Category Archives: Team Building / HR
Knowing and Understanding the Five Generations of American Workers
January 8, 2016The five living generations:
1. Traditionalists – 75 M – people born before 1946
2. Baby Boomers – 80 M – born between 1946- 1964
3. Gen-X’ers – 60 M – born between 1965- 1979
4. Millenials (Gen- Y’ers) – 82 M – born between – 1980-1985
5. Generation Z – 1996 – present
Traditionalists
The traditionalists are obviously the oldest segment of american society and one that was shaped by several major historical events/periods.
- The roaring 20’s
- Great Depression
- World War II
Traditionalists are generally marked by an unflinching work ethic, a sense of patriotism/nationalism, respect for authority and hierarchy, fiscal conservatism, and an allegiance to and a trust in institutions.
What’s in Your Top Box?
November 11, 2015It’s a question I heard recently from Bill Hybels at the 2015 Global Leadership Summit. Bob Buford was asked the same question from a high powered strategic planner he hired as he was considering how to move from success to significance in the second half of his life.
I’ve asked that question of myself more than once during my 35 year career as a business owner, employee and leader.
It’s a question that each one of us needs to ask ourselves. Whether in our business, our home, our ministry, or in any role where people look to us to bring a sense of purpose to our mission.
A simple parallel may be considered as you envision an old, deeply rooted tree. The root system represents our core values, beliefs and mission. Who we are and why we exist. The trunk, our operating principles. How we do things. The branches represent the culture or behaviors that exist in our organization. The fruit – The Results. Those results ultimately reflect back to the roots; our mission and the WHY behind doing what we do.
Besides coaching and consulting with CEO’s and business owners I’ve had the privilege of owning and leading a small business that provides our guests with some of the best food you can pack in a glass jar. Now in our 19th year in operation and located in the village of Intercourse, Pennsylvania, Intercourse Canning Company (ICC) offers a seemingly countless variety of canned edibles. You’ll find pickled vegetables, jams, jellies, relishes, salsas, sauces, fruits, dressings and more on our shelves. You name it. That’s the real “fruit” of the labor of many hard working folks and originating with our Creator. The ‘what’ and ‘how’ are obvious. The WHY? Not so much. You might say, “To feed people.” I say it’s more than that. It’s to care for those, while on vacation, who are looking for a place to enjoy themselves and disconnect from the pressures of life. Yes, they purchase a specially crafted and unique food but really it’s about the experience they have when they walk through our front doors. To graze on incredible samples of a variety of goodies; to see how canning was done the old fashioned way and learn how it all started. Our team members are charged with the mission to make the experience a special and memorable one. That’s the “Why.” To create a moment that they’ll talk about and enjoy for quite some time and when chowing down on the “fruit of our labor” they smile about the respite from life during their visit.
August Devotional
September 1, 2015This weekend the group of teenagers and adults that I serve with in our Children’s ministry at church reflected on how we can better reach and influence the children we interact with on Sunday. We had discussion and really reflected together on how we can best do this. As I was sitting in the discussion group the thought came to mind that these principles are not just for dealing with children but really everyone in our lives. This simple truth or lesson is something we should take into all relationships and not just in our closest ones. It’s a truth we likely all know and have heard before. But I know it’s one we all struggle with from time to time and can grow in. I can go as far to admit that this truth encouraged me this weekend.
There have been some people in my life as well as a few clients I’m sure that have exhausted me lately and I know it has shown in my actions, words, and in my thoughts. This fresh perspective gave me a renewed thought process in terms of how I treat people. What would happen if we treated every co-worker, client, business or person like they were made in the image of God? It should make a difference in everything we do. See Leviticus 19:18. Think about it. If we treated everyone (not just the titles mentioned above) like they had the potential to believe, to love, to be kind, to trust, to be trusted, to have value, to improve, to be successful… Then it should change how we treat and relate to them. It shouldn’t matter if they believe what we believe, whether they go to church or not, or even if they are Christians.
Mission Drift – A Book Review
May 12, 2015
“Mission Drift” – Peter Greer & Christ Horst
The Unspoken Crisis Facing Leaders, Charities, and Churches
No newcomers to the non-profit arena, HOPE International’s Peter Greer and Chris Horst supply not just a resource for those navigating the world of charity and church, but the guide for organizations and their leaders looking to enter and remain aligned with the ‘narrow gate’ that is mission authenticity. As the writers point out, the difference between being mission true and succumbing to drift can be gradual, subtle, and even precarious.
Greer, Horst and Haggard not only offer personal experience but thorough research in Mission Drift, tracking, measuring and surveying the fates of countless mission true and mission untrue organizations. Citing examples from Yale University to Compassion International, this exhaustive and pinpoint account of a very real problem in faith-centered circles should find itself in every non-profit’s library, if not within their employee manual.
Grade – A
The 90 Day Discipleship Challenge – Work out your body & your spirit
April 4, 2015Are you looking to get in shape, physically and spiritually? Are you looking to increase your ability to disciple or be discipled? We’ve developed just the thing with our newest tool system, fashioned to provide an outlet for spiritual and physical training. It’s called the 90 Day Discipleship Challenge and it was recently created by our founder, Joseph W. Sharp. Aimed at provoking holistic discipline, both in the area of spiritual and physical growth, this three month challenge will leave you famished for still more of His presence and for a hearty meal to fuel your next workout!
Challenge Categories- Because we are all triune beings, made up of body, soul and spirit, each 1/3 of our very being needs to be cultivated in accordance with He who created us. This tool system grooms each facet of the triune human make-up, leaving no compartment untouched in this three month journey. Straining toward the goal, whether it’s your hamstrings or heartstrings becomes the name of the game!
The Basics – Just like your old grade school curriculum, the 90 Day Discipleship course comes with certain core classes. These core subjects are known as “musts” in our syllabus and they involve bodily tasks like daily workout regimens and fasting and spiritual components like scripture reading and sharing your testimony with a friend or a stranger.
KAIO – Spurring one another on toward love & good deeds
March 14, 2014
Knowledge – Awareness – Intentionality – Obedience
For those of us who find practical tools (something we hang our hats on at Live with Purpose Coaching) useful in accomplishing things and moreover boosting your spiritual livelihood, KAIO could change your life. The system focuses on accountability and action with what God has for you on a weekly basis.
Rather than “over-spiritualizing” things or simply going through the motions, Pastor Adam Bower has developed a tool, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to escalate old-fashioned obedience in the modern American Church. He calls it KAIO.
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another. (Hebrews 10:24-25)