Change: Hard even when it's good

I just made the switch from PC to Mac.

While I think in the end I think it will be a good move, it is very frustrating right now. Getting everything transferred over and realizing all the systems I had in place that were practically automated on my PC has made this painful. Even the small things like: why does my Mac print the exact same document as my PC on the same printer and yet the Mac version is too dark? I can't figure out this out.

Makes me want to go back to the old way. My HP tablet may have run hotter than the surface of the sun and taken three or four hard restarts to boot up, but at least once it got started...I knew what I was doing. When you're making changes, the comfortable and familiar counts for a lot.

Digital media and the end of college

A lot of thoughts and inputs converging lately. Here are some of the inputs:

1. Via email - I received an email last week making it clear our national leadership within the USCM understand the future of campus ministry will prominently feature digital media as a tool and platform towards evangelism and discipleship.
2. Via podcast - I listen to a podcast pretty regularly called "This week in Google", which sounds both narrow and nerdy. However, the conversations covered by the three hosts (and one weekly guest) range from the practical (tips on using Google Voice, for example) to the theoretical and futuristic. It is the latter which fascinates me and keeps me listening. I posted about one such topic (how technology allows us to learn from anyone in the world at almost any time) and it's ministry implications on my test blog a few months ago.
3. Via RSS Reader - Seth Godin posted recently about "The coming melt-down in higher education". This flows right out of #2 above. What if the college campus as we know it radically changes...or becomes obsolete?
4. Via News - The level of debt around the world is threatening to radically change financial priorities and realities for the indefinite future, from government all the way down to the individual.

And now for the thoughts:

First, the internet disrupts everything it touches. It has changed the music industry, the porn industry, the movie industry, the retail industry, the news industry, the telecommunication industry, and the travel industry... to name a few. How long until the internet disrupts the college "industry"?

Second, bubbles eventually burst. There is a lot that could be said about the reasons behind the ever-upward ratcheting of college tuition, but it is looking increasingly like there is a college "bubble". There have been tulip bubbles, stock market bubbles, a dot.com bubble, and most recently a housing bubble.  Costs can only get so high, and people leveraged so far with debt, before things collapse.  And after the collapse and disruption, things may look very different.

What if the internet is the thing that makes the college bubble finally burst? And what will "college ministry" look like in this new world? Is this new reality coming? How long until it gets here? What can we do to prepare?

Ah, if only we knew the future...

Inbox Zero and GTD

[I had a request to move this post topic up in the queue. Here it is...]

For the longest time, my inbox was an ever growing "to-do" list and emails I held on to lived in an increasingly complex folder hierarchy.

Then I read "Getting Things Done" (GTD). Here is how I do things now:

When I check my email inbox (either on my phone or computer), I immediately either delete the email, respond to it, or move it to another folder.

If it is clearly junk, it gets deleted. If I'm not sure, but don't want to take the time to figure it out, I move it to a folder labeled "action". If I can respond to it quickly (2 minutes-ish), I'll likely do so immediately if I'm able. If it's going to take some time, it goes into action. If I read it and no further action is needed, I move it to a folder labeled "reference".

Those are the only three folders I have for email: inbox, action, and reference.

Many GTD systems have more folders than that. For a while, instead of "action", I had "read/review" and "respond". I found that most of the time, however, it was just an extra layer to toggle between the two folders that really were the same - they required time on my part. For me right now, one "action" folder works best. This could be different depending on the way you use email and what kind of email you get. 

The question you most often hear with this system is "what about my folders?!?" One big folder labeled "reference" scares people. It scared me, too. However, what enables you to get rid of folders is the "search" feature found in all modern email clients (Outlook, Gmail, etc.). In over a year of using this system, I have always been able to find the email I was looking for that previously would have been in a complex folder structure. Whether it be the subject, the sender or recipient, or some info within the body of the email, the search function always finds it. This does two things:

1. You no longer have to remember where you filed something

2. You no longer have to think about where you want to file a new item

Time saved on both fronts.

So there is the system. The GTD book addresses why an empty inbox is better even if you have an "action" folder that is full: you don't think about the email that needs response every time you open your inbox, rather you only think about it when you go to your action folder.

The next step is to begin moving items from your action folder (or directly from your inbox) to your calendar or task list. But that is another topic.

The underlying philosophy with email, GTD, and any good productivity system, is always being clear about the next action required. Decide what it is, then do it, delegate it, or defer it.

Now about that "do it" part. This is where the "work" part of "workflow" kicks in...

Any questions?

Upcoming posts for the end of June

You get out of your blogging rhythm and look what happens. A week goes by with no posts! Time to get back in the saddle and share what's percolating in my mind that will be developed into upcoming posts:

- There is some cool stuff going on organizationally that confirms our leaders at the national level understand the importance of Digital/Social Media. I'll share what I can about that, as well as why I think digital media could radically change the college campus as we know it in the years ahead.
- A podcast interview with a social media consultant (expert?) got my wheels turning about how social media can help us get better at training.
- The breadth and reach of our summer project venues. Plus, some things we could do to increase the number of students we are sending.
- A couple weeks ago I stumbled upon a blogpost by one of our US Campus Ministry national leaders. He shared some interesting thoughts regarding leadership development that are worth attention five years later.
-Getting practical with email. Sharing why, and how, I've become a practitioner of "inbox zero".
- Some campus outreach and evangelism ideas I've had that would blend some past practices with social media.
- Why it's increasingly strategic for our campus staff to have iPhones or similar.
- Using a Winter Conference Facebook page year round to drive regional vision and momentum.
- How to initiate change as a new member on a team. (I'm not sure, but I'm trying to figure it out)
- Thoughts stemming from reading "Celebration of Discipline". Can simplicity and technology coexist?
- Why I want my peers to give me a virtual tour of their offices (btw, I haven't asked them yet). How could the ideas of virtual tours help us in ministry? (Weekly meetings, evangelism, leadership development, discipleship, etc.)

