All types of businesses provide name badges for their employees.  It’s a simple, front-line business strategy, but it represents something more significant.  People are intensely relational, and this reality shapes human interactions at every level.  Corporations, at least some of them, are aware that people are so inclined towards relationships, that even a small personal touch can go a long way.  Name Badges add a name with a face and they allow people to better relate, even if it’s just for a moment.

Disney exemplifies the Name Badge strategy by listing their employee’s hometowns below their names on the badges.  It’s a brilliant touch.  Everyone’s story begins somewhere.  “Where are you from?” is perhaps the most frequently used ice-breaker question in every context.  Disney Name Badges often start conversations between Disney Cast Members and Disney Guests, aka employees and customers, due to this simple, personal measure.

Quality relationships begin by effectively relating to other people through a genuine spirit and mutual respect.  Corporations and small businesses that center their operations around customer relationships are leveraging the proper perspective…. The perspective that customer relationships don’t just drive long-term results, they enrich our lives and they establish the legacy of our careers.  So, if that’s true, then how about the other side of consumer interactions?

Now that we’ve talked about the business strategy of name tags, and customer service opportunities, allow me to turn the tables on us, the customers.  All too often, I witness consumers berating workers in offices, restaurants and retail stores.  Remember that relationships involve relating to other people through a genuine spirit and mutual respect.  That relationship works both ways, even in the marketplace….

What if, in the course of our consumer-oriented lives, we warmly greet the person checking us out at Wal-Mart, Target, Publix, Kroger, Chick-fil-a, etc.?  What if we, when wearing our customer hats rather than our professional hats, turn customer service on its head by reading someone’s name tag, then asking him or her; “how are you today, ______________?”

I sometimes wonder if we have a tendency to become the type of customer that we ourselves dread dealing with professionally.  Hmmmm.  When I read someone’s Name Badge, I want to remember that this a person who is probably much like me.  This person has a family.  This person has hopes, dreams, problems and emotions.  This person is working for a living, and maybe they have had a tough day….

I say let’s be better customers.  I say let’s be a bright spot.  I say that we try to show more grace, to smile more often, to tip better and chose to treat people the way that we want to be treated.  It’s a simple way to perpetuate the solution rather than exacerbating the problem.  More than that, it’s a cool opportunity to make someone’s day!  When is the last time that you came home from work and told your spouse, “I had the best customer today.”  How cool would that be?  OK, so I’m issuing a challenge to you, and to me, this week…..

I challenge us to be a memorable customer this week.  I challenge us to be attentive for opportunities to offer a retail worker an encouraging word, by name.  We just need to read a Name Badge.

If you accept my challenge, I want to hear about it!  Return to this post throughout the week and share the results.  If you make someone smile, that’s a win!

I wonder how many life-changing, innovative ideas were first expressed on a paper napkin.  Paper-napkin moments occur over a meal, or coffee, with family, friends or colleagues.  The inspired content that spills out onto the napkin represents an innovation, or a solution.  I’ve certainly experienced my share of paper-napkin-moments in my life, and many of those paper-napkin-ideas are now tangible realities.  Those moments of innovation and problem-solving are a beautiful thing, and there’s a key dynamic present each time that they occur….

These days, I’m rarely separated from my Macbook, or my iPhone, so the paper napkin has given way to my favorite digital note taking software, Evernote.  I take a lot of notes, and I think, write and strategize daily.  I deeply value my quiet contemplation, but there’s an irreplaceable dynamic in my life that facilitates many of my creative breakthroughs.  That dynamic is meaningful conversations with trusted friends.

I work and serve alongside some amazing leaders, and I am blessed to have many wise and creative friends.  I take full advantage of my key relationships by engaging in regular, meaningful conversations.  Some of these conversations revolve around professional opportunities and challenges.  Other of my meaningful conversations revolve around personal opportunities and challenges.  Whatever the topic, there’s no better context for breakthroughs than the dynamic that occurs when trusted friends process life together….

Great ideas and bold solutions are discovered as we refine our hopes and dreams through meaningful conversations.   

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you know that one of the catalysts for growing our faith is meaningful conversations with trusted friends that share your faith.  At my church, Longleaf Church, we move people into small groups where providential relationships can often be found and where meaningful conversations can happen.  As a step to further employ this powerful dynamic, I’ve created a simple system for you, and me.  It’s a way for us to have powerful conversations.  I call it Peer Coaching, and it’s been bouncing around in my head for the past five years…

I’ve had innumerable meaningful conversations within leadership, entrepreneurial and personal contexts that facilitated breakthroughs for me.  There are opportunities and challenges in our hearts and minds that we need to unpack.  There are important questions that we need to consider.  There are God-sized dreams within us that are just waiting to be incubated into great ideas.  There are things that we are learning that we want to share.  We must leverage the power of meaningful conversations to become the person that we were meant to be.

