Mavericks at Work

We will measure our success by how much we contribute to yours.

McCue – What I realize now is that you can never, ever take your eye off the customer. Pg. 33

Spandex Rule of Branding … Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Pg. 57

McEwen – he recalls, It was like a flash: this is the template I’ve been searching for! I went running back to Toronto convinced that we had to change how Goldcorp thought about mining. Pg. 65

Innovation is serious business, but if you’re working to tap the brainpower of grassroots volunteers and outside the mainstream contributors, then you have to work to keep your open-source project colorful, dramatic, and energetic. Pg 121

To put it more bluntly, customer satisfaction suffered because companies made their customers suffer as executives pursued other priorities. Pg 133

We’re not selling our products, the CEO explains. We’re selling our people. We have a live relationship with our customers, on the radio and on the phone. Pg 161

Business and life are built on successful mediocrity, the world-weary author concludes, and victory comes to companies, not through the employment of brilliant men, but through knowing how to get the most out of ordinary folks. Pg 199

…keeping the habit of driving the agenda is crucial. Don’t just wait for someone to tell you what to do. Understand their business and then tell them what you are going to do to help them win. Pg 256

I read "Art of the Start" and wanted to share some nuggets with you -

The Art of the Start, Guy Kawasaki

It’s not how great you start – it’s how great you end up. Pg 10

You can’t change the world if you’re dead, and when you’re out of money you’re dead. Pg 14

The foundation of a great pitch is the research that you do before the meeting starts. Pg 47

I’ve never heard a pitch that was too short…The purpose of the pitch is to stimulate interest, not to close a deal. Pg 49

The worst thing to do is to write a deliberate plan and then stick to it simply because it is “the plan.” Pg 73

Every drug, even truth, needs a delivery system. Pg 92

If there is one thing a CEO must do, it’s hire a management team that is better than he is. For this to happen…The first is the humility to admit that some people can perform a function better than they can. Second, after making this admission, they need the self-confidence to recruit these people. Pg 101

People without major weaknesses tend to be mediocre. Pg 106

If you want to get an investment, show that you will build a business. Make meaning. Make a difference. Don’t do it for the money. Do it because you want to make the world a better place. Pg 120

The lesson is this: Clean up your problems or disclose your problems, but never hide your problems. Pg 125

Good schmoozers aren’t good talkers; they are good listeners. Pg 161

Please Pray for Mike –

April 13 – Southside Baptist Church, Honea Path, SC

April 20 – Piedmont Heights Baptist Church, Piedmont, SC

April 27 – Dry Prairie Baptist Church, Duette, FL

“Rick Warren says… ‘I’ve noticed over and over that if a church doesn’t get beyond 200 within about a year and a half, it usually doesn’t happen at all.’”

“The church starter’s task is to tenaciously create environments that partner with the Holy Spirit to effect life change.”

“Excellence is doing the best we can with what we have.”

“Do not begin small groups before you are averaging about 150-200 people in worship.”

“Church starters must continually develop as leaders or they will become the barriers for growth in their churches.”

I read Starting New Churches on Purpose – by Ron Sylvia and wanted to see what you thought about some things I learned - Mike

“Purpose Driven is not about seeker services. It is about evangelism. Purpose Driven is a process by which you bring people in through evangelism, raise them up through discipleship, train them for ministry, and send them out on mission to the glory of God.” Rick Warren.

“The ultimate for purpose driven church is targeting people who are far from God…it takes unselfish people to reach the lost.”

“A church starter is a risk taker and an entrepreneur.”

“I am confident that the pastor is the visionary leader of the church, and you cannot create vision fro consensus.”

“…older people will tolerate the music of younger people more than younger people will tolerate the music of older people, as long as they are exchanging their musical taste for seeing people come to know Christ.”


Let me know what you think

Mike