It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

COMMUNITY.

That's the theme for the coming weeks, and today I want to simply set the table for this conversation.

I miss people. I don't miss seeing them or talking to them, because I've been able to do that, but I miss hanging out with people in person and being with groups of leaders and friends.

I'm tired of technology. I love technology, appreciate it, but I'm just tired of sitting in front of my screen and connecting virtually to people I care about.

I need people speaking into my life. I think that I, along with others, have used this crazy pandemic as an excuse to quit working on "community". Earlier in the year it was a temporary inconvenience that we could all get through, and as the days and weeks continued to move, I just got lazy and have used so many excuses as to why I can't connect with people.

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

People usually are placed in 2 categories:

• Those who HATE and AVOID CONFLICT at all costs

• Those who EMBRACE and MANAGE CONFLICT in a healthy way

Which one are you?

I was one who didn't run from conflict, but I didn't manage it in a healthy way. I was reminded this weekend when our friends Phil & Elizabeth visited us, about a major conflict Phil and I had early in our work and ministry together.

I was out of the country (we were living in Ecuador at the time), and Phil was left to run one of our summer programs. We had communicated and planned for this time, but we had some mis-communication along the way that resulted in a moment of major conflict on a phone call. Our voices were raised, we were disagreeing and arguing, and it wasn't healthy. We were in a crisis situation and each of us had a unique perspective on how we ended up there, but it was bad. Even just thinking about that time this weekend brings up some emotion, and this event happened almost 20 years ago.

We got through the conflict, and each of us made some concessions, and when we came back together we talked about it, we worked through it, and learned from it. I remember asking for forgiveness for my behavior and Phil also asked for forgiveness.

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

I want to share ONE THING that I learned from reading one of my favorite books this year, "Small Giants", by Bo Burlingham.

This book surprised me because I thought it was simply another business book that studied the behavior of a bunch of companies, but instead, it challenged me in my thinking. It took reading the book, then listening to the book on Audible, then talking about it with some colleagues for the power to really set in, but I want to share my biggest takeaway from this book:

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

Ken Blanchard is an influencer.

He has been influencing leaders for years and his books, which are written in a way that people can really understand, provide deep leadership concepts with a clear way to apply the principles.

The first book I read of Blanchards was his book co-authored by Spencer Johnson, entitled "The One Minute Manager". It impacted me because he was teaching the concept of servant leadership to business leaders. I recently pulled "The New One Minute Manager" off my shelf, and am still inspired by the power of these words. Today I'll share my ONE THING from this book:

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

I want to be a REAL leader.

I'm not saying that I'm not a leader, I just want to be REAL. In a world where leadership is being challenged, where sincerity is being questioned and where power and control is something to achieve, I don't want that. I want to be real.

We're talking about ONE THING that we're learning from some books, and today I want to share TWO THINGS, but they're connected. The two books I'm talking about are below:

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

I found this book years ago while browsing through a bookstore in an airport and I really enjoyed reading it. I recently pulled it off my shelf to look at again, and decided to use the title to inspire us to share some things we're learning.

Many times, we read a book and there are so many great ideas and concepts, that when we are finished, we are simply overwhelmed, so we don't act on any of them.

This book is a challenge to identify the ONE activity, the ONE idea, the ONE task, the ONE THING that leads to your greatest productivity and do that.

I'm going to gather a couple of my favorite books, and over the next few weeks I want to share THE ONE THING that stood out to me that I was actually able to process, apply and develop to affect my leadership.

I'd like to ask you to share some of yours. Do it simply:

• What's the book?

• What's The One Thing that stands out to you (we all see different things)?

• How has it made a difference?

Send it to me HERE and I'll share it with others reading this weekly post.

Here's my ONE THING from The One Thing:

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

I don't know about you, but I need to be inspired!

I look for inspiration all around me.

I look to many of you for that inspiration as you lead in so many different settings, cultures, locations and organizations.

During this crazy "season" that we've all been in that has been full of unexpected challenges, regular changes and a blend of fear and discouragement, I found a source of inspiration when a friend recommended it and I began to listen to a podcast on my daily walks.

Today's note might sound like a commercial, but I wanted to share with you the source of some of my inspiration over the past number of months.

Guy Raz has a podcast called "How I Built This" on NPR (National Public Radio) here in the U.S.A. In each episode, he tells a story about some of the worlds "best know companies and the innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists and the movements they built."

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

There's a TV show in the US called, "What Would You Do" hosted by John Quiñones. The premise is simple: "When you think no one is watching, what would you do?" They create scenarios with actors to see how people respond to injustice, discrimination, and a number of other situations. They film the action, and the idea is that when people are given the opportunity to do the right thing, or the wrong thing, what will they do?

People can either surprise us with the quality of their character, or they disappoint us through the depth of their failure.

Does anybody know the "real you"?

This is a loaded question for those of us in leadership. We're often leading a group, a meeting, a team. People follow our vision. They follow our leadership. Our life work involves PEOPLE. We're surrounded by people.

But, do they know the "real me".