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‘Why is everyone dragging their feet? Where’s the log jam? It seems as if we’re trudging through the mud.‘

‘That was fast.  That was fun.’

Every organization has what I’d call their ‘pace of progress’ – the speed at which a great idea becomes a reality.  Or, at least the idea is given every opportunity to succeed or fail.

As a leader, manager, or team member, how do we create high performance teams at our workplace, church, or volunteer organization?

We know what mud is.  Let me introduce you to Mondo Super X.  Mondo Super X is the running track surface for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.  It’s the benchmark for performance tracks.

What’s the difference between an organization who’s pace of progress is like trudging through mud and one that’s like running on Mondo Super X?

I certainly haven’t figured out the whole answer to that question.  I have, however, observed some key ingredients that contribute to either the Mud or the Mondo.  Here they are…

Mondo – Collaboration.  We foster dialogue, encourage others to share unfinished work, dream together, solicit input, and own each others success.

• Mud – Self-Preservation.  We keep our work to ourself, reveal nothing until we unveil the finished product because we want all the credit.

Mondo – Delegate.  We delegate leadership, not tasks.  We empower team members to ideate, develop their own strategies, and give them the authority to execute.

• Mud – Micro Manage.  We may listen to their ideas but then tell them how to get it done.  We create frustration.  Of course, it’s because of our ‘vast experience’.

Mondo – Invigorate.  We infuse energy and passion throughout the team.  We articulate with clarity where we’re going, why we’re going there, and to enjoy the journey.

• Mud – Drain.  We drain the team of energy, excitement, and vision because we lack it ourselves.

Mondo – Cultivate.  We cultivate a culture of all the above ‘Mondo’ going on all the time. And, we shovel the mud out of the way when it seeps in.

Do you find yourself more in the Mud or the Mondo in your workplace?  What can you do to shovel away the Mud and lay down the Mondo for your team?

2 Children.

Chad Cargill is one of those guys.  Compassionate.  Passionate.  Energetic.  Magnetic.  Memorable.  I had the pleasure of getting to know Chad on our recent trip together to Nairobi, Kenya.  He is a huge advocate for Compassion International.  He’s one of those guys you just don’t forget.

Chad is the founder and CEO of Cargill Consulting.  He trains students how to increase their ACT scores.  He actually took the ACT 18 times before graduating from high school.  So, he knows his stuff.

6 Children.

Chad stands out to me as someone who has effectively integrated his love for Christ with his business, and, his desire to make a difference in this world.

Chad takes about ten minutes at the beginning of each of his training sessions and shares his love for Compassion International and their cause of releasing children from poverty in Jesus Name.  He encourages the students to get involved in what is called their ‘Cheetah Awards‘.  This school year alone, through the Cheetah Awards, over 300 students have gotten involved and together they have raised over $38,000 for Compassion’s ‘Water Of Life’ initiative.

10 Children.

Chad’s family and his church also fund the Child Survival Program at the Kamangu Child Development Center.  The infant mortality rate in the developing world is horrifying.  Worldwide, over 8 million children under 5 die each year.  4.5 million of those children are from sub-saharan Africa.  As a comparison, in the industrialized world (that’s you and me), about 100,000 children die each year.

12 Children.

The video above is Chad sharing his heart.  The video below is the reception we received at the Kamangu Child Development Center from the mothers and some of the children who are the direct recipients of the Child Survival Program.  I’d say they’re a bit thankful.

Chad, hats off to you, my friend.  Thanks for being so inspiring to everyone around you.  If anyone is traveling through East Africa and sees some locals wearing Oklahoma State orange, they’ll know Chad Cargill has been there ‘sharin’ the love’.

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Sadly, that’s approximately how many children died from mostly preventable causes while you read this short post.  Chad, his family, and his church are doing something about it.

Be different.  Make a difference.

I have a personal ‘board of directors’.  Not for our church.  Not for my chain of frozen yogurt stores.  I don’t actually own any frozen yogurt stores but I’m thinking about it.  Why?  Not sure.  It just sounds fun. 

