Mike Walker

BIG NEWS!!!!

I am excited to announce the new website for Mike Walker Creative! 

Thank you to the team at Church Media Group for an amazing job! Yuri Star, Travis Gates, and their team did exceptional work! Thanks guys!

Stop by and check it out. The new site will also be the new host for the blog. The new location will be www.mikewalkercreative.com/blog. The past year has been an incredible journey and I look forward to the ride over the next few months. 

See ya there!

Lessons learned from baseball

Every morning I head to Starbucks to grab a Venti Americano and catch up on my ESPN radio.

This morning the announcement came out that Major League Baseball is going to try out instant replay in their fall league. 

A lot of baseball purists are openly speaking out against it as technology shouldn't be a part of the game and it will slow it down (I guess they haven't figure out that it's baseball and there isn't much you can do to make it slower).

The radio host made a brilliant point. He said "do the purists not realize that a good number of people sitting in the stands at the game are working or playing on their PALM or BlackBerry device? They are likely listening to the game on SIRRIUS Satellite radio. They probably purchased their ticket online. And, they probably got to the stadium by using a GPS system. If the people you are trying to reach and connect with are in the 18-28 year old range then they are using technology."

What about in the churches, are you using technology to it's fullest? What audience are you trying to connect with? Are they a group that is tech savvy? If they are then take a leap and meet them where they are and figure out how to incorporate more technology (effective technology) and reach them.

It's ok to try a few things. Going back to some sports examples, the NBA tried enforcing a dress code which many thought would fail and it turned out to be a great thing. At the same time, they also tried introducing a new ball and it didn't last. Point being, try a few things and see where it takes you.

It ain't all about the gear...

I was recently brought in by a church that was experiencing some "technical difficulties" after moving in to their new building.

Upon arriving the staff informed me that they were fairly frustrated and they were not sure what to do. As the conversation moved on they kept expressing over and over how frustrated they were because they had just spent a huge sum of money and didn't feel like their systems were all that great.

After about 2 hours of letting them vent I began to dig a bit in to what all had been put in to play. What I found was that they had some pretty amazing sound, lighting, and video systems put in to play. In fact, they had very little to complain about.

I pulled a team of trusted friends together who were audio engineers, lighting programmers, and video engineers. We were able to come back in and run through a weekend with their staff while operating their recently purchased gear.

At the end of the weekend the staff pulled me aside to tell me how everything looked and sounded different that weekend and wanted to know what we did different. Imagine the surprise of the staff when I informed them that we didn't change a single thing. Which then posed the question....well...then what was the difference?

The ONLY difference was that we had great people at key positions. Great gear is only that....great gear. If you don't have properly trained people then you will end up with a very high priced frustration.

Take some time and do an evaluation of where your staff is and what they are really capable of. If you don't really know how to evaluate them then bring in someone who has a better idea how to bring some light to the situation.

If your staff isn't where you thought or hoped they are not all hope is lost. Invest in your people. Bring in a team of experts who can help bring out the most in your team....after all....it ain't all about the gear.

Wikinomics

I have been reading a book called Wikinomics. The book talks about a whole lot more than what I am going to write about. Below are some thoughts I have been jotting down as I am reading so I thought I would share.

"Net Generation" Leader - my thoughts on Wikinomics and how it relates to culture and leadership

Born 1977-1996
First Generation to grow up in a digital society – we are probably about 5 years from seeing the emergence of the leaders of this generation.

They grew up more in a digital culture than boomers or genexers did.

We grew up socializing in malls, burger joints, etc….this generation is connecting on the web.

Yesterdays web was a noun – todays web is a verb

University of Berkeley-based social scientist Danah Boyd research online social behaviours. She states that sites like Myspace and Facebook allow young people to reclaim private space. It’s like inviting someone in to your bedroom except that with Myspace you can invite them in 1000 at a time. They lack control at home and they don’t see home as private space.

Online offers safer solutions for teens. Malls and 7-11’s wont allow them in unless they are accompanied by parents.

Academic studies show a massive decline in interest and enthusiasm related to school work. Everything else is so much more engaging. We are still learning through reading and regurgitating.

A younger generation doesn’t trust advertising or media as much as they do peer-to-peer opinions and social networks.

