There's a reason most companies and non-profits look for outside help when it comes to making major changes. It's simply very difficult and often impossible to spawn new thinking in-house. As a result, leaders often bring in outside ideas and advice to spur change inside. That's not to demean the value of your in-house ideas or creativity. The issue is perspective. In fact, here's a few key reasons that making real change happen usually takes an outsider: ... read more

I believe Christian media is facing the greatest generational transition in the history of our industry. For the most part, the first generation pioneers like Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, D. James Kennedy, Robert Schuller, Pat Robertson, Paul Crouch, and others, have either passed away, retired, or aren't as intensely involved in their ministries as they used to be. I've had the opportunity to be involved in numerous transitions from a variety of first generation to second generation leaders. Those transitions run the gamut from ... read more

I was talking to an associate the other day about a baffling situation. We were discussing a great non-profit organization with a terrific CEO and huge potential. But the head of their donor development department is a real puzzle. In spite of tons of evidence to the contrary, he absolutely refuses to change his strategy on fundraising. It's amazing really. Everyone else sees the right direction as clear as day, but this guy apparently lives in a parallel universe. He's a relatively new employee, so the CEO isn't keen on everyone knowing he hired a loser, so the CEO is sticking with him in spite of ... read more

Most of us wonder about the Internet making us dumber. Well I have to admit that thanks to my GPS I don't have to think about directions anymore, and thanks to my iPhone calendar, I don't have to remember important dates. Maybe from that perspective it's making us a bit dumber. But the issue I think we're missing isn't about being stupid, it's about how the Internet is changing the way we THINK. Recent cognitive studies have shown us that we're losing the ability to focus. The highly distracted, scattered, "mini" bits of information we encounter on the web have actually started to re-wire our thought processes. As a result, my publisher is recommending I write books in small chunks with plenty of sub-dividers. We're seeing more 10 second TV commercials. We want it quick, we want it fast, and we want it now. ... read more

Everybody wants to reach "the next generation," and I can understand that. So when non-profits come to us for help, they want to focus on the 20-something crowd, and make sure their website is hip and cool and appeals to younger people. But the brutal truth is - when it comes to fundraising, older folks carry the load. Pop music belongs to the young, but trust me - giving belongs to the old. That's not to say we should turn off younger people, but don't be fooled by the illusion that ... read more

I've been focusing my work more and more lately on "Influence." In fact, I've been doing a ton of research on it and I think it might even be the subject of my next book. The question is - how can my clients get their message out there in a way that reaches more people, and second, make sure the message actually impacts the culture in some significant way. One of the things I've realized is that most pastors and leaders need to consider their vision and message as a "budget level" item. In other words, stop being embarrassed about ... read more

World Magazine's Megan Basham really hit the nail on the head in her review of the recent faith-based movie, "Letters to God." In the article, she targets what goes wrong with many of these dramas. Read it and let me know your thoughts. ... read more