Scott Cheatham’s Weblog

If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice, I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in you. Point out the road I must travel; I’m all ears, all eyes before you. 
(Psalms 143:8 MSG)

The demands of life sometimes put us in a place where we can feel isolated or at least a distance away from God’s hand.  In our intertwined work/personal life balancing act, the rush of inputs never stops and the furious pace at which we manage them can drain the life right out of us.  That’s why Jesus modeled a life for us that included times of solitude and quiet.  Times to get away from all of it and listen to God.

Let’s face it, if you are a pastor and reading this, you’ve been to that place where you are managing others’ lives better than your own.  You know better but yet, you feel obligated to do it because you love people and you love the Lord.  I do too and I’m blessed with a congregation that at times will tell me that I need to re-charge.  In business, you manage many others’ projects and have to keep a strong communication line open to your superiors.  What gets lost many times is your own soul as you balance the tension between your subordinates and your superiors.  Then there’s the parental responsibilities (if you have kids) of managing your kids’ lives while at the same time giving them life skills to make the decisions themselves, sometimes leaving little time for yourself.  If you have an aging parent or parents, then you’ve added another layer of responsibility to the mix.

Recently, I hit one of those cylces where I felt overwhelmed.  In my early years (when I was in my 20’s), I could rush headlong into it thinking I could outwork it until my fuse hit the powderkeg underneath and I just blew up.  Today, I understand the signs better.  It still doesn’t make managing them any easier but I know when I need to hit the off button, thus my lack of blogging last week in the midst of turning some things off for a bit.  I’ve written before about my dog, Buddy, and how he and I enjoy each other’s company in the early mornings when we are the only two awake.  I believe God knows our needs even in selecting pets.  Buddy is the perfect friend and I find in him a peace that God offers to me.  When I take him for a morning walk, his only compulsion is to explore and find new things.  He chases the squirrels, whimpers at other dogs, and excitedly follows the turning wheels of another car approaching as we make our way around the block.  At times, he points his nose skyward, sniffing out a new scent and trying to make out it’s origin and purpose.  It’s almost as if he looks heavenward and says, “What is this new thing God?”  He delights when whatever it is he was seeking shows itself to him.  Usually, as he goes through all of this motion, I’m quietly praying to God for direction and strength.  As the Psalm above says, “Point out the road I must travel; I’m all ears, all eyes before you”.  Much like my friend Buddy who’s all eyes and ears, I must find that place where I can excitedly find and explore new areas that God shows me.  In the midst of managing task lists, personal items, kids, and the church, I sometimes miss the scents, the sights, and the sounds of what it is God is showing me.  It is in those times, where God can strengthen me and give me courage for the coming journey.  To miss those things because of my own mismanagement is to miss out on the power of the Holy Spirit working in my life.

I do my best to take rest in God regularly so I can continue in what it is he calls me to.  I love God today more than I ever have.  Sometimes though, I wonder if I please him when I neglect the times of solitude he requires of me?  This is something I must get better in.  I thank my dog for showing me a better way!  God, take those times of quiet and use them to point out that road I MUST travel.  Give me your light to guide me.  Give me your courage to strengthen me.  And give me your love so I can give it to others.

Have a great week!

A Flow Chart for Ternouth's System

On Wednesday, I wrote about Merlin Mann’s interview with well known productivity guru David Allen.  For many, Allen’s “Getting Things Done” or GTD system was a wake up call on how to stop procrastination and get moving on work that needs your attention.  During the interview with Allen, Mann references a paper based system of project management by a gentleman named Martin Ternouth.  Ternouth isn’t well known and his system was never published in a book.  In fact, the reference Mann makes to the system is by a forum thread posted on the site of Edward Tufte.

I was intrigued after I first heard Mann mention the system so I began to diligently look for it.  Ternouth is like Cheatham when you try to figure out the spelling of the surname so for a while, I was rebuffed in my search for this name.  Finally, after some searching on Mann’s site, I found a four year old reference to this thread which actually dates back to 2003.  A quick Google search and I had what I was looking for.  You can read the thread and see the description of the system (with illustrations) by clicking here.  It is well worth the read even if you only consider it’s simplicity.

Ternouth’s system is based on a series of slipcovers that he uses to manage various projects and inputs.  Through a thorough review process, the work is thrashed out and relevant paper filed while meaningless bits are “culled” or thrown out.  Fans of GTD will see the similarities and subtle differences in the systems and how Ternouth uses it to efficiently manage large projects and small tasks as well.

I’m surprised that Ternouth didn’t line up a website and set up his system in some ebook like PDF format.  I’m sure many in the blogosphere would pay for a polished presentation of this work.  For now, you’ll need to click the link to the site and page down just a bit before you come to the post describing this system.

Enjoy.  If you use this, drop me a line to let me know.  I would be curious to hear your thoughts.

Merlin Mann interviewing David Allen in 2006

Fans of David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” system will want to check out an old podcast series produced by Merlin Mann of the 43 Folders Blog.  Back in 2006, Mann interviewed Allen for a series of eight short podcasts on the quirks of getting started with the GTD methodology.  These podcasts are still available on both Mann’s and Allen’s respective web sites though I’m not sure if they are still downloadable.  They are listed under the title of “Productive Talk”.  After Mann finished the series he compiled all of the shows into one long podcast of about 90 minutes containing all eight shows in one file.

I recently listened to the shows again to get Allen’s perspective on the future of his system and also to see where he felt it was headed in the next 5-10 years.  It’s interesting to note that he was already hinting about his new book “Making It All Work” that was released earlier this year.  When asked if he felt his methods would be improved any, he simply answered no which was quite refreshing.  In a day when things are repackaged as “new and improved”, Allen said he wanted his work to be able to still be relevant in 25 years as it was when it was released in 2001.  While “Making It All Work” spends some time on GTD, it focuses more on the long term planning aspects that many folks ignore when doing GTD.  The podcasts from Mann provide a nice bridge from the original work to the new one.  

