Tag: Michael Hyatt

Michael Hyatt, Catalyst 2011

October 5, 2011 / / 1 Comment

I’m at Catalyst Conference this week, and I’ll be blogging what I feel are some of the most important sessions.

In this lab session, Michael Hyatt spoke on the importance of the leader’s heart.

On a retreat in college, Michael’s pastor said this:

Based on my experience, by the time you are 55 years old, 10% of you will act like you never knew Jesus at all. 70% of you will be compromised. 20% of you will still be following Christ, and if you want to be a part of that 20%, you have to make a commitment to be in it for the long haul.

This had a profound impact on his life.

What happens to the 80% that don’t make it? Those people lose heart in some way.

This truth is particularly important for leaders.

You will maximize your influence as a leader when you embrace 5 truths about the heart.

5 Truths About Your Heart

1. Your heart is the essence of your identity.

This is particularly important to grasp in a world of social media, where the image triumphs the reality. Don’t lose yourself in your image! The Bible uses the word, “heart” over 1,000 times. Matthew 5:8. Matthew 6:23. Matthew 15:18. Matthew 22:37.

Today, you are you. That is truer than true. There is none alive that is you-ier than you. – Dr. Seuss

The essence of who you are is your heart. It’s where your dreams, hopes, fears, love, and disappointment live in this sanctuary. But the world’s focus is too often on the external image.

In 1 Samuel 16.7, we see that the Lord looks at the heart, because that’s what matters most.

A question that John Eldredge asked rocked Michael’s world:

How is your heart?

2. Your heart is the most valuable leadership tool you have.

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” It doesn’t say, “If you can squeeze ‘guarding your heart’ into your to-do list…” Your heart is the wellspring of life!

We often think that leadership is about your knowledge, experience, or skills. But it’s about your heart…because it’s the wellspring of life.

A few things about springs:

  • If you stop up a spring, it stops flowing.
  • If you pollute a spring, then what comes out is toxic.

The same is true for your heart.

3. Your heart directly impacts your influence.

Physically, your heart keeps you alive. Your body can’t survive without this vital organ.

Hyatt was brought to the hospital and treated for pneumonia, but 4 days later, he was rushed back to the hospital because of a ruptured gall bladder. But he has found out that, as important as it is, he’s really okay without a gall bladder. But if you lose your heart, you’re dead.

This is also true in a spiritual sense. Your heart is what keeps your organization alive. As a leader, you pump personality into every person and project you meet. Your organization can survive without your skills and knowledge, but it can’t survive without your heart. Your heart is the greatest gift you bring to your organization.

4. Your heart is either healthy or unhealthy

Cardiovascular disease happens in our bodies when arteries harden and blood flow is constricted. Cardiovascular disease is the quiet killer.

Spiritually, it is as well. It takes leaders out when they don’t even know it. And the truth is this: your heart is either open or closed.

When your heart is closed, it looks like this:

distant, aloof, lost in your own problems, can’t connect with people, communication shuts down, leave people on your team to fend for themselves, and people feel oppressed as life and possibility dries up.

But when your heart is open, it looks like this:

When you’re a leader with an open heart, you’re fully present and accessible. You’re focused on others, you connect to people, communication is wide open, you’re a resource to your people, you may focus on what is missing but you don’t focus on what’s wrong (be careul…it’ll suck the life out of your team), people feel free, you’re pumping life and possibility into the organization.

It matters if your heart is open or closed.

5. Your heart is under constant attack.

Satan’s primary objective is to take you out and render you ineffective for God. We do have an enemy, and he takes us out at the level of the heart. We can allow disappointment, disillusionments, and failures to steal our heart if we don’t guard it.

You’re never too old to do something stupid. Don’t ever give up!

Proverbs 4:23 encourages us to guard our hearts. Because there’s something valuable and precious there that needs to be guarded.

Satan is particularly adept at taking out the hearts of Christian leaders. Because he knows that if he takse you out he can take many others out with you. People are watching and hoping that you’re going to make it.

