Hello Everyone
Lesson # 1
I am flying high today. I had a wonderful day yesterday. I attended the Northpoint Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. Wow what a church. I wish church and Sunday School had been this way when I was a little boy. I saw hundreds of kids from little ones to teenagers whom were excited to be in church. When I was little, my brother and I tried every excuse to try to get out of going because it was boring and not a bit fun.
The key to Northpoint’s success is that they stay relevant. They have different programs for every age group that are relevant to their ages. Lot’s of music, games, and humor make it as exciting as going to Disney World. Creating the right culture and environment is the name of the game for any organization. When your employees or volunteers and customers or church members wake up in the morning and are excited to come to work or church or to come into your business as a customer, you have created the right culture and environment. Culture and environment are not part of the game. They are the game.
If you are having service problems in your business or decling membership in your church, visit Northpoint, pay attention and I guarantee that you will leave with many great ideas on how to create a healthy, respectful, inclusive environment and culture in your organization.
When customers or members are declining in any organization, they are leaving because you are no longer relevant.
Study the best if you want to be the best. Experience the best if you want to know how excellence looks and feels.
Lesson # 2
How you respond to any situation is totally in your control.
I was looking through the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People this week and thought that this was a good subject to talk about.
Responsibility is defined as “you having the ability to decide what your response is going to be to something.”
“response-ability”
- You can decide to “respond” in a negative way or a positive way to just about anything.
- Being professional or unprofessional is a choice that you make when you respond to a situation.
- “Responding in a defensive way or in a way that shows flexibility is a choice.”
- Some people get into a bad mood and use that as the excuse for how they responded, and this is a choice, as it is all in your mind.
If your personal value is always to be positive and professional, then you won’t find yourself in negative territory very often with negative responses.
Remember as I have said to you often: Be careful what you say and do as they are watching everything you do and everything you say and judging you.”
Be responsible and pick the right “response,” because you are the only one who has the ability to be responsible for what choices you make, and those choices can take your life either up or down. You are in the driver’s seat—show others what “response-ability” looks like. . . . Lee
2 Responses to “Think Before You Respond…Be Responsible”
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Linda says:
This is such a tremendous gift. With a day of deadly blizzards and tornadoes, your entry on thinking before responding was a great reminder that the one element we can control is how we choose to respond. Today, for me, it is with gratitude. Thank you, Lee.
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Elizabeth says:
This is so true as a parent as well.
Sometimes I just need to take a deep
breathe and count to five while I
consider my options rather than saying
the first thing that comes to mind. I
think responsibility is probably one of
the most important things we can
model for our children (or staff).
Lessson # 3
My next two day leadership, management and service excellence workshop is coming up in Dallas on April 2-3 and then in NYC on May 7-8 and in Chicago on June 4-5. If you are interested go to my website for more information at: www.LeeCockerell.com
Have a great week everyone…..Lee
Lee…I was in attendance yesterday at North Point and I want to thank you for sharing your wisdom and humor in your talk. I was struck by the common sense suggestions you offered. It seems today that many ofus are looking for the next big thing in management but yesterday I realized that the magic we all seek is already imbedded in us! Thank you for the wake up call that I plan on sharing your message to all I know.
All the best to you and your family.
I hope you don’t mind, but I am finding myself comparing my leadership skills with my horse to those you have written in your book and here on your blog. I am very new to training a horse and for some strange reason I find myself the owner of a 2,000lb, 6 year old deaf clydesdale. Talk about a challenge. I have been reading how to best train him, deal with him, treat him and found that the Natural horsemanship the way to go. Your blog here was quite similar to what I have been finding. Be careful of your response because you don’t know how your 2,000lb animal will react. Earn his respect and trust. And for the last piece of truth for me is “Be careful what you say and do as they are watching everything you do and everything you say and judging you.” And just because he can’t hear me, doesn’t mean he doesn’t understand how I am feeling. A horse doesn’t lie and you can’t lie to a horse.
Mr. Cokerell,
I was in the audience when you spoke at NPCC on Sunday and appreciate you coming to spend the day with us. Your advise resonated with me personally and professionally and have shared many of the things you shared with us with our Management Team. All great reminders …
We’re glad your experience at Northpoint was a good one. There are many things that make attending NPCC a “magical experience” … we have a leader in Andy Stanley who has a vision, we are reminded each and every week that our mission is “to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ” and it is hard to argue that God’s presence flows in and through the place in our worship, our baptism and our service.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with us both professionally and personally and I appreciate NPCC inviting you to come speak with us!
ps – I loved your wife’s letter to Rush Limbaugh. Please tell her so for me!