If you’ve read “Getting Things Done” and find aspects of it hard to grasp, these podcasts might just be the trick to get you thinking in the right direction.  Considering they are nearly 3 years old now, they are still quite relevant and address some aspects not covered in the books.  Plus, it’s a nice way of getting to know the creator of GTD in a relaxed atmosphere that’s not quite so businesslike.

I recently finished the audio book “Leaders at all Levels” by Ram Charan.  This was an excellent book on the changing landscape of leadership development.  Whether you are in business, or work for a church or non-profit, finding and training new leaders is a challenge many organizations face.  In this book, Charan first discusses the long existing model of development that has for years put people on a ladder of growth that sometimes takes years to climb.  In fact, Charan references this in saying that executives who hit their 40’s (where I’m at now!) generally are bypassed for higher positions simply because their age prohibits the training ladder they need to climb to succeed.

The book then outlines a new course of development that encourages identifying leaders early in their employment regardless of age (though getting started earlier is better) and taking them on a development journey that will place them in a variety of challgenging growth positions, sometimes even lateral moves, that will round off their education and development of the entire company and not just one area.  The author asserts that this will make a better leader who is able to handle every aspect of the company even if that is not his or her primary responsiblity.  Bringing this to all levels of an organization then conceivably ensures that leaders are being developed in all areas of a company, thus increasing the leadership pool when one is needed when an opening exists.

Of course, there’s more information than just that in this book but the crux of the text is to change our thinking in how we develop future leaders and what that development looks like.  From a business perspective, this model changes the way many human resource departments operate in bringing new leaders to positions within a company.  One thing I think it vital here that Charan hits on is the time factor for training a new person.  With today’s work environments changing rapidly and employees no longer feeling the need to stay with one company their entire lives, the leadership landscape is changing.  Employees move to other companies for new challenges and Charan’s thought here is that a new “abstract” way of thinking in leadership development might just keep quality people around longer.

From a church perspective, I think the concepts here are quite biblical.  Though Charan makes no religious inferences here, his model includes a role of mentoring the developing leader that is not unlike the scriptural advice Jethro gave to Moses when he was leading the nation of Israel out of captivity:

Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.  (Exodus 18:21 ESV)

…and also in the New Testament when Paul was instructing the future leader Timothy:

and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.  (2 Timothy 2:2 ESV)

In churches, we must be careful to look at these two verses and find men and women who fit the description but then, we must let them lead and make their mistakes along the way.  Charan asserts that his model is more open to mistakes because it’s allowing the person to lead in many areas that will strengthen them.  In the same way, church leaders do not need to feel that they are the only gatekeepers to getting things done and allow others to lead also.  Perhaps the increases we see in pastoral burnout and ministers quitting altogether would be lessened if we were wise enough to follow this advice.

Overall, Charan’s book is recommended reading (or listening) to anyone who wants to be a better leader and especially in the area of developing new leaders.  Check it out for yourself today.

My blogging endeavors took a big hit this week.  First, it was tax time and I HAD to get my taxes done so I forced myself to lock in and get them done on Monday.  After several hours of doing that, I thought the rest of the week would be okay.  WRONG.  On Tuesday, my cellphone (which is also our church office phone) started acting funny and by Wednesday, it was dead.

So Wednesday my wife and I traveled to the store to upgrade my phone.  Our plan was due to be renewed anyway so why not?  We both were eligible for free upgrades so my wife gets the new generation Razr from Motorola and I go for a business look and functionality with the trusty Palm Centro. (seen at right).

I’m not big on all the internet functions on smart phones.  I wanted this because I like the Palm environment (it’s sturdy and easy to navigate) and also the keyboard at bottom allows me to text easier.  A few years back, I would have laughed when you asked me about texting but now, with all of my kids either at the teen or pre-teen stage, I’m constantly texting them.  I’ve also leveraged texting for sending me reminders of appointments, task lists, and other helpful tasks.

All was well until Wednesday evening when I realized that the phone was working but not ringing.  To make a long story short, the new phone had a faulty speaker in back so after spending considerable time with the folks at Palm and with my cellphone provider, they finally allowed me to return the thing and get another one.

Thursday night, I traveled back to the store and was told there were no more in stock!  I had to travel several miles south to a partner store to get the exchange taken care of and by then it was late again.  So today, I spent the early morning hours charging the new phone, installing software, and setting it up.  I added an invisible shield protector from Best Buy to the small touch screen to keep it from scratching and now, I’m waiting on the screen protector to dry (takes 12 hours).  By tomorrow morning, I’ll be back up and running with my new phone!

Of course, you have your job, family, and Dad duties as well so you can see why I’ve been absent since Monday morning.  I will say, I like the new phone.  I know it’s older technology given the new screens and Palm’s own ‘Pre that is about to be released but I’ve always found that using proven technology saves headaches.  The reason this phone is so good and hasn’t changed much since it’s introduction in 2007 is because it’s solid and didn’t need much work.  Everyone I’ve talked to who uses one has spoken highly of it.  For the next couple of years, it will get me by just fine!  Now I can text without having to punch numbers three and four times and hoping I get it right!  My son looked at it (he has the LG Shine) and just laughed and said “Yea, this has YOU written all over it.”  I’m glad he appreciates the business “geek” feature of this device.

Next week looks a bit lighter.  Of course, I’ll be planning for Easter but that’s always exciting.  We are hoping for new families in our church and I’ve been busy visiting those who’ve come of late since we finished our move to our new storefront last month.

Have a great week.  Normal blogging resumes on Monday (I hope!)