Mike Walker Creative

I got my start in the music world in Christian Music back in the early 90’s (which I realize dates me).

The first artist I worked for had a profound affect on my life. I learned so much from him that has really made me look at everything I do in my work and personal life different.

He had a song that he wrote that came out of personal experience he had gone through titled “To Forgive”. The song was incredible and had an ever more powerful video. I remember night after night how that song affected both he and the audience. Little did I know that almost 20 years later it would change me.

The song came out of a personal experience of his, but I have now lived it and the message has taken on a personal twist for me. It’s amazing how forgiveness and unforgiveness can impact our lives..even when you don’t realize it’s there.

Here are the words:
-I have never been the kind to let too many get behind the walls that I have built around my heart
-Now I find myself afraid, feeling like I’ve been betrayed by one I had trusted from the start
-But friends are only human and at times they’re gonna fall and when it hurts the most is when you need them most of all

-To Forgive is to reach out to your brother…as one friend to another…no matter what the cost
-To Forgive is to leave the past behind you…and pray tomorrow finds you stronger for the journey as every day I’m learning to forgive

-It was another place and time that I had failed a friend of mine and there was no one else to take the blame
-Though he could have turned away, somehow he found the strength to stay, his love for me was stronger than the pain
-In light of all this mercy, it’s much easier to see that even from the cross the Lord was calling you and me….

-To Forgive is to reach out to your brother…as one friend to another…no matter what the cost
-To Forgive is to leave the past behind you…and pray tomorrow finds you stronger for the journey as every day I’m learning to forgive

Now every day I am learning to forgive.

One of my favorite people in the bible is David. His journey is such a roller coaster from a shepherd boy in the fields (also the youngest of all his brothers), to slaying a giant, to being in the kings court as a musician, to being run out of the city and chased by King Saul after having done nothing but serve the king faithfully, to hiding in the wilderness and in caves, to eventually becoming King….lots of ups and downs for sure.

To me one of the most fascinating times in Davids life is his time in the cave. A lot of his character was challenged and shaped while in the cave. I would imagine that his belief system was challenged as was his character. I’m sure it wasn’t one of the highest points in his life after having been a celebrated warrior and living in the palace to be forced to live on the run and live in caves.

He could have been angry and bitter, but instead he chose to embrace his time in the cave. He allowed that time to influence his character for the better….even though several people around him wanted him to compromise (and I would imagine at times he also wanted to compromise) he never wavered.

I believe that David’s time in the cave is what gave him his final preparation he needed to handle his duties as a future king. David needed that experience and time to prepare him for what was coming next.

It’s almost like the military that puts new recruits through boot camp. One of my good friends is a former marine who often recounts boot camp as the toughest time he encountered in the military and has been through combat situations. To hear him describe it, boot camp exists to prepare you for the next situations you will face later….almost like the cave was for David.

The past couple of years have been some crazy ups and downs. Without going in to details, I have had to learn to embrace my time “in the cave”. It’s been an exciting, but at times very challenging season, but what I am learning that by embracing the time in the cave life my life has been blessed ten fold.

The cave looks different for everyone. For some it can be in business, the economy, family, relationships, etc…the truth is though that at some point we will all go through our version of the cave. Take time to embrace the cave and allow it to be a building time…you never know what your time in the cave is preparing you for in your future.

I have always searched out people who inspire me and can challenge me to think. I love to read books and blogs. Some of the people and books I enjoy reading are:
Jim Collins
Chris Anderson
Wooden on Leadership
Beyond Basketball - Coach K’s keywords for success
Pour Your Heart Into It
Seth Godin
Terry Storch

This is a very condensed list, but some books and people I have been reading recently. As I listed above, I have gotten to really enjoy reading the books and blog by Seth Godin. Today he had a great blog that I thought I would share.

Having come from a touring background as well as working with most names in Christian music as well as some big names in secular music (I am about to add a couple more to the list - more on that to come), I have worked with people in music who get it and some who don’t. I think the blog sums up several of those who don’t. Good stuff…check it out!

