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Tigers, Coddling and Leadership

Assume with me that the goal of every “good” parent is to raise children to be smart, well rounded, and who will discover and fulfill their greatest potential. Most parents will agree with that statement, but when we begin to talk about how to accomplish that, the consensus generally stops. What type of parenting is most effective in achieving this goal? Consider a set of articles that appeared recently in back to back weekend editions of the Wall Street Journal.

It started with an excerpt from Amy Chua’s new book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” where she describes Chinese mothers as being superior in their tactics of raising children to get straight A’s, and play the violin or piano.She didn’t allow her two daughters to attend sleepovers, watch TV or play computer games, be in school plays, choose their own extracurricular activity, not be the top student in class, and not play the piano or violin. Though she had “clashes of wills” with them, they learned to meet her high expectations, and her oldest teenager played the piano at Carnegie Hall.Amy’s perspective is summed up this way.”Western parents try to respect their children’s individuality, encouraging them to pursue their true passions, supporting their choices, and providing positive reinforcement and a nurturing environment. By contrast, the Chinese believe that the best way to protect their children is by preparing them for the future, letting them see what they’re capable of, and arming them with skills, work habits and inner confidence that no one can ever take away.”

As you can imagine, there was a firestorm of responses from readers.Ayalet Waldman provided a rebuttal the following week by saying that her four children of a Jewish mother were allowed to sleep over at friends houses, participate in and quit any extracurricular activity, play on the computer and surf the internet, and not play a musical instrument. She recounts a learning challenge that one of her daughters faced.Ayalet’s constant tutoring and practice drills only succeeded in making her daughter miserable, until they found a specialized training program and enrolled her in it.It was a grueling program for a second grader, but her daughter persevered to complete it and overcame her issue, not because of her parent’s pressure, but because she loved books and wanted to read.Ultimately Ayalet said “Amy Chua and I both understand that our job as mothers is to be the type of tigress that each of our different cubs needs.”

Leaders have a challenge similar to the mothers in these articles.Their goal is to develop individuals into high functioning teams, leveraging their specific skills to accomplish organizational objectives. They need to identify emerging talent and develop them to take on greater responsibility becoming the leaders of tomorrow. There are probably millions of books on how to be a great leader, with an equal number of different perspectives. What’s the right approach? The answer is a combination of the organization’s culture, the leader’s personality and talents, and the individual employee’s traits and skills.And the basis of this is every good leader’s gut instinct on what’s right for their team; what works for the moment; and what motivates the group.

As a leader, are you as attentive to developing your team as you are to raising your children? Or are you as focused on motivating your children as you are on getting results out of your team?Proverbs 22:6 directs us to train our children in the way they should go, so that when they’re grown, they won’t depart from it. So be attentive as a leader to train your team based on their needs; whether your style is to be a tiger mother, to coddle them, or hopefully something in between.Ensure that they develop to their highest potential.

Copyright 2011 Priscilla Archangel

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior, by Amy Chua, Wall Street Journal, January 8-9, 2011, page C1

In Defense of the Guilty, Ambivalent, Preoccupied Western Mom, by Ayalet Waldman, Wall Street Journal, January 15-16, 2011, page C1.

Treasure in the Clouds

I’ve seen a number of articles recently talking about cloud computing. Though I knew it really wasn’t computers in the clouds, I decided to understand a bit more about it.  Basically, it operates like the internet.  Instead of retaining software or data on your computer, it resides in a remote server or data center and is accessible anywhere an internet connection is available.

Wikipedia says that “Typical cloud computing providers deliver commonbusiness applications online that are accessed from another Web service or software like a Web browser, while the software and data are stored on servers.” Individuals can store and access their personal data “in the cloud” or some type of remote server; and businesses are moving their data to cloud computing companies who will store their data, maintain the technology infrastructure, and ensure the security of it.