Net Geners workplace needs – speed, freedom, openness, innovation, mobility, authenticity, and playfulness

They are on a quest for “newness”

It’s a new day…Leadership models are changing, marketing changes, delivery methods are changing…..we keep trying to “keep up with the cultural changes, but what we are really addressing are cultural symptoms. We end up a day late and a dollar short. We HAVE to innovate not only our delivery methods, but also our developmental methods. We are missing it right now as a church culture. We all have websites. Many of us have Myspace or Facebook pages, but we are failing in our attempts to be “relevant” to our culture because we have failed to understand the changes that have taken place. We are trying to lead and grow from an old model that has already begun failing us.

If the N-Generation doesn’t trust advertising or media then they probably don’t trust leadership…and they probably don’t trust the church.

It’s been interesting to watch the Grassley investigation unfold. There are those in the Christian Community who want to know why more Christians aren’t outraged and screaming out against it. Maybe, just maybe there is lack of trust in todays church. Maybe, deep down people aren’t crying out against the investigation because, while they want the allegations to be untrue, maybe they think they COULD be true.

As a side note, I have worked with Joyce Meyer on a couple of occasions and I will be shocked if anything comes out negative on her. My experience with her organization has been that they try to make sure everything is above the bar in all areas of their ministry. She really just wants to reach people. The others that were on the list and made public I do not have experience with so I will refrain from commenting on them.

We can become upset over this fact OR we can understand that this is where this generation is. This is how they think and feel. What we need to do is figure out how to connect with them. Take away all the smoke and mirrors and give them something authentic to look at. We all talk about being an authentic church, and while WE talk about it…what are the people outside our staff really saying? Do they see us as authentic or do they wonder if it’s all real?

Here is the thing about your brand….it’s not what you say it is….it’s what THEY say it is. What do the people walking in the door have to say about you? What do the people NOT walking in the door say about you?

Again, we are missing it. Once things go well we think we have it figured out. The toughest thing for any team to navigate is success. Success makes you forgive things that would otherwise be sins.

What we end up doing is that we think we have stumbled on to a magic formula and that anything we say or do will be successful. We quit paying attention to the thing that got us there in the first place. For many of us, we have forgotten about our customer. Yes, that’s right the customer. Every time someone comes in the church, tithes, engages with you online, etc… they are saying yes to you and no to someone/something else. We have forgotten our passion and why we got involved in the church in the first place.

What does all this mean in the grand scheme of things? I think I have more questions than answers, which is to say I don't know that I know right now, but it certainly provides some great things to think about....

Creating a GREAT website

Seth Godin had a great post on doing a great website. I am in the process of relaunching my own website and came across this so I thought I would share it with you all.

www.sethgodin.typepad.com

Off to WFX!

Thursday morning I am headed off to Atlanta for the WFX conference. It's only in it's 3rd year, but they are expecting over 5,000 folks.

I am speaking on Friday morning about branding and discovering your creative DNA. One of the things I see so often in organizations is a lack of understanding about their own brand. With that comes a lack of understanding on how to most effectively deliver their brandin and their message to the public. I am always excited to talk with other folks about discovering and developing their DNA. I will post more on this later.

I look forward to seeing so many folks that I only get to see 1-2 times a year. It's always fun to connect and hear about what others are doing all over the country. If you haven't gone you should certainly plan on attending next year. If you are coming this year....see ya there!

New Website

Well, it's finally here....MikeWalkerCreative.com has finally got up and running. Between a busy work and travel schedule it's been tough to get all the information pulled together. It still has some tweaking to be done on it, but it will get there soon....keep checking for updates as there is lots more to come in the weeks ahead.

New Laptop

I have been going back and forth for the past several months over what to buy for a new personal use laptop. After many hours of my poor wife having to listen to me debate the pro's and con's of different products and manufacturers I finally made a decision.

On Saturday evening, after services were over in Grapevine at FC I went and picked up my new 12" Mac PowerBook.

Since I am travelling some these days the portability of something smaller and light was a huge selling factor. It's been years since I have touched a Mac, but after playing with it a couple of hours I have been asking myself why I havent gone down this path sooner. It's easy to use, versatile, intuitive....I love it!