Kem Meyer on Less Clutter & Noise

Revamping Communication Arts Volunteerism...

It’s important to provide people with good information, so they can make good decisions about where to serve with their time and talents. (I’ve talked about it before.) And, recently, we realized that the information we were publishing about our Communication Arts and Tech Ops teams was tired and tardy (out of date). So, we took inventory inside of what’s changed (structure, tools and objectives) and looked outside to other people and places we dig for some ideas and inspiration. After all that, here’s what we came up with for our Communication Arts Teams.

• Search    
  When people are just browsing all opportunities to choose from, they don’t need detailed documentation about every department, every team in that department and every role on that team. What they need are some big picture tools that help them scan and move towards a general area of interest. A one page overview is perfect introduction to what happens in our department for Tier 1 fact-finding and self-sorting.
  • Communication Arts Big Picture 
• Invite    
  Once someone has their interest piqued for a particular department and wants to take a next step, we drilldown into more detail about various team opportunities & expectations in each department. It’s a Tier 2 sort/filtering tool.
  • Communication Arts Teams

• Serve    
  Once someone is serving on a particular team and/or in a particular role, we’ll provide guidelines document as needed. Here’s a sample of what we’re working on for our social media teams. It’s a Tier 3 unifying/clarifying tool.
  • Social Media Team Guidelines

Wondering where we landed with Tech Ops? Glad you asked. Jason shares the scoop: part 1 and part 2.

Everybody wants a sound byte from the platform… now what?

The question…

“Our church seems motivated to attend events and activities when things are announced from the platform. How do you get people excited to participate in things when there’s no major push from the pastor?”

My answer…

If people are responsive only to events and activities announced from the platform, it’s probably because it’s too hard to find out about the other events and opportunities that aren’t announced from the platform. Normal people take the path of least resistance and if they have to work too hard to find something, they’ll just take what’s on top (like the platform announcements). The problem with the platform announcements being the only place to find out about individual growth and serving opportunities is that it limits church growth and community impact. YOU CAN’T SAY EVERYTHING AT ONCE. My guess is that you “get this” and it’s why you asked this question in the first place.

Here are a few tips to help raise awareness and energy for the things happening all around the life of the church without being solely dependent on the platform announcement.

1. Use the platform to reinforce and promote core values and macro steps from the platform, not individual events or teams. It might look like this:
   • Announced from the platform:   Volunteer, Join a Group, Bible Classes, Be Generous
   • Not announced from the platform:   Men’s Hunting Trip, Book Discussion for Singles, Scrapbooking Overnight
2. Then, reinforce everywhere (from the platform, the bulletin, pre-service slides, postcards, business cards, etc.) the one place where people can find everything. For us, it’s our web site. It’s the one place where all information for every team is up to date and everyone—staff, volunteer, attendees, secret shoppers, the information counter—has access to it 24/7. For you, the one place might not be the web. It might be the information counter, or the weekly newsletter, or an events blog. Whatever you choose, stick with that one place and drive everyone back to it. When you talk about big, all-church steps like volunteering, joining a group, etc., that one place is where people can find the specific opportunities that appeal to them with dates, times, directions, registration, etc. (I’ve written about our web communications strategy before.)
3. Of course, there are always special events that warrant specific priority attention from the platform. Usually this makes sense for big deal events that affect the entire church like Baptism, Membership Classes, unique opportunities that directly apply to the topic you’re discussing in the sermon (i.e., Financial Freedom class when the message is about money.) But, even when you talk about specific events, remember to keep driving people back to that one place to find out the rest of the story.

It’s about the basics. People have good news and they want to spread the word. So, tell the people go spread it! (Luke 8:38) There are SO many wins to this approach.

• People (on both sides of the message) are satisfied with a rewarding experience. They know where to easily find information when they want it.
• People take ownership of the invite and spread the word about different opportunities naturally when you empower them with direct, self-service access to information. You eliminate the middle man and give them the tools to share it on their own.
• You eliminate redundancy and extra work when you put everything in one place.
• And, the most important benefit of all is you are able to diffuse the spirit of competition with ministry leaders jockeying for pole position on the platform. You reinforce the message we are “one church” where ministry happens not a bunch of individual ministries housed in the church.

Three stages of a multi-site communications journey...

The question…

“How do we effectively communicate (vision, values and policies) within the multi-site model without adding layers of complexity?”

 

My answer…

When somebody figures out the answer to this question, let me know. Seriously! With multi-site strategy, the complexity factor increases greatly. It’s a constant process trying to figure out what’s non-negotiable for everyone and what’s unique to each campus. We’re early into our own first multi-site launch and each day it seems we discover a new “exception” to the rule. As nice as it would be to launch and hit the autopilot button, it is unrealistic. So, we take it as it comes and adapt as we learn along the way. Here’s three snapshots of the multi-site communication frameworks we’ve encountered through our multi-site journey.

