Thanks to Mr. Burkhalter for the great service. If you need a host, check them out.

Van Morrison Birmingham May 3, 2010

Here is the first review from local Birmingham news.

Genesis FPU Graduates April 22, 2010

More good news on the Financial Peace front also. My wonderful wife has been accepted to go through Certified Counselor Training with the Ramsey folks later in the year. She has the heart of a teacher and wants to spread the message of FPU to as many people as possible. I am very proud of her. If you are in the Birmingham area, and want to go through the FPU class, send me an email and we can get you plugged in to an upcoming class. We have another one starting this week at The Genesis Church in Leeds.

I am looking forward to a great evening with my wife and some good music.

I ran across this a couple of years ago. It is a Google Map that shows what happened and where during this week in and around Jerusalem (including a harmonization of the four Gospel accounts). Click a letter on the map for details of what occurred in each place. It is on my bucket list to visit Jerusalem. It would be great to be able to retrace these steps.

Thanks again to ESV Blog.

Jack Henry the Lab

See more pics of Jack here.

I tell that story just to reiterate what I’ve said before. Dogs are sent from God. They are angels. They are examples of how us humans should treat each other. If people were more like dogs, the world would be a better place. My Golden Retriever Pete is loyal, always happy to see me, doesn’t hold a grudge, and is always protective of children.

Jack’s passing reminded me of the last scene from Marley & Me and what the main character said…

“A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not.” – John Grogan (Marley & Me: Love and Life with the World’s Worst Dog)

Dogs make our lives better. If you don’t have one, adopt one that needs a home.

It is written by the founders of 37signals, a small company that develops project management an collaboration software. So they are coming from a small business, entrepreneurial, dot com background… at least that is what I thought when I did some background on the authors before reading the book. My attitude and perception of these “developers” changed after I read the book.

I’ll sum up my thoughts on the book in a simple statement then expand on what I liked and took away from the book:

“Rework” should be required reading by anyone who is a manager, business owner, or anyone thinking about starting a business.

I am a big fan of Stephen Covey, John Maxwell, and Jim Collins. “7 Habits,” “21 Irrefutable Laws,” and “Good to Great” have helped shaped my thought process on life and business… I even completed an extended personal coaching relationship with the Covey folks. So that tells you my thought process on management, leadership, and business. “Rework” was a refreshing perspective from guys that started a company which generates millions of dollars every year and they only have a staff of 16 people… and they are scattered all over the globe.

First off, the way the book is written really made it a quick read. I picked it up late on Saturday and was finished with it late Sunday evening. Each “chapter” starts with a great drawing that humorously relates to the point of the chapter, then the “chapter” is written in a very short to-the-point fashion. It really kept my attention.

This book goes against some of the principles that are taught in the above mentioned books. It goes against the grain. I am still absorbing the approach and testing it out in my work environment. Here are some topics that should pique your interest and a few other excerpts from the book…

• ASAP is poison.
• Underdo the competition.
• Meetings are toxic.
• Fire the workaholics.
• Emulate drug dealers.
• Pick a fight.
• Planning is guessing.
• GPA’s Don’t Matter, Resumes Suck, Location Doesn’t Matter

“The dream employee for a lot of companies is a twenty-something with as little of a life as possible outside of work–someone who’ll be fine working fourteen-hour days and sleeping under his desk. But packing a room full of these burn-the-midnight-oil types isn’t as great as it seems. [. . .] You don’t need more hours; you need better hours. When people have something to do at home, they get down to business. They get their work done because they have somewhere else to be. They find ways to be more efficient because they have to.”

“Emulate famous chefs. They cook, so they write cookbooks. What do you do? What are your “recipes”? What’s your “cookbook”? What can you tell the world about how you operate that’s informative, educational, and promotional? This book is our cookbook.”

“The easiest, most straightforward way to create a great product or service is to make something you want to use. [. . .] If you’re solving someone else’s problem, you’re constantly stabbing in the dark. When you solve your own problem, the light comes on. You know exactly what the right answer is.”

“Just as there’s a danger in trying to solve someone else’s problem, there’s a danger in thinking that the answer to your problem is the answer to everyone’s problem. This seems clearly, painfully true in the world of tech. Friendfeed probably solved a problem for its creator, but it never caught on because most people don’t consume countless online channels like Robert Scoble. The best products and services, it seems to me, address common pains that an innovator experiences personally.”

“Whenever you can, swap “Let’s think about it” for “Let’s decide on it.” Commit to making decisions. Don’t wait for the perfect solution. Decide and move forward. [. . . ] It doesn’t matter how much you plan, you’ll still get some stuff wrong anyway. Don’t make things worse by over-analyzing and delaying before you ever get going.”

“Instead of trying to outspend, outsell, or outsponsor competitors, try to out-teach them. Teaching probably isn’t something your competitors are even thinking about. Most businesses focus on selling or servicing, but teaching never even occurs to them. [. . .] Teach and you’ll form a bond you just don’t get from traditional marketing tactics. Buying people’s attention with a magazine or online banner ad is one thing. Earning their loyalty by teaching them forms a whole different connection. They’ll trust you more. They’ll respect you more. Even if they don’t use your product, they can still be you fans.”

“We’re all capable of bad, average, and great work. The environment has a lot more to do with great work than most people realize. [. . .] [T]here’s a ton of untapped potential trapped under lame policies, poor direction, and stifling bureaucracies. Cut the crap and you’ll find that people are waiting to do great work. They just need to be given the chance. [. . .] Great environments show respect for the people who do the work and how they do it.”

“Workaholics make the people who don’t stay late feel inadequate for “merely” working reasonable hours. That leads to guilt and poor morale all around. Plus, it leads to an ass-in-seat mentality–people stay late out of obligation, even if they aren’t really being productive. [. . .] Workaholics aren’t heroes. They don’t save the day, they just use it up. The real hero is already home because she figured out a faster way to get things done.”

“Nothing is more toxic, in my mind, than the “ass-in-seat mentality.” It not only demonstrates a lack of trust and respect toward your employees, it betrays more fundamental and serious issues in your workplace. Employees who take the fate of their company or organization seriously deliver, even if it means working at 2 in the morning after spending an afternoon in the park. Employees who know that they are valued simply for showing up during set hours will quickly lose motivation to go above and beyond.”

I highly recommend this book. A great read that will make you think.

…follow up post. I ran across this amusing video about REWORK.