Steve Holden's Blog

Thoughts & Tips for April 2018

 

Photo by Hudson Hintze on Unsplash

Technology

I used the Pisen Wireless Presenter Laser Pointer 2500 for teaching my first GTD course.  I found myself using the mouse I had hooked up to my computer more.  I think that when I'm teaching, at least in the beginning, I like being anchored to my workspace with all my references.

I ordered another Wyze camera to do some physical security testing around the home. I think the new upgraded one is going to have better tracking capabilities.

Thankful For

My first Vital Smarts' new 1-day Getting Things Done (GTD) went well and so did my 2nd one.  I have another in April and then I should get my certification.

Easter was on April 1! (TODAY!)  And it was wonderful.  Here is a picture from the top of Mount Helix with your Praise Band playing:

I really enjoyed re-reading Ready Player One and then seeing the new movie.

Future

My first Vital Smarts' new 1-day Getting Things Done (GTD) training classes at work is scheduled for March 8, 2018.

I think we are going to take a day in April and go up to Disneyland.

And my 24th Wedding Anniversary is coming up on April 9th.

Tip

Get a labeler and label everything.   It got mind from Costco - Brother Model 1890.  I use it for file folders, boxes, cables, etc.  Here is another great testimonial. 

Also these CHVRCHES sessions at Power Station on the Honda Stage are excellent: Mother We Share, Get Out, XO, and Never Say Die.

Quote I'm Thinking About

"A problem well stated is a problem half solved." – Charles F. Kettering

Thoughts & Tips for February 2018

Photo by Steve Holden

Technology

I found out a gotcha with my new Zoom H6 Portable Audio Recorder.  You need to format the card on the H6 before you record anything.  If you don't, then the files saved are in a strange pseudo file system that can't be recognized on desktop OSes (Mac, Windows, Chromebook, Linux, etc).  To get the audio off you'll probably have to use Audio Out and record the audio on another device (like a PC running Audacity).

Thankful For

The trip to Hawaii with Conrad was awesome.  We got to swim with sharks!

Hamilton was good. I am glad I got to see it.

Future

I am still working on setting up Vital Smarts' new 1-day Getting Things Done (GTD) training classes at work.  I need to create a Wiki for the course, use our training system to create a record for each class, and reserve rooms for three dates into the future.

This two-day course at Rescue Academy with Mike Foster from Feb 8-9, 2018 is going to be interesting.

Tips

Regular morning routines before I go on a run have really helped me have the right mindset for the day.  I start off praying and reading a daily devotional (~10 minutes), and then I doing a series of pushups, stretches, and situps before running (~10 minutes).

Google Keep has two good reminder options.  One is time based - like set a reminder for April 1, 2018.  The other is geolocation based.  The next time at "Costco" buy XYZ.

Global Leadership Summit (GLS) 2017 Notes (#gls17, #gls2017)

I recently attended with many members of Christ Lutheran Church the Willow Creek Association (WCA)'s Global Leadership Summit 2017 (#gls17, #gls2017).  I experienced it via remote campus video streaming at Journey Community Church in La Mesa (@Journey_Church). They are awesome hosts!

My full notes that I took are available in PDF if you are interested.  (Original version posted on 8/18/2017. Updated on 8/19/2017.)

In reviewing the notes before posting this, I've been thinking and contemplating on the following 'big ideas' since the event:

• We need leaders who do not fight with each, but work together.
• At the end of each day, list three things that you are grateful for in a journal and reflect on them.
• There is no correlation between thinking you are creative and being creative.
• We (as followers of Jesus) have to be with the people who have problems. Be close to people who are suffering.  Go where the pain is. Serve them.
• Create within your organization a culture that recognizes and embraces change rather than resists change.
• If you (as a leader) give ‘freedom’ to your employes at a level that starts to make you feel uncomfortable, then you are on the track.
• WHITESPACE is a ‘strategic pause’ taken between activities, and we all need more pause in our lives.
• Studying "Failed Teams" is not going to show you how to build "Best Teams."
  
• Consider this: 'talent x effort = skill' and 'skill x effort = achievement'. Effort counts twice.
• Courage like fear is contagious.

I also have notes from 2014 and 2016. If you have any comments, questions, thoughts, etc. on any of the topics in this post, then please let me know.

Global Leadership Summit 2016 Notes (#gls16)

I recently attended with many members of Christ Lutheran Church the Willow Creek Association (WCA)'s Global Leadership Summit 2016 (#gls16).  I experienced it via remote campus video streaming at Journey Community Church in La Mesa.

