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Are You Working in Air-Tight Compartments?

May 2, 2013 by David Roth

My best friend, Kevin Campbell, has many gifts. He is one of the best salesmen I have ever been around and he is the best evaluator of people and situations ever.

For several years, he has talked to me about working and living in “air-tight compartments”. Honestly, I never paid much attention to this idea. But recently, I shared with him how challenging our preparation is for the annual WorkMatters Chick-fil-A Leadercast. Once again, he said, ”air-tight compartments Dave”. This time, it stuck. It was just what I needed to hear.

I found myself sharing the idea with our WorkMatters team, then with my son who was going through finals in his freshman year in college, and finally with my nephew who works at Tyson Foods. That’s when I received this picture. His visual reminder of this important concept.

IMG_1916

So what does it mean and how do you use it? It’s pretty simple. In our crazy busy life, identify those tasks or projects or high priorities, that you must focus on. Then, when it’s time to work on them…put them in an air-tight compartment. Totally focus JUST on that critical task. It may be a 15-minute task that is critical to execute, or it may be a three-day project for your boss or a major client.

This simple phrase, and the visual image that comes with it, helps me focus. It challenges me NOT to wander off on other things that need my attention, as well. It’s not fool-proof, but it is a great tool to help us do our work with excellence!

Love to hear your comments as you implement this idea.

Closing the gap between faith and work,

David

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16

Posted in Balance, Excellence | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments »

The Simple Sounds of Silence

March 21, 2013 by Sam Bates

Lately I have been trying to do without things in my life that I have become accustomed to having and which have been part of my busy life for decades.  As I get older however something seems to be happening that I was not expecting….imagine that!

I have always been a person that enjoys having stuff on….my radio, TV, stereo, laptop, iPhone.  Often all at the same time if possible.  Not sure why, but a couple of months ago, I started turning stuff off…not everything all at once, but here and there and from time to time.  Somehow I have found that I don’t miss it all as much as I thought I would.  As it turns out, turning off the noise has been a blessing and has allowed me to simplify my life.

I wondered about what was happening to me.  I still enjoyed my music, my sports talk radio, my Food Network shows, etc, but found that all that noise  kind of deadened me to other things going on around me calling for my attention and thoughts.

I have found that turning stuff off has been a blessing in many ways that I was not expecting.  Most of all, I have felt that I have been able to hear and discern that still small voice of my Creator which most often is heard in stillness and silence.

Most of you probably are way ahead of me on this.  But I also know many who like me, the noise has become so much apart of our lives, that we don’t even realize how much it has drowned out many other important sounds that can only be heard when we turn it all off.

Take a few days and just try it…what you may hear instead might amaze you!

Our 2013 Chick-fil-A Leadercast is about learning how to simplify your life in order to strengthen your leadership. Hope to see all of you there!

Posted in Balance, Faith and Work, Family, God, Mind, Peace, Thoughts | 1 Comment »

Difference between Excellent and Perfect

March 1, 2013 by David Roth

Excellence is one of WorkMatters Core Values and one of our 7 Pillars of Faith and Work. It’s something we believe in strongly. But, I have struggled over the years discerning the difference between pursuing Excellence and Perfection.

Perfection

Here’s how Webster defines them:

I’m not so sure about “good”. “Great” makes sense to me. “First-Class” makes sense to me. That sounds like “working with all my heart as working for the Lord, not for men” (Colossians 3:23). But being entirely without fault or defect? We are all sinners. Only one was perfect.

So together, let’s continue to pursue excellence in our work and in our lives. But let’s all (especially me) keep a watchful eye on striving for perfection.

God, please give us the wisdom to see the difference between excellence and perfection in our work, and the courage to push up to excellence but step back from perfection. AMEN

Posted in Excellence, Faith and Work, Perfect | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

Five Realities of a New Job

February 20, 2013 by David Roth

How long has it been since you started a new job? Before you make that big move to the next thing you feel “called to”, let’s consider a few simple truths.

Image

I was reminded of this when a young professional friend who I co-lead a Leadership@Work Nehemiah Study with, started a new job on Tuesday. Josh Richardson moved from a global corporation serving Wal-Mart, to a super cool, high growth small company, also serving Wal-Mart. Talk about a 180. Here was his tweet yesterday: Day 1 at the new job was amazing – better than I could have ever imagined. Praise God for his sovereign timing, purpose, and design!

Josh’s experience reminded me of the sometimes bitter sweet experience of changing jobs. Here are a few simple ideas to consider:

  1. Commit to a six month increase in work life focus – before you say yes to the new gig that you are so excited about, make sure you deal with this reality. Your work life WILL need more focus and time. This is especially critical if you are married and/or have children.
  2. Finish strong where you are – in both execution and relationships.
  3. Enjoy powerful growth with God - because He makes things  ”brand new” (Isaiah 48:7) in a new job, fear and anxiety can be very real. It’s a perfect season to sit daily in His lap.
  4. Be hyper focused – focus with intensity to build new relationships, learn the business,  and find small opportunities to add value to the business.
  5. Enjoy the new adventure - it will be stressful, but it will also be an exciting adventure of personal, spiritual and relational growth!