My personal board of directors are men who regularly speak into my life.  Their primary purpose is to provide counsel that helps me stay on course with what I believe God has created me for.  They coach me.  They challenge me.  They’re also a sounding board for some of my high risk ideas.

Proverbs 11:14 says, ‘Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers.’  We rarely come to clarity alone.  We’ll never reach our potential without someone else challenging us to bring our best, day in and day out.

Here’s what I look for in my board of directors:

1.  I trust them.  I need to be transparent and speak honestly with these guys.  Bottom line, I know they have my back.  I trust them.

2.  They add value.  Who they are adds value to who I am.  They have strengths and characteristics I can learn from and strive to emulate.

3.  They speak the truth.  They tell it like it is because they know that’s what I need to hear.  Also, they don’t rescue me from my struggles.  They know God is at work and realize that intervention may abort God’s development plan.

4.  They ask the right questions.  Asking the right questions is key in developing others who are hungry to grow.  Their questions help me to increase self-awareness.

5.  They bring perspective.  They see things from a different angle or a different altitude altogether.

6.  They believe in me.  If they didn’t believe in me, they wouldn’t waste their time.  We all need someone who genuinely wants us to succeed and is willing to cheer us on.

Could you benefit from having a personal board of directors?  Even if you’re Mr. or Mrs. Awesomeness, there’s more in you.  Invite someone in to help bring it out.

How do you go about assembling your personal board of directors?  You recruit them.  They’re likely already too busy to help.  That’s exactly who you want.  Recruit people who you have a hard time keeping up with.  They’re faster, smarter, more creative, more resourceful, and maybe just plain more successful than you.  They pull you up toward greater things.

Meet Harriett Mwakwida.  Since 1996, 2nd grade, Harriett has been sponsored through Compassion International.  Compassion’s work is to release children from poverty, in Jesus Name.

Harriett’s personality is contagious.  Her hunger for Christ, love of life, and great attitude made it very enjoyable to hear her story.  About being sponsored, she says, ‘Someone has sponsored me.  They have never seen me but they care for my life.  It has really impacted me and has given me the desire to accept anybody and not be selfish…’

She is now in Compassion’s Leadership Development Program.  To her LDP sponsors, Harriett says, ‘David and Catherine from California, I thank God for you.  You’ve really impacted my life….I don’t have enough words to give you thanks, but deep in my heart…I’m grateful.  May God bless you.’

A number of things really stood out to me as I had the privilege to meet so many sponsored children, students, and families of those sponsored around Nairobi.  One of the biggest things was how very personal and important the sponsors were to them.  The handwritten letters they receive from their sponsor is also a huge deal.

Imagine 1.3 million children around the world sending and receiving multiple letters every year.  That’s a big undertaking.  I’ve had the opportunity to write letters, see them processed at Compassion’s headquarters in Colorado Springs, observe the system in the Kenyan national office, and then see them pulled out of a coffee can in a mud hut in a rural area outside of Nairobi.  It works and it’s a big part of what makes sponsorship so great.

Be different.  Make a difference.

If Harriett’s story has inspired you to sponsor a child through Compassion International, this link will let us know and lead you where you can take action – http://www.compassion.com/kenya2012

I love a good coffee house.  A good coffee house has great coffee and a great vibe.  There’s nothing worse than a bad coffee house.  Bad coffee and a bad vibe, that’s a sacrilege.  

Prior to a recent trip to Oklahoma City, I tweeted about visiting one of my favorite coffee stops while in the area.  My friend, Brian Witham suggested I also stop at The Credo House.  He said it was the coolest one he’s ever been to.  So I did.

The Credo House is fantastic.  Great vibe.  Great coffee.  And, even better, they have a unique vision as to why they exist.  I had the privilege of spending some time with The Credo House executive director, Tim Kimberley, as he joined us on our recent trip to Nairobi, Kenya, with Compassion International.

Tim chronicled his experience with Compassion.  If you’re someone who loves the details of both human impact and the practical business of making it all happen, you’ll enjoy reading his thoughts about the trip on his posts ‘How To Disciple 1.3 Million People‘.