My full notes that I took are available in PDF if you are interested.

Each speaker had a great depth of insight, wisdom, suggestions, etc.  Here is one quote or thought from each one of them:

• It is cruel to not tell the employee how they are doing. - BILL HYBELS
• Everyone knows the plan, the status, and areas that need special attention. - ALAN MULALLY (wikipedia)
• All lives are equal and work on behalf of others. - MELINDA GATES
• We put a . (period) at the end of our title but God puts a , (comma).  - BISHOP T.D. JAKES
• Customers want: product is perfect, you serve them timely, and that you care. - HORST SCHULZE
• The four skills of EQ (Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Management). - DR. TRAVIS BRADBERRY
• Cultural Mapping is critical to understand if you are working with other cultures or countires. - ERIN MEYER
• Row row row your boat: Drifting is not going to get you there. - WILFREDO DE JESÚS
• When interviewing a top candidate you need to get them out of the standard interview scenario and see how they react with people. - PATRICK LENCIONI
• There will always to be more good ideas than there is capacity to execute. -  CHRIS MCCHESNEY
• Your negative “TAPES” (playing in your head) hold you back, they need to be put on hold. - DANIELLE STRICKLAND
• FAITH is from God, FEAR is from Satan. - JOSSY CHACKO
• People have uphill hopes and downhill habits. - JOHN C. MAXWELL

In reviewing the notes before posting this, I think the following big ideas are worth highlighting:

• Everyone wins when leaders get better.
• Leadership is moving people (energizing them) to a preferred future (from here to there).
• Deal with reality and trust by work together.  Move RED to YELLOW to GREEN status reporting.
• When in empowering: #1.) Build their character. #2.) Empower through relationships; and #3.) Agree to the right outcomes with measurable metrics.
• Are some people better team players? Yes, and they (universally?) have these values: Humble, Hungry, and Smart.
• Work on only 1-3 Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) at one time.

I've also attended in the past and notes for 2014 are available if you are interested.

If you have any comments, questions, thoughts, etc. on any of the topics in this post then please let me know.

Short Introduction To David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD)

On Sunday, July 17, 2016 I did a little presentation at my church about David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD).  Here are the references I used to prepare:

• Getting Things Done (2nd Edition)
• Getting Things Done (GTD) Website
• The GTD Workflow Map (PDF)
• David Allen coaches Dutch TV host Linda through GTD (YouTube)
• Getting in control and creating space | David Allen | TEDxAmsterdam 2014 (YouTube)
• The Art of Stress-Free Productivity | David Allen | TEDx Claremont Colleges 2014 (YouTube)
• David Allen: Getting Things Done at Google 2007
• Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and the Business of Life by David Allen

The focus of the presentation and the hands-on exercises included:

1. Mindsweep
2. Two Minute Rule
3. Project Brainstorming

Here are the PDF copy of the presentation+notes.

Other material highly recommended for additional personal development (not in any particular order):

• The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? by Rick Warren
• How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
• The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done by Peter F. Drucker
• The Effective Manager Hardcover by Mark Horstman 
• What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith
• Simplify: Ten Practices to Unclutter Your Soul by Bill Hybels
• The 7 Levels of Change: Different Thinking for Different Results by Rolf Smith

Notes From Leadership Summit 2014

Below I have a link to an Adobe PDF of my personal notes from attending Willow Creek Association's Leadership Summit 2014 this past week.  I was not able to attend in person, but I did attend via video broadcast with my church at Journey Community Church in La Mesa, CA.

Here are few take aways:

• Leadership requires a commitment to a constant and dedicated learning process that never ends.
• Leadership is not management.  If you want to be a better manager, then check out: www.manager-tools.com.
• Successful deployment of strategies and vision require teams, and teams require multifaceted leadership skills/abilities/traits (for instance: humility, vulnerability, trust, truth, honesty, integrity).
• Sometimes you just need to "figure it out."
• Michael Jr is very funny.

Next year's conference is August 6-7, 2015.  If you get a chance, then I highly recommend you attend if you are in a leadership position.  I probably won't be able to attend as next year's DEFCON is August 7-9, 2015.

Here is the link to the PDF.  Let me know if you have any questions, comments, corrections, etc.

