Saturday
Rock the vote!
The Church in the United States, Part 1
Recently, I picked up my outline for my Griffin Lake project and after reading it, decided that I should do some more substantial research to have a better grasp on what I looking to do. I am looking to develop a model of efficiency within the local church setting and for this I needed a better grasp on information about the Church of Christ in the United States of America. Now, with any research done, you’d hope that there would be a data set easily accessible for use for educational purposes, and so, who better to consult but 21st Century Christian, the official publisher and retailer of all things Church of Christ. Alas…
The Giving Campaign
Well, it finally came. This past Sunday [May 30, 2010], we [the Magnolia Park church of Christ] officially rolled out the One capital fundraising campaign for the congregation. After months of first planning, then sitting on our thumbs, then really picking up the ball and running with the fundraising idea, we finally got to present the message to the congregation. I had been developing a giving campaign outline for some time and it was great to see it finally get to play out as I had initially thought it up.
The CAMA Guides
CAMA 2010 Viewbook
The Stars!
Finally got around to doing the setup work for the Four Christian Stars album project.
Good Times!
A New Understanding
And so it begins. The dawn of a new year in my life where I have decided that I would like to somehow make this one different on a couple of fronts. I’ve been thinking of how I would feel, and to be completely honest, I don’t ever recall feeling more optimistic in my entire life. I’ve been looking at where I would like my life to go, and for that matter, I’ve decided that working on projects that appeal to me, cool projects, is where I am going to focus my energy.
As I was thinking about where to begin, I’ve looked at the various elements of strategic focus, and decided that i’m probably going to get back in the habit of storyboarding, hopefully allowing for the free flow of ideas, understanding wholely that the impact of visual stimulation is good for work and, in the whole chain of operations management, where I generally find myself working, I believe this will allow for greater success in tracking progress in terms of where I should be at any given moment.
Now, understanding that I myself cannot draw, storyboarding, for me, really used to take on the more simplistic approach of writing ideas out on 5×7 cards of processes and of ideas, and anything else that really caught my eye; much more-so than the traditional idea of drawing out scenes. I’ve loved this concept ever since High school when I read Stephen Tweed’s ‘Strategic Focus: A Gameplan for Success’ and it talked about the idea of corporate executives writing down ideas on index cards and organizing them according to priority and overall scope of operational pull. For me, I simply would like the cards to serve as some sort of launching pad for daily ideas, a compass of sorts for daily operations.
I think the David Seah approach of the Groundhog’s Day resolution really appeals to me and works perfectly in that I generally wait until February 2nd to get things rolling myself. This year, of course, I look to actually utilize some of his strategies for productivity and organization, especially where I see the ability to redevelop habits, particularly in the area of management of my freelance operations.
One of the things that I truly plan to work on in earnest this year is developing a framework by which congregations can manage operations, especially smaller congregations in a larger local brotherhood setting. Having already begun the process of putting together my Griffin Lake layout of general statistics, I want to now work on applying concepts that can be developed into works ready for publishing. I’ve published a few pieces of work on my site, but I would like to go a bit further in developing full scale projects for the public, even more-so than the general work that I do on a private basis for independent parties.
It’s always interesting to begin thinking about goal-setting, something I’ve only ever vaguely been accustomed to doing. I’ve always been a sort of ‘Go-Get-It’ type, which most of times lends itself to taking what may come as a result of my particular doing in any given situation. This year, of course, I am going to set up just a few goals, most for the purpose of tracking my focus throughout the year. I figure, at worst, I will be able to possibly look back six-months from now and say,’What in the World was I thinking in February! That was never gonna work’, but then, we could be looking at it from the polar opposite and think that these were some of the greatest moves ever. In hoping to stay within the reasonable confines of reality, I’ve decided to begin with a manageable set of ideals for 2010;
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Cultivate a more focused networking mindset – I often find myself the wallflower at events and this really isn’t the greatest trait for someone whose main focus is marketing. In terms of real lfe metrics, I first thought I would link this to some sort of numerical goal in terms of people met, utilizing some sort of crazy guide like new Facebook friends or Twitter followers, but I’ve decided that for me I think I’ll measure success by real-life measure and that means trying to make true connections and not just artificial ones. That being said, I want to work also on being inclined to, as well as prepared to, deliver a quick pitch on whatever it is I am currently working on as I often run into people that I know would probably be interested in the various projects I am working on, if only I could quickly articulate those thoughts to them.
As a sub-goal to that, I’ve decided that I really need to always have my marketing resources with me. I recently attended an event where I was given the opportunity to make a quick pitch to the audience, and I have to admit, I wasn’t the least bit prepared. I had no graphics, no collateral to hand out. It turned out okay enough, but it taught me the lesson of always being prepared.
- Devote more Time to worthwhile projects – I say this every year, but I really am going to make a focused effort to put time in things I feel will advance my enlightenment; simple projects that don’t take much energy, but are generally in need of attention of some sort in order to make them happen. I currently have a number of items on my to-do list that would fall into this category, including My song service planner, an artist event management package, as well as simple items here and there that I know would be of great use when released. I am going to devote time to projects each day, be it morning or evening as a way to free my mind and hopefully enhance creativity.
- Be more inclined to do instead of simply Plan – I have found that I do an awful lot of planning, both for myself and others, only to sit back and watch others execute on those plans. I’m looking to have a mind to get more involved in the execution of plans and not simply standing idly by while others make those moves. In that sense, I would like to begin a more defined approach to working on a daily basis, allowing for myself to get out more and not simply sitting in front of a computer all day.
I’d imagine three goals for the new year are enough to keep me busy and they’re just enough that I really do believe I can accomplish them. I also have some minor goals for the new year, primarily dealing as funtions of the previous goals. They’re simple, but are compelling in that I feel they will ultimately be the driving force to developing my main goals in the coming year. One just happens to be taking time to go out and hit places like Panera Bread on a more consistent basis. Being locked up for too long on a daily basis can drive a grown man crazy. But, I digress.
Finally, I look forward to finding a new purpose for this site. I’ve had it for nearly 4 years now and to this point have never really gotten around to using it the way I had initially imagined I would. I really do have a different mindset now in terms of how I want to attack this whole internet/blogging thing which involves mostly just jumping in and allowing my thoughts to take over. We’ll see!
Good Times!
2010 Music Ministry Guide
It was a long process, but I’ve finally finished up the 2010 edition of the Music Ministry Management Guide. I figured I should do something a little different for the year 2010, and so I expanded the concepts just a bit. I was really looking to develop something that was simple enough that people would want to read, but would include enough information that people would find it useful and thereby possibly pass it along.
Finishing up the guide has helped me gain a better understanding as I begin to tackle my Griffin Lake Church project. I was looking for a way to develop an analytics package for congregations that will allow them to see exactly what their footprint was at any given moment, and I now think I’m on the right track.
I’m beginning to think more and more about what projects to tackle in the new year, and how those projects will impact the other elements of my work life. But, enough of that, on to the booklet.
It’s rather large if you’re not on a hi-speed line [2mb]. 37 pages.
[download#6#nohits]
The Long Haul
So, we’re preparing for the stretch run, a long 11-month strategic push that will lead up to the 2010 Christian Acappella Music Awards in Atlanta.