So, if we recognize the power of meaningful conversations, why not take it to the next level by adding a little structure to it?  Imagine if we used a conversation guide that allows us to systematically ask, and answer, powerful questions with trusted friends?  That’s what my System 16:3 Peer Coaching template is for.  It’s a simple and effective catalyst for meaningful conversations.  Go HERE to learn more about it and to start using it immediately!

Have you ever experienced a paper napkin moment?  Was a trusted friend collaborating with you in that moment?

Emily broke her arm.  I’ve uttered that phrase about one hundred times over the past week.  Actually, gravity and centrifugal force broke Emily’s arm.  She slipped while doing a round-off at gym on Monday night.  The Vegas Odds on Emily breaking something before her brother were 75 to 1, but somehow she managed to beat the odds.  Life can be funny that way.  Emily didn’t just break her arm, she managed to break the all-important growth plate at her elbow.  Emily’s Type III Growth Plate Fracture pretty much epitomizes the phrase, that’s a tough break.

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons:

The bones of children and adults share many of the same risks for injury. However, a child’s bones are also subject to a unique injury called a growth plate fracture. Growth plates are areas of developing cartilage tissue near the ends of long bones. The growth plate regulates and helps determine the length and shape of the mature bone.

The journey that is our family life is sort of like a one-man-band playing a song, while riding a bike and juggling bananas.  If you a jam a stick in the spokes, it could get ugly.  Emily’s tough break was a bit of a stick-in-the spokes for us….

After our consultation with a Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon in Atlanta, we opted for a surgical procedure that will greatly reduce the risk of Emily developing any complications as her arm heals.  That procedure is set for Tuesday at Egelston Children’s Hospital in Atlanta, so say a little prayer for Em J (as we call her).

When the doctor’s elaboration on Emily’s injury culminated with a surgical treatment recommendation, Emily glanced up at me with her sweet brown eyes and conveyed a clear nonverbal message to me… Do you think he knows that I’m sitting right here?!  I hear him talking about manipulating my broken bone, and I know that it’s going to hurt when I wake up!  And what about a pink cast?!  When can I get a pink cast?!  I’m done here Daddy, can we go shopping now?  Yep, Emily is brilliant at descriptive facial expressions…

It was an interesting week.  In the scheme of things, this is not a huge deal.  However, Emily has been tough and resilient as we have faced this little hiccup.  Life is going to deliver some tough breaks to us, we just have to be ready to respond.  When it comes to the tough breaks in life, it truly is our response to them that matters the most.  We are emotional beings, so our response to the tough breaks will draw out our emotions.  The first emotion that typically bubbles up is self-pity.  It’s alright to experience a little self-pity, it’s what happens next that matters….

After we work through the inevitable emotions of a tough break, our progress begins with a renewed focus on the things actually within our control, and letting go of what we can’t control.  To a degree, we’re all control freaks.  This renewed focus can be a beautiful thing.  When setbacks occur, they are often accompanied with an opportunity.  One specific opportunity that may accompany a physical injury, or ailment, is some time to slow down and re-energize.  For me, like many of you, injuries and ailments have always forced me to develop my patience, which is sometimes lacking….

Tough breaks are a part of life, and they’re rarely as simple as mending a broken arm.  No matter how difficult a setback may be, there’s really only one way to respond:

Overcoming the tough breaks in life is a process of accepting them, facing them head-on and embracing the somewhat educational healing process.

Have you, or one of your kids, ever suffered a broken a bone?  How did the recovery process go?

Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.  Jeremiah 17:14 TNIV

Three step program for forgetting about your broken arm: #shopping #icecream #QTwithmama http://t.co/omdTlWMM

January 11, 2012 7:45 pm via VisibliReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffreyjeffords

Jeffrey Jeffords

It’s pretty uncommon for temperatures to drop below freezing in Central Georgia, and certainly not remain there for the better part of a day.  We seem to have socks-optional weather almost year-round down South.  This morning, however, it was a brisk twenty-one degrees when I took my daughters to school.  That’s some pretty chilly weather here, so I went with socks and extra coffee this morning.  OK, so I go with extra coffee every morning, but the warm mug and the socks really helped take the chill off….

Climate is such a defining aspect of how we describe the region in which we live.  We’re fairly incessant about watching The Weather Channel and checking our weather apps.  Outside of big weather events, it’s actually fairly easy to adapt our daily lives to the seasonal weather patterns.  Our conveniences are bountiful.  Most of us have plenty of blankets, warm jackets, central heat and even water heaters.  The weather doesn’t really slow us down, especially when it comes to our recreational pursuits….

We actually leverage the weather conditions for our recreational pursuits across the U.S.  Additionally, sports that are played outdoors, like football and soccer, typically don’t miss a beat due to the weather.   My son had soccer training last night in the freezing weather.  We packed his soccer gear and dressed him warmly.  We made sure that he had ample nutrition in his body, and we filled his water bottle full of fresh, clean water.  It was pretty easy to get him geared up and ready.  Recreation is actually quite a privilege….