For most individuals and businesses, their most valuable asset is their data or information.  Think of it; most of our material possessions are replaceable, and if they cost a lot, they’re also insured.  Your house and its contents, your vehicle, and your expensive jewelry are (or should be) insured.  Your company’s buildings, equipment, and inventory are insured.  Thus, if they are damaged or destroyed, the insurance company will give you the money to replace it.

The only thing that cannot be replaced if it is lost is your data or information.  So accounts receivable or payable records, information about customers, financial accounts, marketing strategies, legal records, engineering drawings, manufacturing processes, etc. must all be stored safely to ensure it will never be lost. This is the intelligence or brains of your life and your business, and a valuable treasure.  And who among us hasn’t at least once had a moment when an important document we were working on was somehow electronically lost, never to be found by any expert technician; and we didn’t have another copy!!!  In fact, you’re even receiving this newsletter via a cloud computing service.  So aside from the people in our lives, what we value and treasure most is generally not tangible and must be safeguarded.  

My most important treasure is the promises that God has given specifically to me about my life and future.  I’ve written them down, read and reread them, meditated and prayed on them. This is the product of who He uniquely created me to be, and its irreplaceable.  That’s what gives me purpose and direction. My heart is caught up in Him, and His promises for me. I store my treasure of promises in His clouds, His place of safekeeping that ensures that not one word that He has spoken will be forgotten, lost , nor will fail to come to pass. I want the most important information I own to reside with the One who I know will keep it securely, yet provide access to it whenever I need it.  We should give our thoughts, hopes and dreams to God.  Rejoice at God’s word as one who finds great treasure in the clouds. (Psalm 119:62)

God’s Addressable Ads

Targeted TV Ads Set for Takeoff”.That’s the headline in the Wall Street Journal (December 20^th Section B) announcing that DirecTV will rollout “addressable ads” which will allow advertisers to send targeted commercials into around 10 million homes, based on the interests of that household. They’re partnering with Starcom MediaVest which purchases ads on behalf of major consumer goods companies.

A test conducted earlier by Starcom and Comcast Cable with a smaller target audience provided evidence that households receiving targeted ads changed the channels 32% less than homes which didn’t receive the specific ads.The DirecTV initiative will reach many more households, and while this is a $10-20 million venture, Merrill Lynch projects that by 2015, addressable ads will be an $11.5 billion business.

The basic premise of course is the ability of cable TV and other companies to collect and utilize information about its customers so that these customers will receive advertisements targeted to their interests. Advertisers can use their marketing dollars more effectively based on age, income, gender, interests purchases, favorite channels, etc.The customer in turn will receive messages that advertisers think they will be more responsive to, thereby increasing the likelihood of purchase, instead of changing the channel when a commercial comes on.

I admit that commercials are sometimes just interruptions to what I really want to watch on TV.I don’t have TIVO so when I’m watching TV (and generally multitasking doing something else), it’s easy to just ignore the commercials. This reminds me a little bit like life; busy focusing on work, meetings, family, friends and so many things to do; all the “important stuff”.Then here come the commercials; someone trying to tell me something for my own good, or warn me about the future. But do I pay attention or stop and listen?

In 1998, an anonymous donor purchased ads on billboards in Florida, and posted catchy but realistic messages such as:

• Will The Road You’re on Get You To My Place? –God
• Have You Read My #1 Best Seller?  There Will Be A Test.  –God

The messaging became a hit and billboard companies, among others continued the posts.

These words are like addressable ads in our lives from the God who knows our demographics, likes and dislikes, need and wants.He knows our present, our future and more importantly His purpose for our lives, and wants His very best for us.He’s constantly trying to communicate information and direction to us.Like an advertisement, He wants us to make a commitment, and offers himself in an appealing, loving and tender way. He programs messages to be delivered to us in a variety of ways; something a colleague says, a needy person on the street, a TV channel that we flip to; a song on the radio; a scripture in the Bible.