As summer official started last Friday and I’m looking to the fall, I find myself in a state of evaluation. What I am sorting through is how to take what has happened so far this year and build on it. For me the process begins with figuring out where we are, what are the needs upcoming, and then taking inventory. Whenever I take on a project I always look around to see what I have and don’t have as resources…sometimes its gear but the most valuable thing to me is what people I have available. People solve problems. For me this process is not just merely a matter of having bodies, but what skill sets do they bring to the table as compared to the skill sets needed for the upcoming project/challenge so that we can appropriately address the challenges at hand. Often times I may or may not have the right people with the skills, but they have the potential to learn it…OR…they have it in them, but no one has drawn it out yet…I am always looking for those people. While working in the church this evaluation process always helped me figure out who was already at the table and who needs to be there over the next few weeks/months. It’s an interesting journey, but one that never fails to set teams up for success. And God has always been faithful to bring the right people at the right times. I’ve had the privilege to work with some great organizations this year and as we dive into their project needs we inevitably take inventory. When you look at your team what do you find, and who is ready to do more?

Every morning I head to Starbucks to grab a Venti Americano and catch up on my ESPN radio.
This morning the announcement came out that Major League Baseball is going to try out instant replay in their fall league.

A lot of baseball purists are openly speaking out against it as technology shouldn’t be a part of the game and it will slow it down (I guess they haven’t figure out that it’s baseball and there isn’t much you can do to make it slower).

The radio host made a brilliant point. He said “do the purists not realize that a good number of people sitting in the stands at the game are working or playing on their PALM or BlackBerry device? They are likely listening to the game on SIRRIUS Satellite radio. They probably purchased their ticket online. And, they probably got to the stadium by using a GPS system. If the people you are trying to reach and connect with are in the 18-28 year old range then they are using technology.”

What about in the churches, are you using technology to it’s fullest? What audience are you trying to connect with? Are they a group that is tech savvy? If they are then take a leap and meet them where they are and figure out how to incorporate more technology (effective technology) and reach them.

It’s ok to try a few things. Going back to some sports examples, the NBA tried enforcing a dress code which many thought would fail and it turned out to be a great thing. At the same time, they also tried introducing a new ball and it didn’t last. Point being, try a few things and see where it takes you.

I have heard it said many times that in construction there are 3 considerations:
1 - Cheap
2 - Fast
3 - Quality

…and you only get to pick 2. I laughed the first time I heard it but soon discovered it to be true.

In team building and organizations there is a principle of 3 that holds true as well. If you look at it like a 3 legged stool the legs represented would be:
1 - Relationships
2 - Results
3 - Processes

Each of has a natural bent in one of the three as our primary strength with a pull towards a secondary. For example, a good friend of mine is VERY relationships driven as their primary and their secondary is results. 9 times out of 10 he will sacrifice the process for the relationships or results. He realizes the importance of the processes, but it’s also the one quickest to be sacrificed.

As you are building your team (especially at the top level) you need to make sure you have balance in the 3 areas otherwise you could have a team that is high on relationships and results but the processes and day to day operations suffer (which could, in net effect, have an adverse affect on your relationships). If you are too results and process oriented you could negatively affect your relationships…and so on and so on….

It’s a good filter to keep in front of you as you are building your teams as well as evaluating your current teams.

I was recently brought in by a church that was experiencing some “technical difficulties” after moving in to their new building.

Upon arriving the staff informed me that they were fairly frustrated and they were not sure what to do. As the conversation moved on they kept expressing over and over how frustrated they were because they had just spent a huge sum of money and didn’t feel like their systems were all that great.

After about 2 hours of letting them vent I began to dig a bit in to what all had been put in to play. What I found was that they had some pretty amazing sound, lighting, and video systems put in to play. In fact, they had very little to complain about.

I pulled a team of trusted friends together who were audio engineers, lighting programmers, and video engineers. We were able to come back in and run through a weekend with their staff while operating their recently purchased gear.

At the end of the weekend the staff pulled me aside to tell me how everything looked and sounded different that weekend and wanted to know what we did different. Imagine the surprise of the staff when I informed them that we didn’t change a single thing. Which then posed the question….well…then what was the difference?

The ONLY difference was that we had great people at key positions. Great gear is only that….great gear. If you don’t have properly trained people then you will end up with a very high priced frustration.

Take some time and do an evaluation of where your staff is and what they are really capable of. If you don’t really know how to evaluate them then bring in someone who has a better idea how to bring some light to the situation.

If your staff isn’t where you thought or hoped they are not all hope is lost. Invest in your people. Bring in a team of experts who can help bring out the most in your team….after all….it ain’t all about the gear.