I asked Tim to share the vision of Credo House on this video.  It’s unique.  It’s different.  Even the vision has a great vibe.

From Canada to Kenya.  A long distance story of love and redemption.  It’s my pleasure to introduce you to Jerusha Oluhano.

At six years of age, her father abandoned her and her family.  With little to eat and needing clothing, Jerusha began to find help and hope through her local Compassion International Child Development Center .

The long distance difference.  At the same time, thousands of miles away in Canada, a family decided to try and make a difference through child sponsorship.  Jerusha became the recipient.  Once sponsored, through the influence of her local Compassion staff and volunteers, she accepted Christ as her Savior.  Jerusha’s mother also received Christ as a result of participating in Compassion’s classes for mom’s on caregiving for their children.

Jerusha says that after her mom gave her life to Jesus, ‘That brought a light and restored hope in our family.’

Jerusha is the first person in her family to attend Jr. and Sr. high, otherwise known as secondary school.  She recently graduated from the University of Nairobi with a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy.  Her ability to go to college was the direct result of her sponsors bringing her through Compassion’s Leadership Development Program.

About her sponsors, she says, ‘They’ve been amazing to me, a family to me. They restored hope to me.  I always knew that I had a father in Canada.  Though far away, close by letter.’

As sponsors, our family has enjoyed our experience through Compassion International.  However, before this trip, I grossly underestimated the impact sponsorship has not only on the life of a child, but their family and community.  The ripple effect of sponsorship is amazing.  It is quite possibly the most efficient and effective means of making a difference in a child’s life spiritually, physically, economically, and socially that I have ever seen.

Dear Canada, Jerusha asked over and over if I would make sure to get this video to her sponsors.  She wanted to make sure you both saw and heard how grateful she is.  I will work to make that happen.

Be different.  Make a difference.

If Jerusha’s story has inspired you to sponsor a child through Compassion International, this link will let us know and lead you where you can take action – http://www.compassion.com/kenya2012

Meet David Kiragu.  David is an energetic and incredibly like-able young man.  He and I met on my recent trip to Nairobi, Kenya.  David was sponsored through Compassion International at the age of ten years old.  He’s now twenty-two.  He has been sponsored by the same family from the United States for twelve years.

David is a success story.  Compassion works to release children from poverty, in Jesus Name.  Through his sponsorship, David was able to attend primary school, secondary school, and, through a program called the Leadership Development Program, David has become a student at Pan Africa Christian University in Nairobi.  He is pursuing a Bachelor of Business Leadership and majoring in accounting and finance.

David says, ‘It was through Compassion that my dream was restored. I’m now able to dream again and again.’

It’s my privilege to share his thoughts and thanks with you through this short video.  To Lil and Joseph, wherever you are, your own compassion and desire to help has released this young man from the negative affects of poverty and has given him the opportunity to pursue his dreams.  God has used you as a force for change.

Be different.  Make a difference.

If David’s story has inspired you to sponsor a child through Compassion International, this link will let us know and lead you where you can take action – http://www.compassion.com/kenya2012.

Saturday, January 14th, was an amazing day.  On my trip with Compassion International, we visited what’s called Compassion Project KE555 in an area populated by people called The Maasai.  This video was part of a re-enactment of a wedding they did for us.

In this community, 273 children are sponsored through Compassion International.  In addition to visiting with the whole community, we also spent time with the local Compassion staff, the pastor of the church in which the work was based, and the children as they were experiencing their Saturday activities provided through Compassion.  As I sat in on one class, I saw two ladies teaching and interacting with the kids at a level I’ve rarely seen before.  It was a great reminder that ‘missions partnerships’ which engage the passion, skills, and assets of the local community are the best way to go about this kind of work.

A few things really stood out to me.  First, everyone, including the kids, absolutely love the presence of Compassion International in their community.  Second, it was very evident that lives were being changed through this work.  We met a lot of the parents of the sponsored kids.  Many of these parents had asked Christ into their life because of the love being modeled by the local Compassion team.