We often take for granted the incredible array of modern conveniences that allow us to function so fluidly as individuals and as families.  Our conveniences allow us to carve out more time for recreation, education, work and other worthy pursuits, because the basic elements of sustenance are so readily available to us.  Imagine if we didn’t have electricity and running water, much less central heat and stainless steel fridges with built-in water filtration systems.  To say the least, life would be different for us.  Man, we are just so blessed, and those blessing are so full of promise….

Gratitude is a force within all of us that’s just waiting to rise to the surface like water gushing from a freshly tapped well.

For nearly a billion people on our planet, it takes a tremendous effort to access the most basic element of life; water. One billion!  Not only that, this water is profoundly unsanitary.  Basic society just can’t be established without sustained access to clean water.  Here’s the compelling case from charity: water to do something about this crisis:

Diseases from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren’t strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses.

90% of the 30,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are of children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable. The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation.

Check out this brief video for more info….

Water Changes Everything. from charity: water on Vimeo.

charity: water makes it easy to partner with their mission; to bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.  We can tailor our own charity: water campaigns, then drive them through a custom webpage.  I’m excited that my Longleaf Church Community Group (Small Group) is launching a charity: water campaign, and we’ve added a fun and engaging twist!

Here’s how we will embark on this campaign together….

• Our fundraising goal is to raise $1000 by the end of March.  This amount will provide clean and safe drinking water for 50 people!

• Our fundraising plan is to share a journey with our supporters.  We will be taking a family hike together on a Saturday morning in late February, or early March, while taking turns carrying a forty pound container of water.  This hike represents the arduous daily journey that so many impoverished people must take to get access to water, which is usually unsanitary.

• Our fundraising strategy will be to ask the Fried Grits readership, friends and family to support us.  We are asking for one-time gifts of $20, $50 or $100.  Gifts are made directly to charity: water electronically via our campaign page.  Click HERE see our campaign page and make a contribution!

Thanks for your support!  We’ll keep you posted.  Have you ever done anything together as a family, or a small group, to support social justice or attack poverty?

It’s that time of the year when we reflect on the past, and dream about the future.  A new year is a milepost that stirs quiet contemplation, strategic planning and maybe even some soul-searching.  We should pause to celebrate the personal wins of 2011, and we should consider our growth opportunities for 2012.  Those opportunities forge and refine our annual goals….

Many of us will aspire to further our careers, deepen our relationships, restore our finances or reinvigorate our health in 2012.  We will hit the ground running with new diets, fitness regimes, reading plans, savings plans and perhaps new career paths.  These are certainly worthy goals, but we must first embrace and build upon some important core goals…

These core goals remind us that life is not all about us.  They remind us that our capacity to achieve big things begins with a heart to help others achieve big things…

Chasing our dreams and pursuing our goals begins by showing the people closest to us that we believe in them.

I make it a priority to recognize the unique gifts within my wife and children, and to encourage them to develop those gifts.  Our core goals should begin with the core people in our lives.  For example, my wife, Amy, is a fierce mother and a creative Family Ministry Leader at our church.  I want to support her, and challenge her, to continue creating the innovative family ministry environments at Longleaf Church that she’s uniquely capable of.

My oldest daughter, Anna, has incredible wisdom for a kid her age.  Emily, my middle child, is the most socially adept person that I know.  My son, John Harmon, has a fiery passion for soccer, and is determined to become the best player that he can be.  In 2012, I’m going to help my kids develop their unique gifts, and direct them in a positive way.  For example, I’m going to talk to John Harmon after all of his soccer games this year about true toughness, a team-first attitude and responding to adversity with wisdom and determination by leveraging the great example set by Tim Tebow.

As far as I’m concerned, these are my most important personal development goals of 2012; to believe in, nurture and inspire the people closest to me.  As an extension of this people development premise, I also feel accountable to encourage and nurture the talents of those that I work closely with.  While you likely agree with my family first approach, you might be wondering how it is that I equate strategically investing into my family to my foremost personal development goal….

I’ve learned that putting others first, and serving people well is a transcendent purpose in life, and business.  I’ve learned that a healthy foundation at home is more valuable than great stockpiles of gold.  I’ve learned that God opens doors for us while we are opportunistic about serving others.  I’ve learned that opportunities come to those who honor their responsibilities to invest themselves into the people closest to them.

I have some important personal and professional goals in 2012, but my core goals are about shepherding the hearts of those closest to me.  That foundation not only sets my loved ones up for success, but demonstrates that there’s a prevailing truth at play in my life; that my Heavenly Father believes in me and saved me by grace.

Was there someone in your life who believed in you, and nurtured your talents in a powerful way?