It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
Greetings to you!
Each week I send out a short leadership blog that's called "Tuesday at 2:00pm". The purpose of this is simply to provide a brief thought on leadership that you can read and think about in just a few minutes. I send it out every week at 2:00pm (PST) and encourage you to make an appointment with yourself to pause and think about the thing I'm writing about.
Russ...
LEADERSHIP QUOTE:
"Reverse engineer an outcome: Think of what you want to be different because you gathered, and work backward from that outcome." Priya Parker
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
This is the final post on Priya Parker, the author of the book, The Art of Gathering. It's been fun to do a deep dive with you over the past 2 months, and I've received many comments and thoughts on the book as well as the quotes we've targeted.
To read past quotes & thoughts.... CLICK HERE.
Let's end with this quote above, which really aligns with Parkers overall theme of the book.
She's talking about PURPOSE.
Often, when we plan a gathering of some kind: a meeting, a dinner party, a large event, we begin by asking: Where will we meet? When will we meet? Who's invited? Once we answer those questions, we then look at the program and plan.
Parker is simply telling us to begin this way, "reverse engineer the outcome".
Don't start with these questions, but start with this one:
"When this gathering is over, what do I want to be true that isn't true right now?"
That desired change - the outcome - should determine every choice you make.
I remember attending a youth leaders retreat in Cuba years and years ago. I was coming as one of the speakers, and there were about 90 leaders attending. I had a lot of expectations and ideas about what a retreat should look like, so I was really surprised when we rode in the back of a truck for 4 hours to attend this conference. It was held in an old building in Eastern Cuba, and there weren't enough chairs for people to sit in, there was no sound system, the food was served in paper trays, they hadn't been able to copy my notes for people and I was just exhausted from the travel. My expectations...
What followed was 3 days of deep Community... laughter, tears, vulnerability, learning, celebrating, understanding and safety.
My friend, Pancho, who led this retreat, knew exactly what this group of people needed and he knew what to focus on and what not to focus on.
The result was a moment in time when leaders were connected, encouraged and equipped which was the goal. We all endured the drive, lacked some sleep, sat on the ground, ate off of cardboard and survived without a flashy powerpoint presentation because these things weren't important... connection, encouragement and equipping was the goal.
I'll never forget that retreat. I learned so much about myself and I was inspired by these Cuban leaders who fully understood this concept of "gathering with purpose".
Think of a time where you experienced this "Purpose Driven Gathering" yourself? What stood out to you? What did you learn?
DEEPER STILL:
When I think about this book as a whole, here are some things that come to mind:
#1) Meaningful gatherings don't happen by accident - they happen by intentional design.
Priya Parker argues that most gatherings (meetings, parties, dinners, ceremonies, conferences) are shaped by habit, convention, or social pressure rather than purpose. Because of that, they often feel flat, boring or unfocused.
A gathering becomes transformative when the host:
Defines a bold, specific purpose
Curates the right people (and excludes well)
Creates intentional structure
Uses their authority as host to guide the experience
Designs meaningful openings and endings
Protects the gathering from distractions, norms, or "good intentions" that dilute it.
#2) Gathering is an art - a craft - and when done well, it can change people.
Parker believes gatherings are one of the most powerful ways humans make meaning, build connection, and shape culture, but only if we stop doing them on autopilot and instead design them with courage and clarity.
In closing, what I takeaway from this book is this:
I need to DEFINE THE PURPOSE of my gathering
I need to BE INTENTIONAL IN MY PLANNING
I need to VALUE THOSE WHO ARE ATTENDING
I need to WORK HARD, because it's important
And lastly...
I CAN DO BETTER!
I hope you've enjoyed this deep dive over the past 2 months, and thanks for sticking with me!
What's your takeaway, either from the book or from the conversations we've been having over the past weeks?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker I encourage you to read or listen to the book. It will get you thinking!
I had the opportunity to work with Kathy's House this past week and their presentation for our Barnabas Community. I love the vision and focus of this San Juan Capistrano based ministry. On their website are these words... "Three Decades of Rebuilding Broken Lives". They are truly making a difference in the lives of people and bringing the hope of Jesus to each of them! Thanks Jon for your leadership!
I really enjoyed reading Lencioni's book Death by Meeting years ago as he addresses creating more exciting meetings in the workplace.
I watched a series on Prime Video: The Terminal List: Dark Wolf. This was a prequel series to a book series by Jack Carr I've been reading for a while. I enjoyed it, although it's a little rough as a CIA/War story!
One more time with this fun group game: COYOTE. Check it out! You'll laugh at each other while competing against each other!