Life is multidimensional, but we often limit ourselves to our one-dimensional perspective. This became evident to me after my father’s passing on May 31st.  As my siblings, and my aunt, shared about dad, I began hearing their different perspectives on many stories about my father. For example, I knew that my dad changed dramatically ...

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In this series, we’re discussing preparing for economic storms. The fourth and last step I recommend is decreasing payroll.   Many large organizations start with massive layoffs without considering other solutions.   Previously, I worked for a bank that frequently downsized. One year, the bank creatively allowed 40-hour employees to shift to 35 hours a week.   ...

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In this series, we’re discussing preparing for economic storms. We’ve discussed getting closer to your customers and hiring freezes, the third step you might consider is to trim expenses.  In 2009, the economy was crumbling. For those who adjusted and weathered the storm, I heard many tell me a similar story.  They discovered that ...

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In this series, we’re discussing preparing for economic storms. After staying close to your biggest customers, the second step during a recession is to consider a hiring freeze.  As a good shepherd, you should protect the jobs of your existing employees. By adding team members during a downturn, you may risk needing to make ...

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In this series, we’re discussing preparing for economic storms. With inflation and interest rates soaring and the stock market crumbling, the storm clouds appear to be rolling in.   One of my favorite indexes is the National Federation of Independent Business Optimism Index. Because it’s a survey of small business owners’ perceptions, it has ...

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When I was young, clothes dryers were a luxury. We took our clothes outside to our clothesline and hung them up for the sun and wind to dry.   This required remaining alert for upcoming storms. When dark clouds rolled in or the wind whipped up, we knew to prepare for the storm by gathering ...

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Kathy and I recently witnessed a performance on shepherding by a shepherd from Ireland. He highlighted three qualities about sheep that I found instructive.  The final quality is that sheep are humbly obedient. We watched as this shepherd used his staff to simply point in a direction.   The sheep would gather and begin moving ...

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Kathy and I recently witnessed an educational performance on shepherding by a shepherd from Ireland. He highlighted three qualities about sheep that I found instructive.  The first we discussed is defenselessness. The second quality is their natural inclination towards community.   The shepherd contended that when sheep dogs or predators approach sheep, the sheep begin ...

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