Second Chair Leadership | Making Community

Blog Like a Cooking Show

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Cooking show My kids love Food Network shows like Chopped, Iron Chef and Good Eats. Several times my wife and I have been roped into being judges for an at-home episode of Chopped. We have four kids (ages 16 to 9) and Chopped starts with four chefs, so it works.

It gets quite comical since we don’t have four kitchens. The flour is flying, wisks are turning and I usually narrate like Alton Brown on the side. A bit of warning, do not try this at home unless you are ready to do some serious clean-up.

If you’re thinking how hard it would be to “chop” one of your own kids, well it’s not after eating some of their culinary creations. Plus you get to compliment them before putting them on the “chopping block” with phrases like, “Your peanut butter pickles were robust in flavor, but I just felt they needed more cayenne pepper.”

From judging my kids “Good Eats” I’ve discovered 5 ways blogging is like a cooking show:

In Productivity Blogging, Productivity, Writing

Evy’s Tree an Interview with Brandon and Amy Miraflor

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Miraflor Picture Five years ago Brandon and Amy Miraflor started Evy’s Tree, a San Francisco based clothing company that provides luxury comfort wear.

They are quick to say that starting Evy’s Tree was a “God surprise” they didn’t see coming. Today Evy’s Tree sells up to 1000 items of clothing per month.

In this interview Brandon and Amy talk about:

Evy’s Tree start-up days
The challenges of success and learning new ways to run a business
Having a plan but being fluid
The importance of having both business and spiritual mentors
The dangers of over comparing yourself to the success of others
How Evy’s Tree has helped others
Their future hopes for the continued growth of Evy’s Tree

In the interview I mention a promo code for Evy’s Tree that Brandon and Amy have made available to the viewers of Second Chair Leadership.

In Media Fashion, Interview, Small Biz, Start up

There are no uninteresting people just disinterested listeners.

Anonymous #listenwell #leadwell

Posted on In #MakerMoto

Smart Leaders Embrace Abstract Technology

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My grandfather’s occupation was servicing elevators for a national elevator company. As a teenager I remember going with him on a few “trouble calls”, as he referred to them. He was usually responding to an elevator stuck between floors or a door that wouldn’t open.

During my grandfather’s career, elevators were analog creations of switches, relays and breakers. He could visualize each of those mechanical parts in operation, not just physically but schematically.

When the new computerized elevator models came out my grandfather knew it was time to retire. He was lost in the world of binary language, if_then statements and CPU programming. It was all too abstract for his mechanical mind.

Here are a few emerging ways of leading with technology that may seem abstract to traditional leaders. Today’s leaders will have to embrace these new technologies or be prepared to go into retirement like my grandfather.

In Productivity Learning, Productivity, Social media

Everybody’s Reachable

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Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the gurus of social media. He is always worth a listen or read. Thanks Delano Sherley for tipping me off to this clip.

In Social Media Brand, Creativity, Social media

Stop your “doing” that just “does.” Focus, prioritize and practice until you master the kind of “doing” that multiplies.

Will Mancini #leadwell

Posted on In #MakerMoto leadership, Quote

Would Your Staff Hire You?

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Worlds Best Employee Mug When I was a young leader I embraced a faulty leadership paradigm. I believed that I should be able to do the jobs of my direct reports. I insecurely thought “If one of my leaders quit, I should be able to step in and do their job.”

After a few years I came to realize how limiting such a paradigm was. If I can do the job of each direct report, then I have leaders just as limited as myself working for me.

I eventually decided to start hiring people who were better at their job than me. I learned it is better to think “God help me if they ever quit.” rather than “I’ll be fine if they go.”

That change in my hiring paradigm dramatically improved the quality of leaders I attracted. So much so that I eventually employed leaders who built a better organization than I ever could on my own. Which soon led to me to think, “Would my staff hire me?”

In Staff Development

My Top Posts of 2013 & Favorite Blogs for 2014

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Posts Collage

Thanks for making 2013 a great year at SecondChairLeadership.com. Almost 1,000 visitors per month visited the site. Here are the top 10 most-read articles of 2013, and some links to my favorite blogs for 2014.

Number ten: Where is My “X”? Reflecting on JFK

Number nine: Solve Problems to Achieve Success

Number eight: Growth is a Goal, Not a Solution

Number seven: There Should be Books You No Longer Read

Number six: Why Pastors (more than churches) Need To Be on Social Media

Number five: 3 Ways I Use Evernote

Number four: Helping Churches Find Their Social Media Voice

Number three: What Social Media is Restoring & Why Organizations Should Notice

Number two: Donors & Followers: Incorporating Social Media into Fundraising

Number one: Why Some Churches Are Pastored Like a Mom & Pop