 

You Are Invited To Christmas Eve Services 2012

Our church - Christ Lutheran La Mesa (7929 La Mesa Blvd., La Mesa, CA 91942) - is having three Christmas Eve services in 2012:

• Saturday, December 24 - Family Christmas Worship with Children's Message at 3:30 p.m. in the Church Sanctuary. This service is designed for young families and incorporates traditional Christmas carols that are family friendly to sing as well as a special children's message geared for our kids, led by Cheri. Childcare is available in the nursery.
• Saturday, December 24 - Christmas Worship with Communion at 5:30 p.m. in the Church Sanctuary. This service features the celebration of Holy Communion as we celebrate Christ's birth. Join us afterwards for hot cider and cookies on the patio. Childcare is available in the nursery.
• Saturday, December 24 - Candlelight Worship at 7:30 p.m. in the Church Sanctuary. This service features our choir as well as our traditional "candlelight ending" as we sing together the great carols of Christmas for those passing by on La Mesa Boulevard. As we conclude, we will have the opportunity for hot cider and cookies on the patio.

There will also be a service on Christmas morning:

• Sunday, December 25 - Christmas Day Communion Worship at 10 a.m. in the Church Sanctuary. As we celebrate the birth of Christ, we celebrate the gift of His Supper, receiving the body and the blood of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. The message is from John 1, the Christmas Day Gospel reading, and speaks of God among Us which the Christ Child brings as He moves into our hearts and lives.

Unwrapping Christmas 2010 in San Diego, CA

Unwrapping Christmas 2010 in San Diego, CA via Christ Lutheran Church in La Mesa, CA:

• Sunday, Dec. 12, 10:30 a.m. (Gym) - Christmas Worship with Sunday School Puppets
• Wednesday, Dec. 15, 6:00 p.m. (Gym) - Preschool/School Christmas Program
• Sunday, Dec. 19, 8:00 & 10:30 a.m. (Sanctuary) - LESSONS & CAROLS with Sanctuary Choir, Handbells, and Instruments

Out Christmas services include:

• Thursday, Dec. 23, 7 p.m. (Gym) - Pre-Christmas Contemporary Worship with Praise Band and Grounded Band
• Friday, Dec. 24, 5:30 p.m. (Sanctuary) - Family Christmas Worship with Children's Message 
• Friday, Dec. 24, 7:30 p.m. (Sanctuary) - Festival Candlelight Worship with Handbells and Sanctuary Choir
• Saturday, Dec. 25, 10 a.m. (Sanctuary) - Christmas Day Communion Worship with Handbells
• Sunday, Dec. 26, 10 a.m. (Sanctuary) - Standard service

Location: Christ Lutheran Church, 7929 La Mesa Blvd, La Mesa, CA 91942. Phone: 619.462.5211.

Christmas Services - East County San Diego (La Mesa, Lemon Grove, El Cajon, Etc)

LOOKING FOR 2010 DATES & TIMES?!?

If you are in San Diego County (La Mesa, Lemon Grove, San Diego, El Cajon, etc) then please feel personally invited to my church this Christmas 2009 season.

The church is located at: Christ Lutheran Church Ministries, 7929 La Mesa Blvd, La Mesa, California (Google Map).

We are offering the following opportunities to worship and fellowship:

Sunday, December 20

• 7 p.m. - Grounded  Christmas Worship in the Church Sanctuary

Wednesday, December 23

• 7 p.m. - Christmas Family Worship in the Gym

Thursday, December 24

• 5:30 p.m. - Communion Worship with Choir in the Church Sanctuary
• 7:30 p.m. - Festival Worship with Classic Brass and Choir in the Church Sanctuary

Friday, December 25

• 10 a.m. - Communion Worship in the Church Sanctuary

Thursday, December 31

• 7 p.m. - New Year's Eve Communion Worship in the Church Sanctuary

Easter 2008 Sunrise Service @ Mount Helix, La Mesa

Our church - Christ Lutheran - is hosting the Easter 2008 Sunrise Service at the top of Mt. Helix starting at 6:30 a.m. on March, 23 2008. If you are an early riser, then please feel invited to join us.  It should be a beautiful morning given the current weather in Southern California.

This is the 91st Sunrise Easter Service held at Mt. Helix, La Mesa, California.

The message from Pastor Richard Burkey will be based on "3:16: The Promise" by Max Lucado

There are complimentary shuttles starting at 5:30 a.m. from Grossmont Center Mall, Brigantine Seafood Restaurant, and Mt. Helix parking lots on Vivera Drive.

In addition, we are hosting Easter services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m at Christ Lutheran Church (619-462-5211), 7929 La Mesa Blvd, La Mesa, California.