Getting started (1)

The heart behind everything is to empower departments and campuses using “freedom within a framework”. The objective isn’t to boss everybody around with a list of rules, but to instead provide guidelines to work within.

• One web site, enews and bulletin template for the whole church. Although, each campus may have their own unique communication points on a blog or announcement reel, we use the same weekly communication vehicles for 20% of the content that affects 80% of the audience. While it’s not perfect, it eliminates the run-around to multiple sites and makes the basic information easy to find—regardless of the campus.
• Look for ways to produce it once and use it twice. Any place we can eliminate redundancies we try to do it to reduce time, costs and errors.
• Simplify the problem. Rather than react to everything as a complex execution, we consistently boil every project down to its core: “what do we want to happen as a result of this,” and work backwards from there.
• One team; multiple campuses. We all gather as one church, once a week for the all staff meeting.
• Adhere to the same Communication Values. Look for ways to bundle and simplify everything we do. Even though the next steps and ministry teams for each campus are very individualized and unique, we still look for ways to tie the next steps to the same major themes (e.g., the weekend series, volunteers, groups, etc.)

After the first year or so (2)

We’re trying to harness the power of a message and enhance the experience, not create a list of dos and don’ts. There’s a balance between centralizing efforts that maximize excellence and creating a bottleneck for the things that don’t matter. We’re constantly evaluating that contrast, tension and the multiple paradoxes.

• Scalability is the goal but scalability is not the same thing as duplication.
• The focus is mission not mirroring. .
• 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.

Where we are now (3)

After working with a generalized framework for about two years, we’ve gained experience, clarity and advice – from - others. As a result, we recently finalized a working first draft of our Campus Constants to help usher us into the next season and future campus launches.

It’s a moving target, but this shared roadmap helps us all aim for the same bull's-eye.

Want better results from others? Change your M.O.

A few weeks ago I blogged about reducing the static to engage with others. I got a few comments and even more DMs and emails from people asking me how to “change an internal M.O.”

There is no “one-size-fits-all” or “five quick steps” to answer that question. A person’s M.O. is about emotional intelligence and spiritual health. The key to breaking out of our own ruts and changing our internal M.O. is self-awareness. But, our ruts are highly personal, aren’t they?

So, instead of just answering “get a therapist” (which isn’t a bad place to start), I thought I’d point to ten posts where I’ve talked about this before (trust me, there’s a ton more where these came from). Hope this helps.

10. Get feedback.  

9. Remember, everybody doesn't hate you. 

8. Learn from your mistakes.   

7. Quit trying to get it all done.

6. Get a preventative maintenance plan.

5. Create social social impact.

4. Know the difference between drawing, crossing & blurring the lines of communication.

3. Guard your heart.

2. Cultivate success. 

1. Get over yourself.

Challenging each other to ruin lazy communications…

Last week I spent two intense days with a group of creative leaders and practitioners representing ten different churches from New York to California. We came from indie art, gritty cowboy, low income urban, exclusive suburb, bluegrass, hip hop, big city and small town communities. We’re an eclectic expression of methodologies, experience, philosophies, practices and contexts who will be spending the next six months together trying to get better at getting through.

I thought I’d share a few quotes I was able to jot down …

• "We are sometimes called to be a part of people's lives for a chapter rather than the whole book." @stevenstarfas
• "Don't forget what it's like not to believe." @stevenstarfas
• “It’s time to sunset that system.” @heyshan
• “Integrate family ministries instead of creating programs. Programs can actually fracture families.” @heyshan
• “Communicators should be curators.” @jeremyscheller
• “When your audience is already highly scheduled, don’t add more to their calendar. Work harder at creating avenues for them to find small spaces to respond to God.” @dgaff
• “You can’t cultivate great communication as a professional until you realize, as a human being, you’re not so different than the people you’re serving.” Mindy Owens
• “Communication is an art form, prepping the canvas for good art takes time.” @eyesofaith

Biggest communications challenge nobody talks about…

Yesterday, the smart and generous people at The Leadership Network and Catalyst sponsored The NINES online conference. Over 100 speakers had six minutes to share their best 'game-changing' moments. Here’s mine.

The biggest communication challenge that nobody talks about…

• The clutter we create when we overestimate what we have to say and underestimate how it’s going to affect the other person.

How to overcome it…

• Change internal M.O.
• Focus less on what we have to say and more on who we are saying it to.
• Personalize a message instead of pushing an agenda.
• Prioritize people instead of performance or policy.

Question to ask yourself…

• How can I change my communication style to release the best in others?

If you’ve got six more minutes to spare… Tim Steven’s shares his game changer, too.

If I jumped in a time machine & went back to school…

Last week I was asked, “I’m hoping to pursue a career in advertising/marketing. What advice would you give to me as I pursue my education & career?” Here’s what I shared; it’s just my two cents.

