Coloring inside the lines has always been a huge frustration for me. Not that I wanted or even had the talent to recreate the bold lies within my Superman coloring book – I just grew extremely frustrated that “the lines” were the limit of where my creativity could go. What are these guidelines and who decided them? More importantly, why were each of the crayons the size of small submarines – large cylinders of heavy wax – and entirely too bulky to hold? Trying to color the “S” on Superman’s chest with these was exasperating! Even if coloring book rules were to be followed, how could I receive my gold star when the tools to use were not useful to me? Read More »

Over the past week I have been spending time on the Big Island of Hawaii with my wife. We have done a snorkeling cruise, seen rock beaches, and attended a farmer’s market. Outside of each other, we haven’t known another soul on the entire island. We have been strangers in a strange land, so to speak. Read More »

I have heard that phrase for years. I have tried to buy the domain name. And after this week, I am even more convinced that life is truly centered around relationships.

This past week our team attended the ICRS convention in Orlando, Florida. The trip was packed with non-stop time together, back-to-back meetings, nice dinners, and – oh yeah – humidity. I had no doubt that our team had the intellectual and relational skills to make our company shine in the industry, but I did wonder what a 24/7-week together would look like. I was not disappointed. Read More »

Over the weekend, The Dark Knight debuted in theatres across America. “Debuted” is actually a misnomer. Knight falls into the category of movies that culture has waited for and eagerly received. It is an example of a tool, in the form of media, driving culture.

By driving culture, I mean it influences what people see, think, read and talk about. Many people over the weekend discussed this movie, whether they saw it or not. They dialogued about their thoughts on the movie and, most likely, the tragedy of Heath Ledger’s loss after such a crowning achievement for acting. Read More »

There is one great asset that businesses and organizations may possess; one asset that is perhaps greater than all others. This asset is not for sale, though it is of tremendous worth. It cannot be sold, though it can be lost. This asset cannot give you a depreciating expense on your financials. It can be acquired only by being earned, and it may be lost if those things that earned it are abandoned.

This asset is loyalty, and there is no substitute for it. Read More »

It is always an interesting experience to me when I travel to a place where the culture and the language are different from home.

Last week I returned from Tanzania where, of course, the culture was dramatically different from here in Colorado.  At the start of my trip the language divide was stark.  But, as I’ve found on previous trips, by the end of my travel I saw far more similarities in the people than differences despite the language and cultural divide.

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Technology. *Sigh*. Part of the reason I majored in Communications was so I could avoid as many technology and internet classes as possible. It seems I master one program, only to find out there is an “updated” or “new and improved” one available. I can hardly keep up with these new releases! Anyone out there feel my pain?!

The May 2008 Barna Technology Study addresses the trends of Social Networking. The popularity of this newest phenomenon has been impressed on me deeply: keeping up with 830 Facebook friends is a job in itself! I admit that I first experienced sheer frustration to the hundreds of wall posts and personal messages I would receive. Add that to three e-mail accounts and iChat, and you can see how I could hardly keep up!

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