, brochures, web site, and identify where you need to turn down your volume. It’s the right thing to do for everyone.

Shift happens...are you paying attention?

It's easier than ever to reach a large audience, but harder than ever to connect with it.

Did you know?

Thanks, Xplane for a great media. And, thanks to Jake for helping me find it.

Are you smarter than a 3rd grader?

Easton's third grade class is working through a series of math, language arts and reading problems to increase their understanding of economics. They're using a series of videos to cover five basic concepts:

1. Scarcity - You can't have everything you want. Choices must be made.
2. Opportunity Cost - This is what you give up when you choose one thing over another.
3. Consumption - We are all consumers. We decide what goods and services to use to satisfy our wants.
4. Production - Producers combine resources to make goods and services.
5. Interdependence - Our well-being is partly dependent on the behavior of others. We specialize to increase our well-being.

As we sat around the table last night talking about making hard choices, producing things and depending on each other... I'm reminded in a clear and simple way that our country at large is not smarter than a 3rd grader. Nor am I. Easton walked through decision trees and made up several practical examples on his own using our family circumstances to prove his point. I was impressed as he led the discussion:

"Let's say mom only made 3 turkey burgers for dinner. There's four of us. You see, what we have here is a problem of economics. We will have some choices to make..."

I'm loving this. I never thought I could have so much fun talking about economics around the dinner table with the family. I've got more to learn.

Do you want to collide cultures to impact culture?

Yeah, but how? Glad you asked.

Many consider South by Southwest (SXSW)to be the best interactive media conference in the world. (To get an idea...just look at some of the speakers from last year.) Unfortunately, SXSW has had little if any content for churches in the past. You can change that.

We should be able to go to one place to not only learn from technology leaders but also share unique content about how to leverage the best technology for ministry. All in one place. Come on. Let's be smart about this and help leverage culture to save culture. All you have to do is vote.

EVERY VOTE COUNTS. (As a matter of fact... go ask your mom to vote, too.) Out of 2,200 submissions, only 300 make the cut.

FIRST STEP: Create a free profile for voting. You'll get an email confirmation and then...

SECOND STEP: Hit each link below and click the "thumbs up" icon to vote for each church panel below. Hit each link (all four of them) and look for the "thumbs up" icon at the top of each page to vote.

1. Creating Authentic Online Community: Tony Steward, Carlos Whittaker, John Saddington, & Cynthia Ware (moderator) 
2. Technology For Results Not Profits: Bobby Gruenewald, Brad Abare, Kent Shaffer, & Terry Storch (moderator)
3. LifeChurch.tv - Reaching 2 Million+ With Technology: Terry Storch, Tony Steward, Bobby Gruenewald, & Kent Shaffer (moderator)
4. Pushing Technological Change Without Alienating Your Co-Workers: Me & mystery experts

 

VOTING CLOSES SEPTEMBER 4. I know you have it in you (and so do your friends). Everybody you know is already voting for their favorite on American Idol every week. This is cooler than American Idol. It is. Don't argue with me. Spread the word and help us rock the vote!

Sticky Church Book Tour

Sticky Church by Larry Osborne is an important read in the world of small groups. It's got the right blend: balancing concepts, questions and strategies to adapt to your own environment.

Chapter 13: Determining Your Primary Purpose. (What about chapters 1-12? Take the tour.)

Everyone has their own idea about the primary purpose of a small group. Look around and you'll find a plethora of mutually exclusive goals and purposes.

• Ideal vehicle for discipleship.
• Perfect tool for evangelism.
• Secret to unlimited church growth
• Shepard the flock.
• Administrate the church.
• Provide for deep Bible study.
• Produce an environment that fosters no-holds-barred sharing and prayer.
• A place to make friends.

With so many competing viewpoints, the bottom line is that you've got to define and agree on the primary purpose of your small group ministry before the launch (and continually articulate it from that point forward). Otherwise, everyone ends up using a different measuring stick. Chapter 13 gives you a framework for identifying and agreeing on your primary purpose for groups in your church. (What about chapters 14-19? Take the tour.)

Here's how we defined it at Granger. If you're interested in the why behind our what, you'll want to keep up with Kathy Guy's blog (she's our Directory of Community). Add her to your blog reader to get an inside scoop on discoveries and strategies we're finding along the way about small groups and community environments.

Spurring on those who get it done...

Years ago I was part of a dramatic mime performance at a weekend production. My job was to sit in the front row (hidden from the audience) and narrate into a microphone to complement the story unfolding with dance and movement on stage. Half way through the performance I got so absorbed in the story unfolding in front of me, I totally forgot I was supposed to be reading the narration. The script fell from my hand into my lap. I just sat there in awe of the message. I was completely absorbed. After awhile, I wondered why there was such a long, awkward delay. Why had the performers froze? Where was the background narration? Somebody should do something.

