True confession: I spent last week – between Christmas and New Years – at an “undisclosed location,” with the Shank Clan (12 of us, as I count heads in the Christmas Card picture). I didn’t do much “work,” but what I did with them will have lasting effects in my life column marked “legacy.” Okay, […]

It’s the story that will never get old. And that’s a good thing, because last week – through some creative dramatic means or some clever repackaging – we both heard the story of Christmas for the umpteenth time. We were surrounded at church on Christmas by people who were not there to renounce or reject it.

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long…” Have you heard that before? Usually uttered by the person arriving last – for a long-scheduled appointment – and proposed as a this-settles-everything repayment for the time spent waiting for them. Greg Savage is an entrepreneur in Australia – a noted pro in the executive search business – and he writes a

I need to get in the mood… The holiday music has been playing since Thanksgiving in public settings. Jesus can’t get a hearing among the culture Nazis, but the tunes that connect with His birthday are in a continuous loop from Target to Chick-fil-A, between now and the 25th. Silent Night – and Jingle Bell Rock – are more likely

“Are you in an Accountability Group?” That’s a question often posed in Christian circles; it happens every time the news reports another Christian leader whose bad choices have taken him/her out of their role and unloaded them to the had-been/no-longer-qualified leper colony. It raises intriguing issues: is accountability an elective, or a required status? And,

Makin’ a list; checkin’ it twice… You thought you’d have a break after Thanksgiving to back-off the turkey bloat and reload for the Next Big Day. You’re suffering from Pandemic-Era forgetfulness; the demand is now relentless. Last Friday didn’t get canceled because of politics or pandemic. Retail didn’t have to be “back” to pre-pandemic conditions for the

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was

You cannot lead from behind. Ask Google about “leading from behind;” get ready to sort through 2.5 billion results. Is it possible? The idea isn’t revolutionary: the word picture provides more-than-adequate portrayal of the posture. Spot the crowd; see where it’s headed and then send suggestions to the front – from the rear – about what

Most of us spend our days, lost in the micro… and blind to the macro. In baseball, there is a strategy called small ball. The idea: lacking any home-run hitters, the team relies on getting runners to first base. A steady flow of successes – without “outs” to interrupt the plan to load the bases – should force runs across

Texans call it “all hat, and no cattle.” It’s colorful; it’s descriptive, and it’s going on, constantly. You know it when you see it: someone claims to be something their performance does not confirm. Their rhetoric isn’t matched by their results; their claims fall short of their conduct; they pretend… but, they don’t produce. Look around. How