Thursday, August 28, 2008

Teamwork - Part III

The past two days I have shared about teamwork. I did not intend to do it a third day in a row, but I must.

I had an incredible day yesterday. We conducted a couple of private briefings for Truth At Work, a ministry I am helping to bring to NW Ohio and SE Michigan. We had over 70 Christian business owners and leaders in for the two meetings to learn about Truth At Work.

I was humbled and literally brought to tears when I saw all of the help I was receiving:

  • Ray and Matt, the 2 co-founders of Truth At Work came to Toledo from Indianapolis to lead the briefings
  • One of their members, the owner of ServantHR took a day and a half away from his business and his family to come share about how much Truth At Work has helped him
  • Many incredible leaders in the Toledo area (Al, Jim, Ed, Clint and others) have stepped up to help me by introducing me to others, giving me words of encouragement and praying for me
  • Bob Borcherdt, a former teammate of mine at UT and president of Midwest Paper Specialties, not only let me use his facility for the meetings, but he had employees of his park quite a distance from the entrance so as to free up parking spaces. Two of his sons (college and high school age) were there bright and early to help with parking. He also had members of his staff helping with room setup, etc...
  • Two women from the Greater Toledo House of Prayer shared with me that they had been praying for me since they heard about this and they feel led to continue to pray for me, Truth At Work and the business community in this region.
  • My good friend Rod, who was extremely busy, yet found time to come and help with registration in the morning.
  • My wife Connie (who is not a morning person), got up early and picked up the bagels, coffee and such by 6:45 AM. Then she cheerfully helped get everything organized and registered the guests.

And I have missed countless others who have encouraged, prayed for me and supported me.

All of this truly humbles me. I feel so blessed to have such an incredible group of people helping me, loving me and supporting me. What a great team! Thanks Lord!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Team Hoyt


The son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?' The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'. They went on to complete the marathon together.

Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together. One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'Yes' too.

For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island Father and son went on to complete the race together.

Check out this inspiring video about Team Hoyt.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Teamwork

Last Saturday I was mowing our lawn and sweating profusely (it was hot and humid). When I was about half way done, my wife Connie and our son Robbie came out to do some weeding.

It was weird what happened to me. I had been exhausted from the heat, but the site of them coming out to work in the yard gave me a boost of energy. They weren't specifically helping me with the project I was working on, but I felt supported...I felt like I had teammates who were there to help me. It was cool.

Who can you do the same thing for in your work environment today?

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:12

Monday, August 25, 2008

Class Warfare

One thing I have a hard time with is class warfare. It happens in companies all over the place. I see it all the time...when people complain because someone makes more money than someone else. Most of the time, those complaining don't look at or aren't willing to pay the price to get where they want to be.

This gets exacerbated when the media tries to pit the "haves" versus the "have nots." As if it is just a crap shoot. You either are a winner in life's lottery or you are on the short end of the stick. This is disturbing to me and it very prevalent now, a presidential election year.

In the Toledo Blade this weekend was a story about a person who is struggling to make her $515 monthly mortgage payment and how she feels John McCain is "out of touch" because he didn't know how many houses he owned. She said, "If you have a staff that has to tell you where you own your homes at and how much they're worth and stuff, then you have no flippin' clue."

I'm not exactly sure how to respond to a comment like that. First, I must share that it appears silly not being able to say how many homes you have. However, I don't think this means you "don't have a clue" with everything else.

In my home, I don't know where we keep all the kitchen utensils and many other things. Because I lack this knowledge doesn't make me clueless in every other are of my life (although many would argue).

I wonder if this woman wants the next leader of our country to also be struggling to make his mortgage payments. Don't get me wrong, I know that many good people are struggling now. However, making a decision on our next leader because of class warfare is not going to help this country.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Be Still...

Things have been a little hectic in my life lately. It has all been a good hectic though.

God has been doing some amazing things in the past several months.

This past year I was chairman of the National Day of Prayer Breakfast in Toledo. Our speaker for that May 1st event was Ray Hilbert from Truth@Work in Indianapolis.

After the breakfast, Ray and I spent a couple hours getting to know one another at a local Bob Evans. Little did I know that during our brief time together God was going to show up in such a big way!

We discussed the possibility of starting the Truth At Work concept in NW Ohio and I was very excited. It was as if God was telling me that this is what He has been preparing me for. So I decided to go to Indianapolis to observe one of their half-day sessions. This included a group of business owners and key executives who gather together each month to discuss issues that are critical to their personal, business and spiritual success. During this executive roundtable the group was guided through a highly structured and proven program that helped them advise one another on how to handle critical business and personal issues from a Biblical perspective.

Ray is coming to Toledo next week to conduct a couple of private briefings regarding Truth@Work. The purpose of this is to inform Christian leaders from our area as to the benefits of this program and to invite them to participate in an executive roundtable group.