Having close friends is a key to keeping your heart alive, especially considering that pastor burnout is such a massive problem.

The heart is like a drawbridge. Sometimes it needs to be drawn up. But other times it needs to be let down and let others in.

We’re called to love and lead from our heart.

 

 

How to get your inbox to Zero in 1 click

March 21, 2011 / / 3 Comments

Michael Hyatt has some great suggestions for staying on top of your email HERE.

But personally, my way is much faster, cleaner, and lets you get on with the rest of your day before 8:05.

How to get your email inbox to zero in 1 click:

 

Michael Hyatt and growing your platform

October 6, 2010 / / 5 Comments

Michael Hyatt, at Catalyst 2010, offers three ways you can grow your platform:

How do you grow your platform?

1. Establish a command center. This is a homebase, that you own and control, whether a website or a blog.  The most important thing you can do is write compelling content on a consistent basis.

2. Set up embassies. These are places you don’t own or control, but have a regular presence.  The trouble with making these places (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) a command center is that they could go away.  Case in point…Myspace.

3. Develop an intelligence agency. Monitor what’s being said about you or your company, because stuff is being said!

What’s your platform?

 

Follow Friday

September 10, 2010 / / 0 Comments

I’m convinced that Twitter and social networking are operating on the cutting edge of society.  Not necessarily the platform itself, but the opportunities it opens up for the spread of ideas.  What used to take hours to reach the print is now being spun out in real time.  What you used to have to wait for the evening news to see, you can now see instantly wherever you are.  What used to take months to get to to the print press as a book is now updated daily.

But social media is so large, now, that it can be tough to find those people that you’d like to follow.

For a while now, Twitter users have been promoting their friends using the hashtag #FF (which stands for Follow Friday).  Basically, on Friday, you mention a few people that you enjoy following on Twitter, and encourage others to follow them, too.  (by the way, if you need a crash course on the language of Twitter, read mine HERE)  Here’s an example:

It’s kind of like Facebook’s “Suggest” button.  Mike suggests that people follow these Twitterers.  Make sense?

I’m taking this concept one step further.  I’ve been on Twitter now for about 2.5 years, and have stumbled upon some great leaders.  To save you the time of reading their updates and visiting their blogs to see if they’re worth following, I’m handpicking the best of the best.

Not on Twitter?  No worries. Even if you don’t use Twitter, you can follow people on Twitter. Just open up a Google Reader account, and subscribe to their RSS Twitter feed. (that sentence lose you? Don’t fear. My explanation of Google Reader is HERE)

Each week, I’ll present a different crop of Twitterers that you need to be following.  This week, I give you 5 people who are influencing me right now.  You should follow them…immediately.

5 people influencing me:

Seth Godin – Seth Godin is a entrepreneur, author, and speaker.  And he’s a marketing genius.  His books are helping shape the way I think about leadership and influence. Follow him on Twitter, @ThisIsSethsBlog and find him on his website HERE.

Matt Chandler – Pastor at The Village Church in Dallas, TX.  I often listen to Matt’s sermons when I run…which means I laugh, I’m convicted, and when I’m done running, I have pages worth of notes in my head.  My small group is also going through his Philippians study.  Follow him on Twitter, @mattchandler74

Michael Hyatt – Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, Michael is a prolific blogger (blog HERE) and Twitterer.  His content is consistently helpful and insightful for me in my area of leadership.  With my love of leading and writing, I don’t miss one of his posts.  Follow him on Twitter, @michaelhyatt

John Burke – Pastor of Gateway Church in Austin, Texas. His book No Perfect People Allowed will mess you up. Follow him on Twitter, @johnburke_, though he’s not a prolific Twitterer.

Rick Warren – To be honest, when the Purpose Driven Life craze was in full swing, I was not on that bandwagon.  Not because I had anything against it…I just hadn’t bought in yet.  Or read it.  Which explains why I hadn’t bought in.  On top of that, early in my ministry career, Rick Warren was lumped into a category of pastors who were seeker-friendly at the expense of the Gospel.  I’ve learned that that category is far from fair with Rick.  His short Twitter updates strike to the heart. Follow him on Twitter, @rickwarren

Who’s influencing you?

