English

Are you connecting with your people?

Are connecting with your people? Simple question. Are you honest with yourself in your answer?

Yesterday I had the opportunity to sit in a small intimate meeting with John C. Maxwell as he talked to us about how to connect with people. It was classic John. One of the most gifted speaker / teachers that I have had the privilege of learning from.

Here are the notes that I took when he was speaking. When I take notes I try not to write down everything, instead I try to write down what I am thinking about what he said. I trust they will help you as well.

How to connect with people

• Be open and honest with people. Have I been open and honest with people?
• Be bigger and better on the inside than on the outside. How is my character, attitude, and spirit? Am I trying to be something other than who I am?

Connect: The ability to be able to identify with people and relate to people in such a way as to increase our influence.

5 connecting principles

1. Connecting increases your influence. Am I growing or decreasing in my influence?
2. Connecting is all about others. Do I put others first?
3. Connecting goes beyond words. How am I communicating?
4. Connecting always requires a lot of energy. Do I always give my best?
5. Connecting is more skill than natural talent. What am I doing to improve?

5 Connecting Practices

1. Connectors connect on common ground. Do I make myself available, listen, ask questions, and call people by name?
2. Connectors do the difficult work of keeping it simple. Do I try to show how much I know, or do I make it applicable?
3. Connectors create an experience that people enjoy. What can I do to help people remember the time I spent with them?
4. Connectors inspire people. Do I value people I interact with?
5. Connectors live what they communicate. Credibility- am I accountable, have I made right my wrongs?

The good news - Everyone can learn how to connect. Are you connecting with people today?

 

Are you letting others choose for you?

I started going through the book “Boom!” by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg, and frankly I learned so much in the introduction that I simply choose to stop reading to just share some of the insight I am gaining from the book.  You see, the book is all about seven choices that you will make in your business. These aren’t choices your business will take; these are choices that you personally will make. But I must tell you- I am not even out of the introduction yet and am already challenged. Let me share some with you.

There is a question that is raised “…who ultimately restricts my ability to choose- who gets in the way of the freedom that I crave and deserve? Most of us allocate the source of that restriction “out there” and give away our power to choose to other people.” – Think about that for a minute. Don’t we all say that we can’t do something because of this, that, or even them? Here are a few things you may have heard around the hall in your office:

• If only leadership would listen.
• My boss won’t let me do that.
• Everyone is doing too many jobs and cannot get to my project yet.
• Sales aren’t living up to what they promised.
• If I only had more time.

I have to admit that I have found myself saying one or more of these at some point. I get going through a rough time and I look for roadblocks to justify why I cannot move forward. I have found myself waiting for answers, waiting on decisions, waiting for the economy to improve, waiting for someone to take the lead. And perhaps that is where this book just suddenly hit me in the introduction to the seven choices that I must make when it tied the consequences of our actions back to the choices.

It is in the introduction that they lay out choices that I, you, we all make for one reason or another and some of the consequences. Here is a piece of what they say:

• You Choose to compromise who you are by attempting to fit in.
• You Choose not to stand up to the board because you need a better business case for your intentions.
• You Choose not to stand up to senior leadership because you fear their response.
• You Choose to be a part of a culture of fear by letting people intimidate you.
• You Choose to stay in a culture where you feel choked.
• You Choose not to cast a vision for your own part of the organization.
• You Choose not to confront sales, so they continue to make life difficult for you.
• You Choose to be helpless and not make a difference.
• The point is, in every case, You Choose.

Perhaps one or two of these apply to you. In any case I would challenge you, as I am challenging myself to choose to make a difference. Choose to stand up and cause the boat to rock a little. You are where you are in any organization to make a difference, not just go along for the ride. You have a choice.

Max Lucado - a picture is worth a thousand words.

Here is a quick link to several pictures from our trip so far with Max Lucado in Brazil. You can also follow us on Twitter at #MaxBrazil or #Fearless or @MaxLucado or as a last resort @LarryADowns. I say a picture is worth a thousand words- and that is good- because the blog below is in Portuguese.

Link to Pictures of Max in Brazil.

Follow Max Lucado and team as we travel through Brazil

Today, Friday, Max and team (Denalyn Lucado, Steve Green, and Cheryl Green) just landed in Brazil. This will be the start of a 10 day tour through the main cities of Brazil, speaking at over 16 live events. This is all being done through our publishing group Thomas Nelson Brazil under the leadership of Carlo Carenho.