These are all ways that He uses to tell us how much we need Him; to share His wisdom and direction; to help us to focus on His will for our lives.God guarantees confidentiality of the personal information He has about us, but uses others to confront us on our behaviors.

So what message is God addressing to you? What “ad” has He placed on your “lifetime TV” to encourage you to make a commitment to Him, to take a particular course of action in your life?How many times will you have to “view” the advertisement for you to act on it? God is continually sending you programming that’s unique to His purpose and plan in your life.Just like addressable ads from your cable TV supplier, you can choose to view it, or you can ignore it. Your cable company knows what they want you to see for their corporate gain, but God knows what you need to see for your personal gain.Pay attention to His programmable ads.

“O lord, You have searched me and known me, You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways” (Ps 139:1-3 NKJV).

Want Insider Information?

The federal government is increasing its investigation into insider trading activities on the part of hedge funds and expert trading networks, according to an article on Marketwatch.com on November 23, 2010. They are concerned that these experts are providing investors with data that is significant enough to be considered insider information. ‘Expert Networks’ under microscope: Firms that connect consultants to investors hit by insider-trading probe also says that investors are increasingly concerned that the government may be changing its definition of insider trading and insider information.

According to the article, written by Alistair Barr and Sam Mamudi, expert networking firms “connect experts with investment firms that are trying to learn more about an industry or delve deeper into an issue or a company”. The firms generally have strict guidelines to ensure their experts comply with applicable laws on not providing non-public or sensitive information. This is part of the “mosaic” approach to investment research where investors gather many pieces of information that individually are not considered material, but collectively may provide valuable information without violating laws regarding securities.

When I think of the mosaic approach, I picture a stained glass window.  It’s comprised of many colored bits of glass that individually have no value or beauty, and provide no clue to what it could become. But when assembled to form a picture, and light shines through the colors in the mosaic; it tells a story, reflects its splendor onto that which is around it, and manifests the talent of the craftsman.

Investors want to assemble all the pieces of the mosaic and somehow put them together, like pieces of a puzzle, to see the entire picture of a company, and to understand what its future will look like. Very likely, we all want to gather pieces of expert information that we can assemble to show us things to come, so that we can make the right decisions today.  We want to optimize every possibility that our investments will have the highest returns, and get in on the leading edge of the next hot commodity or IPO.  We want anything that we spend our resources on — time, money, or energy – to yield positive results. We want to ensure we make the best personal and business decisions that will support accomplishing our objectives and achieving our future desired state.

Expert information is valuable in every aspect of our lives.  What business decisions should we make? Where should we invest our personal funds? Who should we hire? What job should we take? What career path will enable us to reach our goal? We research these issues; talk to “experts”; pay consultants for advice; work hard; work smart; and at the end of it all, try to assemble all these pieces of “mosaic” information to make the best decision possible.

But what if you had an expert network legally providing you with insider information to help you make the right decisions for every aspect of your life? What if you knew the craftsman who was creating your mosaic?  What if he revealed to what some of the pieces looked like and how they fit together, so that you could begin to understand the final picture?  This insider information would give you an understanding of your purpose in life, the decisions you need to make, and the actions you need to take.

Well I can introduce you to the master craftsman who can provide that insider information. You can have your own personal expert network to help you optimize how to manage your valuable resources. The only requirement is that you spend time getting to know this expert, and developing a relationship with him.  His information will require you to invest your time, it will require you to adjust your priorities, but this investment will provide increased returns in every area of your life.

This expert is none other than the Most High God.  His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm119:105).”The entrance of [His] words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130 NKJV).  Choose to seek the insider information that God will provide to you.  He will guide your decisions in the right pathway to success in Him.

Who is the God of All Things?