 

12 Reasons to Twitter

May 2, 2009 / / 0 Comments

I recently read this post by Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Christian publishing company in the world and the seventh largest trade book publishing company in the U.S.  I’m often trying to explain to people why I use Twitter, and I love the reasons that Michael gives on his blog.  Read below, or click here to read it at his site.

12 Reasons to Start Twittering

I originally committed to using Twitter for 30 days. So far, I have enjoyed the service and intend to keep using it. My wife, Gail, and four of my five daughters are active. I am sure this is one of the reasons I am still using it.

my twitter profile page

Don’t know what Twittering is? Read my original post on this topic. If you want to know how to get started, read my Beginner’s Guide to Twitter.>

If you are wondering why in the world you should consider it, here are twelve reasons:

  1. It will enable you to experience social networking first-hand. One of my pet peeves is people who pontificate on new technologies but have never actually used them. This is particularly annoying—but common—among CEOs. Real users can always tell the difference. There is no substitute for personal experience.
  2. It will make you a better writer. Twitter only allows you to post 140 characters at a time. As a result, you are forced to be concise. In my opinion, this is one of the hallmarks of good writing. Short messages. Short paragraphs. Short sentences.
  3. It will help you stay connected to people you care about. This is one of the few technologies I’ve found that actually contributes to community-building. In today’s busy world, it’s difficult to keep up with others. Twitter makes it easy—and fun.
  4. It will help you see a new side of your friends. In an odd sort of way, Twitter “humanizes” people and provides a context for better understanding them. If you follow me on Twitter, for example, you’ll quickly see that I get excited, bored, frustrated, and confused—sometimes all in the same day. You’ll also learn what is important to me and what drives me crazy.
  5. It will introduce you to new friends. I have now met several new people via Twitter. These have contributed to my life in small but significant ways. Gail and I have even had dinner with a couple that we met via Twitter.
  6. It is faster than text-messaging. In a sense Twitter is a universal text messaging system. You can broadcast to all of your “followers” (i.e., people who subscribe to your Twitter feed) or send a direct message to just one. As a result, I have almost completely stopped text messaging. The only time I use it is to reply to someone who messages me outside of Twitter.
  7. It will make you think about your life. As you answer the question, “What am I doing?” you start to see your life through the lens of the people following you. Interestingly, it has made me more intentional and thoughtful about my life.
  8. It will help you keep up with what people are talking about. Via Twitter, I have learned about hot books, cool software, breaking news, and even great restaurants. Because the information is coming from real people who care enough to Twitter about it, I have found it more valuable and authentic.
  9. It can create traffic for your blog or Website. I have noticed a 30% uptick in my blog traffic in the last 30 days. It may be related to the fact that I have been in the news more or have been writing on more controversial posts. However, I also think it is related to the fact that I am Twittering every time I post a new blog entry. This seems to have a viral effect.
  10. It requires a very small investment. Twitter itself is a free service. In terms of my time, I probably invest less than 10 minutes a day. Since “tweets” (i.e., posts) are limited to 140 charters or less, you can scan them in a second or two. Writing them usually takes less than 30 seconds.
  11. It can help build your personal “brand.” When people hear your name, what comes to mind? What is your reputation? What is the “brand promise”? Brands are built incrementally, one interaction at a time. Twitter gives you one more way to build your brand, one tweet at a time.
  12. It is fun! Twitter is just plain entertaining. Following your family and friends is kind of like watching reality TV. The difference is that you know the people and actually care about them. In this sense, it is even more fun, because you know more about the people from other contexts. Don’t believe me? Give it a try.

I’m sure there are some downsides to Twitter that I am either ignoring or don’t recognize. But I would rather jump into the fray and shape the future of social networks rather than sit on the sidelines and throw stones.

Question: How about you?
 

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