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:
"Data is like garbage. You'd better know what you are going to do with it before you collect it." Mark Twain*
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
As we look at the idea of IMPACT this month, the truth of this quote was good for me to process.
We're not sure if Twain actually said this, but he's been credited with saying it in a number of places.
Last week I talked about the idea that "Measurement is Important!" I also talked about some of the reasons why we might not want to measure things. See HERE for last weeks post.
This thought from Twain is simply telling us to not measure things just because we're supposed to, but only measure things that we have a plan to use the information for.
Early in my pastoral career, I had a boss who asked me to complete a weekly report. Every Friday I had to share what I had accomplished that week, talk about the work I had done, and basically give a full account of my week. I hated doing this report for a couple of reasons:
First, it took a lot of time. By Friday I was usually wiped out from a full week, and many times I had things planned for the weekend, so this meant I had to stop my "real work" and create this report every Friday. It was a disruption.
Second, this was before the digital age. I wasn't tracking everything I was doing, so I had to work hard to remember all that I did. The life of a youth pastor changed every day, so it was a challenge to just track everything.
And lastly, I didn't believe that he was actually reading the report. He was having me do it for some sense of "self accountability" and I learned quickly that he wasn't reading it when I would slip in some things that were just ludicrous like, "Tuesday I slept in until noon and took a shower" or "I didn't do anything today". I would slide these in from time to time and never once did he ask me about it.
Over time my report kept getting shorter and shorter, then one Friday I decided I just wasn't going to do it and he never asked me about it again.
For probably 2 years I had taken time every week to complete a report that I then learned was never read, wasn't important, and when I stopped doing it, no one cared! What a waste of energy.
Years later, as I was learning to lead others who worked for me, from time to time I would create some kind of report or activity form for them to complete and then I often caught myself.
I was doing this because I thought this is how you lead others and help them with accountability.
I've learned the power of a simple conversation with pointed questions, the opportunity to share stories and building trust goes so much further!
Have you ever been stuck tracking activity that wasn't important?
DEEPER STILL:
Here are a couple of things I've learned about tracking data or measuring impact:
#1) BE CONSISTENT
Sometimes I get impatient and instead of measuring the same thing over a specific period of time, I jump from thing to thing too quickly. This eliminates the value of the metric. Determine a time frame and stick with it. That's when your information becomes the most valuable.
#2) HAVE A PLAN
Determine who will see the data, how it will be reviewed, and how often. If you don't have a plan, then it's just an exercise in data collection.
#3) KEEP IT SIMPLE
You don't have to measure everything! I've found that I get more response when I ask people to complete a 5 question survey than a 30 question survey. Figure out what is most important and start with that. You can always dig deeper.
Years ago I created a simple evaluation tool called "The ONE Thing".
Following a seminar, a 4-day Summit or Cohort Coaching Sessions I usually ask people 4 questions and am looking for short answers. I ask:
What's ONE thing that stands out from our time together?
What's ONE thing we can improve on?
What's ONE thing you're going to try to integrate into your life and leadership?
What's ONE way that you have been encouraged?
This usually takes just a few minutes to complete, but I've learned if I don't ask at the close of the time for this feedback, I often don't get it.
Sometimes these are anonymous, but mostly I want to know who is writing because I can then follow up with more questions.
I can't tell you the number of times I've boarded a plane with my stack of ONE Thing Evaluations or sat in my car before driving home and read through them. Sometimes the responses stir up emotion, sometimes I learn some really valuable things that need to change, but mostly I'm encouraged because people are sharing practical ways that their lives have been impacted.
I've learned that feedback that is collected immediately while it's fresh, while it's real, is the most valuable.
What are some things you've done to gather information and to have a plan for what to do with that?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
I've been listening to this playlist from Keith Green off and on over the past number of months: Keith Green Essentials. He was able to speak truth in ways that I can clearly hear!
We just completed our 2026 Leader Mundial Orange County Leaders Cohort. What an incredible group of leaders that are based in Orange County and impacting the world! We'll launch our 2027 Cohort with registration open in December. If you'd like information on this,please contact me directly HERE. This is for PRIMARY LEADERS of non-profits based in Orange County California.
Tim Elmore will then offer an afternoon seminar on the 17th of November at Concordia University entitled, "The Future Begins with Z". Click Here for more information.
Long format podcasts are rough unless you have a bunch of time sitting in a car or walking. I listened to my second Acquired podcast recently and this one was the story of Coca-Cola. I've always been a fan of this company and brand, so it was a great story of business leadership, innovation and perseverance.
WHO AM I? Last night I found myself at Old Navy picking out Christmas Pajamas so I could match my grandkids!! Being a grandpa is the best!