The November 22, 2010 edition of Newsweek has a picture of President Obama standing on one foot, with six arms and hands holding a house, a dove, a stethoscope, a globe, a military helicopter and a wad of money.It looks to me like he’s juggling the housing crisis, peace, health care, world issues, the military, and the economy. The caption reads “God of All Things: Why the Modern Presidency may be too much for One Person to Handle”.

The article, by Daniel Stone, talks about how the demands on the role of the President of the United States have increased in recent years due to the many issues and crises he’s expected to address. Add to that the fact that the speed of communication with the internet and multiple 24 hour news outlets can quickly transform minor stories into major ones.It goes further to say that the pace at which the White House staff operates appears to be almost beyond the capability of any normal organization, and their bandwidth seems stretched to capacity.There’s never enough time to discuss all the issues that the staff would like to review with the President, and his nightly briefing book is sometimes the size of a telephone book.

Whew! I don’t envy his job, and whether you’re Republican, Democrat, Tea Party or Independent, it’s obvious that no single person or party has all the answers to the challenges in the U.S. or circling the globe. Unfortunately, many people do expect the President to be the god (or God?) of all things.They expect him to find a way to address all the issues listed above, in addition to crime, poverty, natural and man-made disasters, and many more.

But let’s be real, there’s only one person who can do that.The Most High God.There’s only one person who has the wisdom to know what to do in every situation. The Most High God. There’s only one person who can guide the nation, even the world to peace, and provision. The Most High God. The God of creation is the same God today who can reveal solutions to problems, change situations overnight, overcome enemies, and heal the nation.

Psalm 138:4-5 says”All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord, when they hear the words of Your mouth. Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord.”The rulers of nations praised God for His wisdom and instruction. There’s nothing too big for Him to handle.And the Lord particularly wants to provide instruction to rulers, because their decisions can impact so many people for good.”Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.” Psalm 33:12.Our entire nation can be blessed when we submit to God. He’s promised us His inheritance. Everything He has including wisdom, understanding, insight, and instruction is for us.

Maybe you have days or weeks or months when the pressures of your role seem to be closing in on you.Others’ expectations of your performance, and your team or organization’s ability to deliver seem unreasonably high; and challenges press in from all sides. I invite you to recognize the God who organized all creation, who established the limits of the seas, placed nature in order, created the beasts of the field, the birds of the air and creatures in the sea, and the system in which they operate.This same God can make order out of the chaos in your world, place His wisdom in your spirit, and provide answers to the challenges you face.All of this is freely available to us as we develop a relationship with Him, seek to know and understand Him better.

So I know who is the God of all things. I know who has the bandwidth to handle our nation’s problems. I know who has the answers for the challenges we face. My prayer is that our rulers will know Him too, and turn to Him for guidance in every situation.

Foolishness or Wisdom?

Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.   I Cor 1:25

As leaders, valuing wisdom comes naturally.  We want to make right decisions, possess good judgment, exercise discretion, and have extensive knowledge in our areas of responsibility.  We expect to establish solid strategies and plans to accomplish objectives.

But the foolishness of God is far greater than even the wisest man.  Imagine that in God’s weakest moment, He is infinitely greater than man’s strongest moment.  When we submit our lives and our plans to Him, we may at times think situations or decisions are moving in a direction opposite to what is right or necessary.  But God says He will destroy the wisdom of the wise and make the understanding of the prudent of no value (I Corinthians 1:19).

With all the economic challenges we’re currently facing, it’s easy to move into worry and fear, particularly if we’re depending on man’s economy.  But if you get a glimpse of God’s economy, God’s wisdom for our finances, business, and welfare we might realize that He operates with different laws and rules.  We might realize that God can take our man made situations and turn them into God sized opportunities for His will to be accomplished.  We might realize that God’s abilities are limitless and He can turn circumstances around in ways we never dreamed; using strategies we could never imagine; through situations that we could never think of.

Let’s learn to view the circumstances around us through His eyes, and look for His wisdom.  Let Him reveal His mysteries and His glory to us. Let Him reveal His power through our weakness.