OH! IT’S ME! I’M SUPPOSED TO BE READING! Quickly, I resumed my role and much to the embarrassment of myself and the frustration of the performers on stage.

On October 1-2 (my mom’s birthday…Happy Birthday, Mom!), I get the chance to be part of a conference unlike any I’ve ever seen. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about getting absorbed in the awe of the images in front of me and completely losing my place. Somebody should do something! Oh, it’s me! I’ve got to stay focused. I can’t drop the ball. I’m going to talk to leaders about the cost of information overload. Less clutter. Less noise. applies to ministry, marketplace, government and military arenas. And , leaders from all arenas will be at the Spur Leadership Conference.

“At a time when careers are measured in weeks and fiscal quarters, leadership at any level in every arena carries unique burdens.” And, this is one unique line-up.

• Texas Gov. Rick Perry 
• Gen. Tommy Franks (Ret., U.S. Army)
• Pastor Steven Furtick, Elevation Church, Charlotte, NC
• Roy Spence, GSD&M Advertising
• Les Csorba, Heidrick & Struggles
• Kem Meyer, Granger Community Church
• Courtney Spence, Students of the World
• Steve Price, Dell Computer Corp. HR VP
• Mac Richard, Lake Hills Church, Austin TX

I feel like the out of place element on Sesame Street. But, I can't wait to do my part. Can you make it to Austin, TX on October 1-2?

Information Obesity

I got to share an excerpt from Less Clutter. Less Noise. over on the Catalyst blog today. Freaky to see my picture next to some of my heroes. Thanks for the opportunity, Catalyst!

Seven quotes from the Leadership Summit 2009

I LOVE learning environments. To make the most out of them for ME, I've adopted a controlled note-taking format. I can't chew on everything presented during a conference or workshop or book. Extensive note-taking is too heavy for me to carry and too much to implement. For this year's Leadership Summit: Seven quotes I'm going to chew-on. THIS, I can do.

1. Bill Hybels

"The pace at which I'm doing God's work is destroying God's work in me."
1 Chronicles 29:12

2. Tim Keller

"Are you doing stuff for others or is the stuff you're doing for them really for yourself? Don't go into the ministry to save your soul."
Romans 1:17

3. Jessica Jackley

"The secret to changing the world is a change of mindset."
Psalm 19:7-8

4. Harvey Carey

"Nothing is impossible to those who believe. When you reach outside your grasp--outside your capacity--you will see amazing results."
Matthew 17:20

5. Dave Gibbons

"When we love those who are hard to love, hard to get close to, completely unlike us--people will notice. It's completely abnormal. That's our calling. What's noticeable about being normal?"
John 13:34-35

6. David Gergen

"Leaders can be so activistic they don’t reflect, journal, write, discuss, etc. It’s easy to confuse motion with progress."
Mark 1:35

7. Chip & Dan Heath

"Am what I'm doing TBU (True But Useless)? That's worth asking."
Matthew 6:22-23

(Last year, my notes looked like this.)

Church Communications Strategy Coaching Network

There are times in my life when I need a good coach. I've talked about it before. The benefits of an ongoing professional alliance with one person (or a small team) creates unique benefits I can't get in other learning environments. Because of coaching networks in various seasons of my journey, I've been able to:

• gain clarity
• focus my efforts
• sharpen my awareness
• accelerate my personal progress
• increase my personal effectiveness
• improve the quality of my own life
• positively impact lives around me

Let me assure you--this isn't marketing copy with weightless bullets. Anyone who knew me before and after every coaching season saw tangible, extraordinary results. Not only am I thankful for those opportunities; I'm an advocate for others to find them.

Why? We just can't do it alone. Coaching networks are challenging, rewarding, provoking and empowering. It's a one of a kind experience. One person put it this way "You will dream bigger dreams, have insights, uncover and hopefully remove limitations." I would have to agree.

Recently, we've been having quite a few conversations around here about how can we facilitate more coaching offerings for the people who have reached out to us. Even with tight budgets and tight schedules, there is still a demand. I'm getting several messages every month with requests, and have been for the past couple of years.

So, I'm going to give this a try. It might be my turn. I'm launching a coaching network this fall for Church Communications Strategy.

Are you a:

• Pastor, creative professional or ministry decision-maker who influences and supports local church communications before, around and after the weekend message?
• Director who leads talented, uncoordinated teams of artists (words, images, technology, etc.) looking for ways to equip them through change—from chaos to coordination?
• Ministry professional facing the challenge of clearly communicating everything that’s happening in the life of your church across departments and campuses without shutting audiences down in the process?
• Leader in a season or crossroads who need customized, focused, up close and personal attention?
• Influencer who is highly committed to strategic, interactive, out-of-the-box opportunities to roll-up your sleeves and let down your guard with peers you can trust?

It might be your turn.

Are you an executive pastor? Well, then, YOU might need something different.