I will fly down Sunday and join them there in Sao Paolo and travel with them through Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro. I am very excited about the opportunity to see Max and team love on the folks there.

We are going to try and cover this trip just a little different. Let's call it an experiment. We are going to Twitter the tour. English, Portuguese, and Spanish. (if you use Tweetdeck - try the auto translate tool).

Max and I will be Twittering back as well as Carlo and the rest of the Thomas Nelson Brazil team. We will try and share thoughts, pictures, and videos as much as we can to allow those not traveling with us to share in the excitement of the trip.

You can follow us at any of the following: #MaxBrazil #fearless #maxlucado #larryadowns #lucadonobrasil

Below is a video that Max posted to YouTube via Twitter as he was ready to leave Dallas.

Spanish publishing and the new Kindle 2

Last week I ordered in the Kindle 2 from Amazon. I know there are hundreds of blogs or reviews out there on the Kindle, but I could not find one as it related to Spanish products. So I thought I would place a few thoughts here and allow you to interact if you have one as well. Let me start at the top as for the why I went ahead and got a Kindle.

I was sitting in a meeting and we were discussing the future digital strategies and publishing. I have always said it is about content delivery, not about publishing books. But yet as the conversation went deeper I realized that I had read about, watched others use, but never even held a Kindle. And here I was pontificating on the future of publishing and digital content; I was like so many other publishers who have great head knowledge but zero experiential knowledge. So right there in the meeting I interrupted my boss and said, “I believe that each of us here needs to buy a Kindle to help us understand better how the future will be.” He agreed and in 30 minutes my Kindle was on the way.

Here is what I found and liked:

An Update on the Max Lucado Honduras trip April 23 – 25, 2009

This week I returned from a time invested with Max Lucado in Honduras. What a wonderful experience it was with an equally wonderful result. If you will remember, we stated earlier that our goal this year was to get away from trade shows as much as possible and invest that money in key authors travel as well as marketing in various countries. Our desire is to make an impact in a city or country that will in turn have an effect on the consumers of that region for years to come.

 

Max was a joy to travel with. He took the time to greet people, hug on readers, sign a few books, and to hear the heartbeat of the country from the hearts of men and women. Max held several conferences, amongst them was a “Key to Success” conference held at the largest private university in Honduras, UTH (Universidad Technologico de Honduras), a Pastor and Leader’s conference both Friday and Saturday which was held at the Iglesia La Cosecha. But the main event was just that- the main event. He spoke at the Fiesta Catracha on Friday and Saturday evening. This was also televised via the Enlace (TBN) network throughout Honduras and Latin America. On Friday night we had some 65,000 people there, and Saturday was close to 100,000 who packed the field to listen and enjoy the great music as well. It was truly a sight to behold and an evening that I will not soon forget.

 

So there you have our first trip using our new strategy – local impact. I think we are off to a strong start.

Max Lucado is coming to Latin America

Beginning this month, April, bestselling author Max Lucado will be heading to select countries in Latin America over the course of the next few months. This is all part of our move to create a bigger impact with certain key authors as we invest in individual countries allowing the author to interact strongly with both retailers and consumers in their home countries.

The first country on the list for Max will be Honduras. Max will be participating and speaking at the Fiesta Catracha as well as several other events in the San Pedro Sula area. I will be able to be there for a few days and am looking forward to hearing Max speak again.

In July Max will be visiting Brazil. Max used to live in Brazil and this will be a sort of welcome back tour throughout the country. Max has burst upon the scene lately with the publishing done there at Thomas Nelson Brazil. We will be launching Max’s new book “Fearless” there in Brazil. This will be a full 6 weeks before it launches in English or Spanish. For more information on the Brazil visit see www.semmedodeviver.com.br

In September we will be touring through Mexico making stops in both Monterrey and Mexico City. During this time we will also be launching the “Fearless” book in Spanish. Max will be helping us celebrate with Distribuidora Maranatha / Ariel 25 years of service there in Mexico. I will be working this month in Mexico on this event as I am en-route to Honduras. September will be a very busy month for us as we launch “Fearless” across Latin America.

If you are going to be in one of these areas when Max is there- you don’t want to miss it. I look forward to seeing you there. And be sure to reserve your copy of Fearless, it promises to be one of Max’s best books yet.