Wow! It’s been an unbelievable first year of Backstage Leadership. WOOT!  I can not believe that it’s already come and gone. I am so proud of our team, all our participants and the work that was accomplished. I am grateful for the great leaders that worked with us too.  All in all, it has blown past my original expectations. But, this is only the beginning. As we look to next year and the future leaders we will impact, I’m taking a few moments to celebrate what God has done.

When Joshua took the Israelites into the Promised Land, they crossed over the Jordan, took out some near by armies and then….they celebrated.  Joshua built a memorial so that when people saw the memorial they would remember what took place and then celebrate.

Be sure that in your pursuit of your vision that you stop and celebrate. Take time to remember where you were and where you are. What does celebrating do for you, your vision and your team?

1. Celebrating allows you to remind people of the vision.  Bill Hybles says that vision leaks.  If this is true (and I think it is) then every excuse you can get to recast the vision is welcomed.  What’s a better way to cast vision than by partying?
2. Celebrating is a way to come back to the team. Many times visionary leaders and entrepreneurs spend so much time in the future that the forget the people behind them.  Celebrating is a way for you to hit the pause button and encourage those that helped you achieve the vision.
3. Celebrating shows your team that you appreciate what they have done.  By constantly looking to “what’s next” you risk saying that “what we’ve done” is not important.  Most people do not live in the future like you do.
4. Celebrating is a way to worship.  Celebrate by giving thanks to what God has done. Appreciate all the doors He opened. Give thanks for the prayers He answered and for the grace he extended.

What do you need to celebrate today with your team?

The Idea Camp is going to Las Vegas (Sept. 27-28). What is the Idea Camp? Keep reading, you’ll love it.

This is going to be a great event that you don’t want to miss. Some good friends of mine will be speaking, including Mike Foster, Jud Wilhite, Charles Lee and Angus Nelson.  I am excited to be speaking at a breakout session too. So, consider spending a few days in Vegas this fall. It will be worth it!

Event Details

Join us for a fresh, honest and transformative conversation with
leading thinkers on topics including sexual identity, orientation,
abuse, gender perceptions, porn, marriage, family, prostitution,
and slavery.

The issues related to human sexuality are too often misunderstood,
ignored, or avoided in far too many churches. The Idea Camp will
facilitate a safe and transparent environment of learning, sharing
of insights from the respective fields of focus, and practical
insights and examples of holistic care.

Please take a moment to click on the links for the conference:

• Registration (Super Early Bird Rate Available)
• Venue
• Confirmed Facilitators/Speakers (More coming soon!)
• Sponsors (Interested in sponsoring? Let us know.)

We would love to see you in Vegas. Please let us know if you have any questions about the event.

Just finished up a great interview with Scott Belsky, author of Making Ideas Happen and founder of Behance. His book came out last Thursday and I plowed through it to get ready for the interview. I have so many action items in my head right now I can’t think straight. The interview will be up for the May edition of the Backstage Leadership podcast.

In the mean time, if you are an idea person, entrepreneur, artist, photographer, writer, designer, or want to be any of those things, then do yourself a favor a pick up a copy of Scott’s book today.  So you know, I have no incentive to say that other than I really think the book and it’s principles could help you.

Here are a few sound bites:

Value the role of the skeptic.

Ideas in isolation usually die

Sharing your ideas will help you accomplish more as your community will hold you accountable.

Here’s to changing the world!

Next week I’m doing an interview for the Backstage Leadership podcast with Scott Belsky. I am very excited. Scott is the founder of Behance and the 99% Conference and author of soon to be released book Making Ideas Happen.  Behance is passionate about organizing the creative world and helping people execute on their ideas and get them out the door.

If you are an idea person, a creative person, or want to be, then you do not want to miss this opportunity. Scott spent over 6 years researching and interviewing hundreds of creatives across industries for the content of his book. Here’s your chance to ask Scott some questions. Post them in the comments and I’ll get to them in the interview. Remember as Scott says, it’s not about ideas, it’s about making ideas happen.

This interview will be up on the Backstage Leadership podcast later in the Spring.

Post your questions now.

New Backstage Leadership podcast is up. In this episode, we talk about the principles of leadership shared by Tim Tassopoulos in a guest interview. Tim is the Senior Vice President of Operations for Chick-fil-A.

What did you like about Tim’s interview?

I thought I’d share some of the exciting things coming up this month.

• This week there is a Backstage Leadership session with Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy, son of founder Truett Cathy. Can’t wait to do live Q&A with the leader of one of my favorite business in the world. If you have a question  you’d like me to ask, post it in the comments and I’ll try my best to get it asked.
• Next week there is a Backstage Leadership session with legendary leader and writer Ken Blanchard. I have so many questions to ask him myself and I know all the Backstage participants will as well.  If you have a question  you’d like me to ask, post it in the comments and I’ll try my best to get it asked.
• Working on the redesign for next years Backstage Leadership site. New look. New speakers. Same amazing chance to be mentored by amazing leaders. Super Early bird signups coming soon.
• I’ll be at the Q conference in Chicago for a few days. Led by good friend and mentor Gabe Lyons, this event stretches my thinking unlike any other one. If you are going to be there, please let me know, would love to meet up.
• Excited about the release of the book Making Ideas Happen. I’ve heard from friends that it is an excellent read, especially for idea-junkies like me.
• Working on a new lay out for my blog and site. Excited about the possibilities.

What’s going on in your world?

When you are launching something new (business, ministry, non-profit, a book, CD, a blog) you need to ask good questions in the beginning so that when you hit a rough spot you don’t ask bad questions. A good question in the beginning is something like this:

1. Why am I starting this?
2. Is starting this what God has for me?
3. Do I really believe that I should start this?
4. Do I have the support of my closest friends and family?

If you can honestly answer those questions and are confident about the answers, then move forward with your launch. Now, as soon as you get in the middle of the venture, you will hit some type of wall. This comes in all shapes and sizes and could look like any of these:

1. You run out of money
2. You get a rejection letter from a publisher
3. You get negative feedback on your product
4. No one buys your new CD

When you hit the wall, what you do next will determine your success. What you should do next is ask a good question. If you ask bad questions, you will fail. But ask  good questions and you are well on your way past the wall. Once in the middle of your new thing, a bad question is actually any question from your beginning good questions. That doesn’t sound right, but here’s why. If you were able to answer those questions in the beginning and you were confident with your answers, then ask a better question when you hit the wall. If you know you are supposed to write that book or start that non-profit or plant that church, then when tough times come, ask a good question like:

1. What could I do differently to sell this CD?
2. Who could I call to help see another angle?
3. Why are we having a hard time raising money?
4. What person could join our team that has that skill we’re missing?

A good question will lead to new ideas and a new idea is what you are missing. You already established you should do this, so don’t question that when it gets tough. Question your approach, question who you are missing on your team, question your work effort, but don’t question the call, you established that a long time ago.

Ask good questions and get the results you want.