So there are a few. I'll probably go through them mostly in order, and some of them will overlap, but if there's one you want me to bump up in the queue just let me know in the comments.

Hello to the office

Seth Godin has a post today called "Goodbye to the office". I want to share more thoughts about that in the future (it is questioning the need for offices at all), but it served as a spark to share some thoughts as I transition to our regional office:

Organization: How will we arrange people and space for productivity, collaboration, momentum, efficiency, and community? When there are trade-offs, how will we decide which value wins?

Systems: How can we set things up so our desired outcomes happen as automatically as possible? Everything from having the needed office supplies and ministry resources on hand to making sure our conference planning deadlines are met.


Technology: We've got office technology that is sufficient, but quickly becoming dated. Do we continue on with a physical server or go cloud based? Do we use regional funds to buy computers for our office staff? If so, what kind? Would investing in higher speed internet save us in travel costs (video/web conference) and efficiency? What would make the most sense in helping us serve the field? For communicating and collaborating across our ten national regions?


Communication: How are we going to communicate with each other? With our field staff? Who should be communicating what? How much should we respond to the field (use methods they are comfortable with), and how much should we lead the field (help them get better at embracing new/better communication channels)?


Field support: What are the best things we could do as an operations (and office) team to help our field staff better win, build, and send? What operational issues can we help them with or even take off their plate? What training should we give, and in what format (face to face, online, etc.)?


Environment: How can we create an environment in our office where people want to come in each day? And by environment, I am speaking comprehensively: physical (office decor and feel), emotional (a place that is relationally safe and where friendships flourish), and spiritual (deepening connection with the Lord and the body of believers that is stationed in our office).


Finance: How much money do we have to work with? What investments would provide the most benefit to our field ministries?


Change: Some things will need to change just because of the number of people coming in the office (seven new in the fall joining a current office of nine). But some things might need to change that will be difficult for our current office. How fast do we change? What is the best process? Who needs to be involved in the decisions?

Lots of questions (and that is certainly not a comprehensive list), especially for a guy that hasn't been based in an office since a college summer job.

So back to Godin's post. It is thought-provoking. But I think a well-led regional headquarters can be a very powerful force for accelerating the spread of the gospel to students in the Northwest. The above list is just the foundation. After you take the time to lay a solid foundation, then you really get to start building and seeing results. That's (part of) why I'm saying "hello", rather than "goodbye", to our regional office.

Leading with social media

"Be a student, not a critic." - Andy Stanley

I heard that quote on a podcast I started listening to last summer, and I've been repeating it to myself ever since.

It's so much easier to be a critic. A student has to learn, engage, feel stupid at times, study, make decisions, ask questions. A critic doesn't need to do anything other than watch and...criticize. 

This holds true when it comes to new media technologies. I don't know anyone who has ever said "I love Twitter!" - but isn't actively using it. Similar things can be said about YouTube, Facebook, and most recently, Foursquare.

I think this short (just under ten minutes) interview with Michael Hyatt is compelling because:

- It captures a leader that overcame the inclination to be a critic and instead became a student of a new field/technology

- He is a leader that has seen his influence expand as a direct result of two often misunderstood mediums: Twitter and blogging

- His thoughts resonate as truth: leadership is influence and to influence you must communicate effectively

How Can Christian Leaders Get Started with Social Media? from Michael Hyatt on Vimeo.

I'm certainly new in this arena, but my sense is that Michael is right on.

Who would you like to see start influencing people using social media? Why?

Upgrading your personal systems

We all have work flows and personal systems we are comfortable with. They may be dated and inefficient but, gosh darn it, that's how we've always done it!

Well, maybe a late spring Saturday morning is a good time to think about upgrading one of your systems.

An example: Do you ever see those drop boxes where people can deposit their utility payments? Why are those still there? The people that use them never update their system.

I'm guilty of it. For some crazy reason, whenever I had a check to deposit at the bank, I would go in and have a teller do the transaction. Something in me didn't trust the ATM to do it right, and perhaps most importantly,  I had never used it for a deposit. After my wife made fun of me I realized it was time for a change. The next time I had a check to deposit, I went to the ATM. While I seriously almost put the deposit envelope in the wrong slot (the receipt dispenser - I'm not kidding), I successfully made the deposit and had it show up in our account the next day. Once I'd done it successfully, there was no going back to the old way. That was this year.

Isn't that how it is? We don't want to do something new - even knowing it's better and that everyone else does it - because there might be a little bit of a learning curve. We might look stupid or do it wrong. We might cause more trouble reworking things than we had bargained for (I had visions of trying to pry that envelope out of the wrong slot on the ATM and having the cops show up).

And yet...we might not only save time, but have more fun doing things that were once drudgery.

How you pay bills, manage email, remember information, store/organize stuff in your home or office, get up in the morning - any of these need a rethinking? A reset?

So here is my thought: let's not get complacent with our personal systems. Maybe this will help us keep from getting complacent in other areas of our lives, too.

Have you rebooted any of your personal systems lately?