As a result, I have been sending out invitations, learning as much as I can and preparing for these meetings.

I feel as if I have been running hard.

In the Bible, when Jesus sensed that He had been going hard, he retreated to a quiet place to be with His Father. When I have a lot to do, the thought of going off and “doing nothing” and being with God doesn’t seem logical. However, I am going to follow Jesus’ example this morning and have a personal retreat with God. I am hopeful that I can be still enough to hear what He wants me to hear.

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10a

Thursday, August 21, 2008

The Ethics Of Taking A Vacation


I just returned from a week-long vacation to Florida with my family this past weekend. It was a great time. Probably the best part of the trip for me was simply doing nothing. No bills to pay. No lawn to mow. No "to do" lists to review. Just being.

The reason this is so great to me is because I don't relax well when I am at home. It seems I always find something that "needs" to be done. I have been accused of not being a human "being" but rather a human "doing." This can have its advantages but I also view it as a weakness as I can get burned out. As a result, I love vacations because it helps me to get away from all that.

There are many who are so busy that they don't feel they can take a vacation. Or they fear that their business will suffer if they are away. They might even feel guilty for taking a vacation.

I recently read a very good article which actually makes the claim that it is our ethical responsibility to take a vacation. The article claims that taking time out to recharge your batteries will make you and your company better. I agree with the author. Now I need to practice it more often by finding more frequent down time in my life.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

You're Kidding, Right?


This morning I heard some more whining from an NFL player. This time it was from star wide receiver, Anquan Boldin from the Phoenix Cardinals.

He is wanting to be traded because he feels he is being treated unfairly. Here is what he said, "If I'm not going to be treated fairly, if my hard work and loyalty isn't going to be rewarded here, then let me go somewhere where it's going to be rewarded. That's how I feel," Boldin said.

Let me get this straight. Last year he signed a four year extension to his contract worth $22.75 million. He makes on average $4 million per year. He earns this whether he catches any passes or not. And he's not being treated fairly.

Whatever happened to being thankful, especially in the midst of such incredible wealth. Whatever happened to integrity and standing by the terms of a contract or agreement? Does anyone else find this ridiculous?

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Second Chance



Lucas Wells is a friend of my oldest daughter, Kristin. He was a classmate of hers and he is extremely talented. He was a good athlete while in school and he also was amazing in the school musicals.

Last spring he was asked to join 100 other hopefuls to audition for a spot in the Broadway production Spring Awakening, a rock musical that won eight 2007 Tony Awards, including best musical.

In a recent Toledo Blade article, Wells told of his audition experience:

Invited to the final audition on Monday, Wells was excited and intimidated, because it was with the show’s composer, Duncan Sheik, and lyricist, Steven Sater.“I had idolized Duncan Sheik for so long, because he’s so good, and I tried not psyching myself out before I went in there,” Wells said.

It didn’t work. The staff could tell Wells was nervous, and after he performed, they sent him off for a few hours to relax, then invited him back to try again.

The breather worked, and Wells earned praise from all involved.

But he began to wonder what was really going to happen. Then his phone rang, and Wells was offered a part in the tour as a “swing,” which is a member of the ensemble, and an understudy to the two male lead roles, Melchior and Moritz. Wells said he was stunned. He had no idea they were considering him to play Moritz.

So now Lucas is on Broadway. Very cool stuff!

However, the thing I really am encouraged by is the fact that the staff gave Lucas a second chance at his final audition. They obviously saw talent and they gave him the benefit of the doubt...something most of us can do more of.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Positive Attitude

We just returned from vacation in Englewood, Florida. I know this shows our lack of intelligence--Florida in August...but it was amazing. Very relaxing. Great family time.

One morning I was walking with my oldest daughter Kristin along the beach. Because of the storms they have had, there was a lot of seaweed washed up on the beach (you can see a little of it in the above picture).

As we walked along watching seaweed being brought in and taken from the beach by the tide, I asked Kristin, "I wonder what it would be like to be a piece of seaweed, wondering if you were going to be left on the beach or brought back out to sea."

She said, "It shouldn't matter. Either way you would be by the ocean!"

Now that is a positive attitude!

Make it an awesome week!

Monday, August 11, 2008

Sharpening the Saw


The 7th habit Stephen Covey writes of in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is sharpening the saw.

In the book, he talks of walking through the forest and coming upon a guy who is cutting down a tree. The guy is sweating profusely and is really struggling. You ask, "How long have you been doing this?"

The man says, "Oh, I've been doing this for hours!"

"Why don't you sharpen your saw? It will go a lot faster."

He replies, "I don't have time to do that! I need to cut this tree down right away!"

I don't know about you, but I can relate to the guy cutting down the tree. I don't relax very well sometimes--as a result, I don't sharpen my saw.