Have fun,

David

Posted in Balance, Calling, Faith and Work, God, Job Search, Marriage, Relationships, Stress | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Amazing Grace@Work

February 10, 2013 by David Roth

This past weekend, my wife and I Redboxed Flight, the Denzel Washington movie that earned him a best-actor Oscar nomination. It is a powerful movie full of painful, real life stuff worthy of it’s R rating.

I won’t expose any more of the plot here. Suffice to say that you have a man who is very well respected in his ability to do his job. In fact, he is hailed as a hero at work! But he is living with extraordinary difficult circumstances in his personal life. And guess what? His personal circumstances spill over into his work life. Of course they do! We don’t live compartmentalized lives.

As I sat in church, I couldn’t quit thinking about this movie we had watched the night before. The pain of his addiction. How many people come to work with secrets. With personal issues that are impacting their lives and work in monumental ways. How should we handle these issues? How do we help a co-worker who is suffering with an addiction or an illness? And at what point do their circumstances intersect accountability?

I don’t know the answers. But I know this. There are people all around us suffering at work. Maybe, just maybe, we can help.

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me….
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.”

Maybe we can share some amazing grace at work.

Posted in Adversity, Culture, Faith and Work, Grace, Relationships | Tagged , , | 2 Comments »

A New Mission to Close the Gap

January 30, 2013 by David Roth

Today, I want you to read an incredible story.

But first this…the faith@work “market” has changed dramatically. Do you sense it? For many leaders living their faith@work is no longer a misnomer. It’s staring them right in the face. Life is too fast paced. They have too many pressures. And their work is killing them. There has to be a better way!

So building a bridge between faith and work is no longer the “market” need. The need now, is “help me close the gap”. I need no gap. I need to live whatever faith I have (large or small) in all aspects of my life, especially my work!

That’s our focus now at WorkMatters. We are all about helping leaders close the gap. All of our “programs” have changed to better focus on this mission. And this incredible story says it all. Hear from Adam White, an Engineer, a young professional, talk about his journey to close the gap:

Like most professionals, the idea that faith and work were correlated never dawned on me the first few years of my career.  I was your typical recent college graduate.  I had been fairly involved in campus ministry, but was struggling to carry that momentum into the workplace and had developed the “Me against the world” mentality.  Instead of using this struggle as a chance to embrace my faith, I chose to give up completely and walked away from the Church.  

A few years ago, my boss invited me to a young professionals gathering hosted by WorkMatters.  I didn’t know a thing about WorkMatters, but I saw it as an opportunity to network with other young professions, so I decided to attend.   Thankfully, the WorkMatters vision of fusing faith and work peaked my interest just enough that I signed up for a small group, where I learned the biblical connections between faith and work.  I started regularly attending WorkMatters events, and soon it felt like my faith was snowballing inside of me.  I got back into the Church, started serving in the community, became more pleasant around my peers, and shed the “Me against the world” mentality.

Today, I can comfortably say that God is involved in everything I do, especially my work.  I owe a large part of this to everyone at WorkMatters who helped stretch my spiritual limits so that I can share the virtues of faith, hope, and love in all aspects of life.

Inspired? Ready? Let’s close it…

David Roth

President, WorkMatters

WorkMatters Logo - Tagline 10-12-12

Posted in Faith and Work | 1 Comment »

2013…Living Life on Purpose

January 1, 2013 by David Roth

Did you look back at 2012 yesterday?

As I wrote down some thoughts and graded myself (yes, I am that analytical) on my faith, marriage, children, work, etc., it beautifully prepared me for 2013. Just as a business forecast comes from historical data, so can the forecast for our lives in 2013!

2013 year beginning blog post

Let’s keep this simple today. I have shared in the past these basic ideas to help you shape your 2013 to live with more purpose. Let me encourage you to block some time, find a quiet place, buy yourself a cup of coffee (or other stimulus), and just think and listen. Write down what comes to you.

If you are a person that needs some structure, try this on for 2013:

  • Purpose – a simple statement that describes your focus for the year.
  • Word – one word that  summarizes your purpose.
  • Verse – a single Bible verse that supports your purpose.
  • Goals – this can be as short (4-5 goals) or as long (family, work, financial, serving) as you wish.
  • Book – this is a freebee…go to Amazon and buy a book that you really need to read. Here’s mine.

I pray that your 2013 focus will intentionally include closing the gap between your work and your faith. That’s WorkMatters purpose and passion for your life!

Let’s do this,

David

Posted in Faith and Work, Faith at work, Family, Goals, Marriage, Parenting, Purpose | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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