Month: January 2013

Do enough leaders “AIM” their employees??

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So every week, Monday-Friday, Target, the company that I work for has what is called a Morning Huddle. Our huddles always begin with recognition, which is the opportunity for the employees to recognize others for something they did on their behalf to help them, assist them, or encourage them. Next, we share information on store sales, store updates, and store initiatives. Lastly, there are times when I will a 60 second motivational tid-bit.  

So, from my experience at Target, I wonder how many companies, churches, leaders, etc. take the time to AIM. Affirm, Inform, and Motivate. 

Affirm

Everyone, at least folk whom I’ve met, desire to be affirmed about their gifts, contributions,  personality, value they’ve added to interpersonal relationships and their work environment. So affirm them for doing so. Affirm with kind words, cards, gifts, and token(s) of appreciation.

Inform

As leaders, we should always be in the business of informing people. No leader worth his/her salt should desire to keep people ignorant. Relevant information not only makes the employees or parishioners more knowledgable, but ultimately it impacts the overall organization. I’d rather have an organization of leaders, than followers.

Motivate

One thing I love about the Church is its ability to inspire and motivate people to action. Each organization should have the ability to motivate its people, if the leader can’t do it, then it should have someone in house that should, or bring folk in from the outside to motivate. People love to be motivated. Americans love to be motivated to do something that matters.

I hope in the future you AIM (Affirm, Inform, and Motivate)

BMack

Leave the LIGHT On!!

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Motel 6 is infamous for their catchy slogan, “We’ll leave the light on for you!” What that means is really not the purpose of this post. I just like the idea of the “LIGHT” always being on! Which means, at any time I decide to stop by a Motel 6 after dark, the light should and better be on.

I’ll be honest, Motel 6 is not my hotel of choice. I don’t remember the last time I stayed in one, desired to stay in one, or considered staying in one. However, after thinking about their slogan/tag line, I’ve realized that the Motel 6 ideology actually lines up with my theology. LOL, that rhymed, and who said rapping was hard.

Moving on….when I read my Bible, Matthew 5:16 encourages us to “Leave the LIGHT ON!” It says, “In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.” 

So this is my appeal to you, whether your a Christian, Muslim, Buddhists, Atheist, or belong to the Church of Scientology, we ALL have a LIGHT to shine. To quote Mos Def, “Umi says, shine your light on the world.” The world can truly benefit from your LIGHT! Heck, your LIGHT, could spark my LIGHT. Your LIGHT could help and heal someone. Your LIGHT could inspire someone! Your LIGHT could give hope to someone. Your LIGHT matters!

So, if your a social worker, engineer, preacher, writer, janitor, speaker, president, teacher, student, mother, father, son, daughter, blogger, publicist, athlete, lawyer, doctor, bus driver, truck driver, singer, dancer, maid, chef, poet, nurse, steel worker, coal miner, or

African American, African, Caucasian, Asian, Native American, Hispanic, or

Delta, AKA, Omega, Alpha, Kappa, Sigma, Iota, or

Republican, Democratic, Independent, or

Upper, Middle, Lower, No class, or

just YOU……Do us all a favor and

LEAVE THE LIGHT ON!!!

P.S. Shine Baby Shine!

Remove the Band-Aid

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(These are random musings and this is not edited for grammatical errors.)

So as I was in the shower this evening, I happened to wash my face to aggressively and popped a pimple that began to bleed (Yea I know, TMI). So immediately, after the alcohol applications, I placed a Band-Aid on it. Thinking in advance, as I tend to do, I know that I can’t leave this Band-Aid on too long, because it’ll begin to get that grunge look­. You know that look– the black dirt that gathers around the edges. So, to avoid all of this, this Band-Aid comes off in two days MAX!!!

Have you ever left a Band-Aid on for too long? Too often, not only do we leave them on too long to cover of physical blemishes, but also emotional, mental, relational, financial, operational, institutional, and etc. We get in the habit of leaving short-term fixes on too long! It might be okay to do patch work and Band-Aid for a quick sec, but not for weeks, months, and years! Substituting one addiction for another one is not good, if you never probably dealt with the addiction. Going from relationship to relationship is not healthy, if you don’t deal with the emotional issue at hand. I could go on and on.

So whether it’s a marriage, job, addiction, house, car, goal, we all need to Remove the Band-Aids. These are a few of my thoughts on this healing process…..

  1. Assess your Resources
  2. Remove the Band-Aid
  3. Apply the appropriate Resolution/Remedy