Even though I studied public relations and journalism in college, very little of that formal education makes me more effective in my current role. If I had the chance to go back and do it all over again, I would concentrate in psychology and sociology. And, here’s why. Culture moves and the methods (and technologies) for design, marketing, advertising, etc., change rapidly and frequently. For all of that stuff… you keep up, learn on the job, read blogs, watch real life wins and misses on the go. It’s just in time, all the time. However, people are the same despite where culture moves. I believe, the more you learn about and understand the human condition—the more successful you’ll be in any communications role.

How telling the truth can advance your cause & save the world…

There’s a few simple truths people have trouble with when it comes to selling their dreams(personal or corporate):

• Branding is bonding.
• You can’t bond without trust.
• You can’t build trust without telling the same story.
• It’s hard to tell the same story without telling the truth.

Conventional practices lead with the mechanics of marketing—the advertising, design or strategy deliverables. Those efforts are upside down. All of those practices should support the essence of your core—they don’t define the core. When people—or companies or causes—try to manufacture a brand from the outside in (versus the inside out) they aren’t successful (inside or out).

A friend of mine, Rick Bailey, gets this. He lives it. He teaches it. He advocates it. Rick smokes what he sells, and it has earned him (and those around him) success. He’s a charismatic creative leader, generous giver and has been a great friend and mentor to many over the years. His compass of character, servant leadership, people-driven creativity, high level intelligence and down-to-earth communication style explains the well-earned respect and following he has. And, now, he’s written a book about it.

I’ve got mine on pre-order. And, I’d recommend you pre-order one for yourself, too.

Behind the scenes trivia: A few years ago, Rick volunteered his time, talent and resources to lead a vision campaign at Granger that won us an ADDY award (minor) and changed thousands of lives for the better (major). Congratulations, Rick, on publishing this book! It’s just one more significant contribution you’re making to save the world.

More than 100 speakers, one-day, 6-minutes each, free…

I’m genuinely looking forward to The Nines Conference in less than two weeks.

Talk about the gift of inspiration, practical advice and encouragement—this year’s theme is GAME CHANGERS. Every speaker had the same task: take no more than 6 minutes to talk about the game changers in your life and ministry. In other words, what were the changes, mindsets or directions that made the biggest difference (personally or corporately)?  

Here’s a preview of a few of the game changers I already know about that will be shared at the event:

• Mark Beeson: Critics in your life? Don’t let anger be your downfall.
• Tim Stevens: How do you reach people who are indifferent to what you have?
• Me: The biggest communications challenge nobody talks about.
• Ben Arment: Divided classes in church: pastors and the business community.
• Eric Bramlett: Why does the church have such an aversion to risk?
• Wayne Cordeiro: Do you a hard time saying "no" because you love people? Stop it.
• Dave Ferguson: Which is the greater risk? Saying yes, or saying no?
• David Foster: If your marriage sucks, your ministry probably sucks, too.
• David Gibbons: How can you dive into the uncomfortable chaos?
• Gayle Haggard: You have to face your defining moments head on.
• Craig Groeschel: Less time leads to a better result.
• Alan Hirsch: See yourself as a missionary. Everything else will take its cue from that.
• Will Mancini: : You have to have people who are BRUTALLY honest with you.
• Dino Rizzo: Grow it small? No one wants to be Thumbelina Community Church.

If you don’t already have this on your calendar, might I suggest you TURN YOUR BRAIN BACK ON! In all seriousness, this is an incredible resource for you and your whole team. It’s not often (if ever) you have free access to some of the world’s best leaders and communicators. Have you seen the full line-up? Have you seen the BUZZ?

Reduce the static to engage with others…

I talk about it all the time. Sometimes the picture we draw (with words, actions or images) isn’t telling the story we think it is. You’ll never know how you’re coming across to others if you don’t draw on the wisdom of people with diverse perspectives. 

When I left my marketplace job in 2002 to join the staff team at Granger, I had a wealth of experience, tools and tricks at my disposal. But, even with all the right skills, education and knowledge, I couldn’t gain traction. My ministry and my communication effectiveness was in serious stall mode. Sure, I got some stand alone killer projects done. But, my ideas weren’t spreading and I had very little (to no) influence.

In Making Ideas Happen, Belsky lands on the culprit.

• Connecting with people across the spectrum requires us to stay connected to the needs and beliefs of those around us. This becomes more challenging when we get lost in our own creative pursuits.
• A community sourced from just one stop along the frequency spectrum can prove damaging. Without some degree of mass appeal, most ideas will falter.

Things turned around for me when I realized that, while my intentions were good, my M.O. needed an adjustment. I was overestimating WHAT I had to get done and underestimating HOW it was going to affect others. Essentially, I was my own communications roadblock.

Sometimes I’m the last person to know how I’m coming across to others. I’m trucking along TOTALLY CONFIDENT my efforts will produce an A grade, but I’m completely unaware that everyone around me is using a different grading scale. I can’t see that myself. Nobody can see it in themselves. I changed my M.O. and never looked back. 

I am exponentially more effective when I learn from people who see and think differently than me.