Skip to main content

What To Do First to Make a Profit

The PF Women Team at our Annual Team Retreat  ~ 2018 Today on Seth Godin's blog, he said: It's tempting to decide to make a profit first, then invest in training, people, facilities, promotion, customer service and most of all, doing important work. In general, though, it goes the other way. Yes, it does. If you are waiting to make a profit before you do these things, in my experience you're  not going to make a profit. So many organizations, ministries and churches are struggling with financial issues. I know your pain. As anyone who follows our story knows, our ministry was in a ton of debt four years ago when I came on as director.  Since that time, we've gotten out of debt and turned a profit every year.  God has done amazing things through out team, for which we give Him the glory! I find that what Seth is saying here is absolutely true, with one disclaimer. For Christian leaders, spiritual disciplines must always be first. Before we started inve

Lessons from Kathryn:
Let the client do the work

So I know you have been waiting on the edge of your seat for "Lessons from Kathryn" from last week.  Things got really out of control this past week and I wasn't able to post anything substantial.   So you will more than likely get two lessons from Kathryn this week. 

To be quite truthful with you, Kathryn and I discussed confidential matters during 90% of the meeting last week, so I can't really share the  majority of what she taught me.  But before I share the 10% I can share, I will say this...Kathryn always, always, always processes relationship before task.  This has always been a priority for me with those that I manage, however never to the degree that she does it.  I must say, I've got some improvement to do, and I'm following a person who is showing me exactly how to do it.  Amazingly my work doesn't suffer at all because we do that, and in fact I believe it's much more effective but then again you'd have to get her input on that to get an impartial review of my work.  Alright, on to the other 10%...

I asked her, "what's the biggest lesson you've learned in coaching?" 

  She spit the answer out without missing a beat:  "Let the client do the work!" 

So of course I said, "expound on that for me if you will..." 

And to that she said, "The client has to be fully engaged in the process.  People need to understand that coaches aren't there to fix everything.  So many times they just have the attitude, 'okay, tell me what to do..." but you aren't there just to tell them what to do, but to guide them in the process and let them do the work.   They need to have a sense of real pride and accomplishment and know that they are far more capable than they ever thought they were." 

That was a good word that I really needed to hear.  It goes against the way I operate in life 90% of the time, not only in my work but my personal life and I've known for a long time that this needs to change but just needed a kick in the pants to do it.    Well, actually Kathryn never kicks anybody in the pants, not even CLOSE, so please don't read into that.  The fact is, I take what my leader says very seriously and kick myself in the pants when I know they're right. 

Doing things myself is an addiction of sorts.  For reasons of time management and quality, I tend to do things myself whether it be taking a client's resume and saying, "Don't worry about it, I'll re-write it and email it back to you tonight" instead of letting them do the task with my coaching here and there.  I get frustrated and want things done yesterday, not to mention done right.  It's the same reason I do many things myself at home or at the church.  I don't want to wait, don't want them done slowly, and don't want them to be done with anything less than 100% effort.  But  to lead that way is cheating people out of a major growth experience.  If they don't do it themselves, how will they learn?  Grow?  Have any sense of accomplishment? 

Besides that, I need a lot more time for the beach, and Lifetime movies.  :)

Comments

Anonymous said…
Wow...my husband and I were just talking about this very thing yesterday. We both hated "group projects" in high school and college, because we would rather have just done the work ourselves and gotten it done [and done it RIGHT!]. We have, unfortunately, transferred that attitude to ministry, and are working hard to change it and delegate more responsibilities to our team. It's hard to stop being a control freak, though :o).

Popular posts from this blog

Relevant Church doing something...

incredibly RELEVANT!

I just heard some news today that really inspired me. A church here in Tampa, Relevant Church is doing a new thing this month called the "30 Days Sex Challenge." (I've never visited the church but Pastor Trinity - our children's pastor - has visited or has met some people from this church and he was very impressed.) Realizing that this is a major element missing from some marriages (the frequency factor) their lead pastor, Paul Wirth, has issued a challenge for all the married couples to have sex for 30 days in a row. At the same time he has issued a challenge for all unmarrieds to completely abstain from sex. Of course we know the Bible says that those who are unmarried should not have sex in the first place but the point is, a lot of unmarried's aren't obeying the Lord's command to abstain and this is just one pastor's way of trying to get them to see that indeed, there is a better way! (God's way!) At the same time, many married couples are not

What Verbal Abuse is Really Like, and Why We Must Care
Guest Post: Terri von Wood

In my speaking travels, I meet the most amazing people. Some are connections that go beyond just a night or a weekend of preac hing. One day on my journey, I met Terri von Wood, and we immediately clicked and have been friends ever since.  Just a reminder that all of our guest bloggers this week are available to chat with you in the comment section here on the blog or on my facebook page where the blog is also published.   *** People who have never suffered through or witnessed abuse (including pastors) often don't know how to help women in abusive situations. Knowledge is power and it is my belief that if the church understood the prevalence of abuse, help would be made available.  First, we must acknowledge that the divorce rate is the same  in the church as in the world.  Second, we must understand that the 50% divorce rate does not include all the women who are abused but stay because they do not know what else to do or do not have anyone to turn to.  If those women we

Stuff I Adore That Costs Little to Nothing...

Okay...taking a break today from writing about heavy things...like grief, loss, and bawling. Time to write about random stuff today that nobody may be interested in reading. Nevertheless here it is... Stuff I adore that costs little to nothing... Listening to playlists I make on (free) Spotify Drinking out of canning jars Reading books again that I already have on my shelf. Walking and riding my bike. Admiring crepe myrtle trees. Taking a bath in the daytime with the lights off in the room. (Natural light.) Naps. Snuggling with my husband or one of the kids and watching a movie at home. Having all noise turned off when no one is home. (No TV, no music, just silence.) Prayer.