However, when I'm on vacation, relaxation comes easy for me. No lawn to mow, no bills to pay, no mail to open. Only laying around, playing with my kids, reading and maybe even taking a nap. Sharpening the saw.

Well, that's what I'm doing this week. Vacation with the family. Great stuff. As a result, I probably won't be posting much this week.

Make it a great week!

Friday, August 08, 2008

All In


Do you want to live life the way it was meant to be lived? I mean do you really? Even if it might be painful at times?

Yesterday I attended the Willow Creek Leadership Summit which was incredible. Today is the final day and I am looking forward to it very much.

Bill Hybels yesterday shared something during his talk on The High Drama of Decision Making. It is something that I have heard before, but for some reason it really struck me yesterday.

He said, "You will never live life that is truly life until you are fully and uncompromisingly devoted to Christ." This means in every area of your life.

Pretty simple, right?

So let's do it! Let's be like the poker players on TV and go "all in."

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Suing God

Have you ever been mad at God? I know I have, plenty of times. What do you do when you're mad at Him? Do you yell at him? Do you keep it inside and stew about it? Or do you calmly talk it over with Him?

Being mad is nothing new. It happened many times in the Bible. In fact, many of the Psalms are written in anger toward God. However, they almost always end up praising Him by the end of the psalm.

It is OK to show your anger to God. Besides, He already knows about your anger even before you tell Him about it...so you might as well be real.

This is taking it to a different level though. A state senator in Nebraska is so mad at God that he is suing Him. Read more here.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Grace

What would you do if some kids came in and vandalized your house and you caught them? What if they threw eggs, sprayed fire extinguishers, left water running in the kitchen and wrote obscenities on your walls? What if you found out the damage was $30,000?

Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A found himself in this very situation. Cathy is a strong Christian who made the news when he started his chain of restaurants because he refused to open his stores on Sundays. So how did he react?

He is not pressing charges and is agreeing with the punishment of the pre-teens reading a good book and writing "I will not vandalize other people's property" 1,000 times. Cathy said he did not want to prosecute the girls and leave them with a criminal record.

Now, that is grace in action.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Nothing Happens Until Something Moves

I just had breakfast with a friend of mine who was just let go last month from the company he had been with for 30 years. The reason I bring this up is that he could be bitter and he could be wallowing in his pity. He could be doing nothing but complaining. He could say, "I'm 60 years old and out of work. Who's going to want to hire me?"

But he's not saying that or thinking that.

He said when he was escorted out of the building he was angry and hurt. But he also said he went into action shortly thereafter, contacting people, networking, putting feelers out.

One month later, he has four opportunities in front of him. He has no idea where he is headed, but he now has hope. All because he took action. Because he did something, God is opening up doors for him.

I recently heard Joyce Meyer say, "We need to do what we can do so that God can do what we can't do." We must take action, especially when adversity strikes. This action first and foremost should be prayer, then go as the Lord leads you.

Watch this short video for some great examples of others who didn't let their tough circumstances weigh them down.

Sunday, August 03, 2008

That's Not My Job!




I have seen pictures of things like this before but I had never witnessed it first-hand. On the way home from a pool party yesterday, my family spotted this on the side of the road about a mile from our house. So, at their insistence, we turned around so we could get a closer look (and snap a picture or two).

I don't know much about painting lines on the road but I do know that I really appreciate the people who do it (especially when it's dark and rainy)! Maybe there are rules in place that state they are not allowed to move things out of the way while they are painting; however, I think that is a pretty slim possibility.

Don't you find this incredible? Painting right over roadkill? Not only is it gross, but it just says, "I don't care about my job or doing my job well."

I hope we all can take a different attitude. After all, you never know who is watching and who you might impact by doing your job well!

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
Colossians 3:23

Friday, August 01, 2008

Attitude of Gratitude


A man is leaving one town and headed for another. Before reaching the town he encounters a fellow sitting roadside and asks him, “What’s it like in the town ahead?” Are the people friendly? Is the economy good?”

The fellow answers him with questions of his own—“What was it like in the town you just left? Were the people friendly? Was the economy good?”

The traveler snapped back, “Of course not, you fool. That’s why I’m leaving. The people were dumb and cheap and bad to do business with and the economy was awful.”

The fellow said, “I see. Well, I have bad news for you. The town up ahead is just like the one you left.”

An hour or so later, another, different traveler comes along, encounters the same fellow sitting by the side of the road, and asks him the same questions about the town ahead. Again, the fellow asks him, —“What was it like in the town you just left? Were the people friendly? Was the economy good?”

The traveler smiled and said, “Why yes, everybody was kind and friendly and generous and the economy was quite good.”

The fellow said, “I have great news. The town up ahead is just like the one you left.”

This story is so true. Our attitudes really do determine our altitude. I don't think there is a more powerful attitude than having an attitude of gratitude.

Zig Ziglar, had this to say about gratitude in this short article.