At each location we visit, our Compassion hosts expose us to the big picture of how sponsorship impacts the whole community.  We also see how sponsorship profoundly impacts the family of each child.  That’s why we also visited some homes.  One such visit was with an eleven year old girl named Hillary and her family.  Hillary is sponsored by someone in the US.  While sitting inside their little mud hut, I couldn’t help but think, ‘If those who sponsor these kids could be sitting here right now, they would be tearfully beaming with joy and thanking God for how their small investment was literally and dramatically making a difference.’

If you sponsor a child, or many children through Compassion, keep it up.  This thing actually works.  It even goes beyond what you may imagine.

I’m writing this post from London, England.  Why?  Read on.

Handouts are necessary in times of desperate need such as a natural catastrophe, war, and other situations where relief and intervention become the first response.  A hand up is what’s necessary when someone is subject to a lack of opportunity and the basic needs of day to day life.

Our family sponsors Jefferson.  Jefferson is a boy who lives in Ecuador.  We met Jefferson through Compassion International.  Compassion, through its donors, resources local churches around the world to holistically impact the life of children in their community.  They minister to the kids in the areas of health care, education, nutrition, and life skills – while holistically nurturing the child spiritually, physically, economically, and socially – all in the name of Christ.

Today I’m en route to Nairobi, Kenya, with Compassion International. I’ve been to Nairobi before and I love it. This is the first time going with Compassion.  My goal is two-fold.  First, it is to see the operation of Compassion’s Child Development Centers.  This is where the action happens.  This is where the rubber meets the road and where the local churches invest into these children.  I expect to increase my already high level of trust and confidence in this world-class organization.  Second, I hope to learn some things I will be able to bring back and apply to our efforts in what we’re doing through our children’s orphanage in Uganda.  I can’t wait to soon share how you can get involved with that.

I want to thank Compassion International for what they do and the example they set for the rest of us.  Check ‘em out by clicking on the graphic above.

She said, ‘You need to read this book’.  That’s happened before – someone gives me a book they think I must read.  I took it, with a smile, assuming I’d never read it.  I put it on the shelf.  Two years later, I pick it up.  I open it.  I can’t put it down.  The title of the book is ‘The Hole In Our Gospel’ and the author is Richard Stearns, the CEO of World Vision.

Injustice.  Lack of opportunity.  Infant mortality.  Lack of infrastructure.  Tuberculosis.  Malaria.  Dysentery.  Disease.  Poor sanitation.  Lack of clean drinking water.  War.  Rape.  Orphaned.  Lack of education.  Everyday life for our brothers and sisters who live in some parts of our world.

In the book, Stearns says, ‘Imagine for a moment that you woke up this morning to the following headline: ‘One Hundred Jet Airliners Crash, Killing 26,500.”  He later says, ‘Now imagine that the very next day, one hundred more planes crashed – and one hundred more the next, and the next, and the next.  It is unimaginable that something this terrible could ever happen.’

Stearns wakes us up to the harsh reality that yesterday, 26,500 children died from preventable causes related to their poverty.  It will happen again today.  It will happen again tomorrow.  It will happen again two days from now.  It will happen again the next day….

Joseph Stalin (yes, Stalin) said, ‘One death is a tragedy.  A million deaths is just a statistic.’  PAUSE.  Read that again.  Think about that.  Now, let it hit you and me like a ton of bricks.  26,500 children dying today is, for the most part, just a statistic to many of us.  Would I be politically incorrect to say that’s just freaking wrong?

You can’t do everything.  I can’t do everything.  The problem is simply overwhelming.  However, you can do something.  I can do something.  What can you do?  I’m not sure.  What can I do?  I’m trying to figure that out.  I suggest you get this book and let it rip you up, chew you up, spit you out, and, after you pick the pieces back up, go to our big God and ask Him what He’d like you to do about it.  I’ve been asking Him that for myself and I think I may be getting a glimpse of what that could be.  More about that another time.