This Will Blow Your Mind(set)

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about one of my favorite business concepts: mindset. I know when that term first lodged into my thinking. It came via one of my radio associates in Dallas who, in turn, learned the importance of mindset from one of the radio legends, Ron Chapman. I’m sure Ron learned it from somebody else.

Many articles have been written on the topic. There’s even a website for seekers— mindsetonline.com. In the most basic of definitions we can say that mindset is the established set of attitudes held by someone.

It shouldn’t take much to understand how this plays out in the workplace. My wife and I enjoy a remarkably inexpensive meal option (okay…cheap) at Taco Bell. The other day on a visit, we saw the all-male cast of very young workers, each doing their “job.” Very few customers were in this location. Several tables needed to be cleaned. Napkins and other waste was on the floor. And in the quite visible kitchen area, there was a LOT of food droppings waiting to be cleaned up. Apparently, no workers had the mindset of cleanliness.

Or take my recent car experience at a local auto dealership. One of our vehicles needs some work on the electrical system. The service manager offered me an estimate—which I promptly rejected to pay since we have the full coverage option on the vehicle. He said he needed to check on our coverage but could not do so on the weekend. He would need to check on Monday. And he would call. And he didn’t. So I called. And he did not call back. And I emailed him. And he did not respond. Clearly, the mindset of the service manager does not really focus on service. He needs a tuneup.

Virtually all employees show up on the job with a mindset. It’s not always so critical that we know what their mindset is. It’s vital, however, we lay out very clear expectations that reveal what the mindset of leadership is all about. AND… how the employee mindset needs to be adjusted so that employment will continue.

A world-renowned Stanford University psychologist, Carol Dweck, takes credit for researching and developing strategies on this. She wrote the book MindSet, which came out in 2006. However, I was learning about this twenty years earlier.

Here’s a bit of Carol’s thinking: “In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. They’re wrong.” Read the book for a more complete perspective on this.

You should also check out the recent article, “These four small mindset shifts will make you more productive.” (link below) To save you time, the four are:

To move…

1. From chaos to choice
2. From “to-do’s” to agreement
3. From performance to outcome 
4. From urgency to impact

If you are wondering why productivity gets stalled in your workplace, or why you personally are not making much progress, consider studying up on mindset.

The life of Jesus of Nazareth is a remarkably good example of mindset shift. The Jewish people were promised a Messiah for centuries—one who would be their champion and raise them up as a people of greatness once again. In their minds, they expected a kind of king—of royalty.

Jesus arrives and explains that His Kingdom was not of this world. Every step along the way in His earthly life, Jesus offered a new way of doing things. He challenged both the experts and the common people to think differently. Live differently. That is exactly what a great leader will do. His followers are expected to do this. As you come to faith in Jesus, the mindset shift journey begins.

One final thought. The messy fast food restaurant and the non-servicing service manager go beyond the problem of a poor worker mindset. They reflect management mindset. And that…is when leadership fails us.

That’s The Way WE Work. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

Let’s Talk with Mark Elfstrand can be heard weekdays from 4-6 PM Central. To listen outside the Chicago area, tune to www.1160hope.com for live streaming or podcasts, or download the AM1160 app.

For more information:

https://www.fastcompany.com/90206629/these-four-small-mind-set-shifts-will-make-you-more-productive

A Day in the Life of the Constitution

They are words that should be very familiar to all Americans. Most of us learned them—memorized them—in civics class in junior high. They are the opening words of the guiding document of American freedom: the US Constitution.

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Today is Constitution Day. Oddly, we take a holiday on July 4th to celebrate our Declaration of Independence. But this day gets minimal notice despite the significance of the Constitution in our daily lives.

The contents of this historic document have come under scrutiny a lot in recent days during the committee hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh. The politics of those hearings were brutal and ugly. A committee vote on his confirmation should come this week.

A major issue and point of disagreement for many is the term “originalist” as it relates to the Constitution. Judge Kavanaugh describes himself as an originalist. An excellent article explaining the variant views on interpretation is found at the constitutioncenter.org website. It is titled, “On Originalism in Constitutional Interpretation.” The article is written by Steven G. Calabresi, a Clayton J. and Henry R. Barber Professor of Law at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

Kavanaugh’s view of interpretation contrasts with those who hold the Living Constitutionalist viewpoint. To the judge, the constitutional text ought to be given the original public meaning that it would have had at the time that it became law. This can be discerned in various ways and from different documents. As the article cited explains, “It can also be inferred from the background legal events and public debate that gave rise to a constitutional provision.”

In contrast, Calabresi tells us that “living constitutionalists believe that the meaning of the constitutional text changes over time, as social attitudes change, even without the adoption of a formal constitutional amendment.” He then proceeds to offer ten purposes behind our US Constitution. It is Calabresi’s contention that all ten purposes favor the originalist viewpoint.

The consequences of the difference in viewpoints matters. Depending on your personal perspective, the judge or justice you select can send interpretation of law in very different directions. And, of course, such interpretation can impact social policy. I tend to side with the originalists.

Getting the law right is important. But it can also get in the way of living rightly. Jesus of Nazareth gives us a clear example in Mark, Chapter 7, verses 5-13 (God's Word translation).

The Pharisees and the experts in Moses’ teachings asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples follow the traditions taught by our ancestors? They are unclean because they don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

Jesus told them, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites in Scripture:
‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is pointless, because their teachings are rules made by humans.’"

“You abandon the commandments of God to follow human traditions.” He added, “You have no trouble rejecting the commandments of God in order to keep your own traditions!…Because of your traditions you have destroyed the authority of God’s word. And you do many other things like that.”

Jesus directly challenged the way these people treated the law. What was meant to lead to righteousness had become corrupted. A heart change was needed.

We need our Supreme Court to ensure that our Constitution remains the powerful guiding document it was meant to be. While it never mentions God, the wise justice knows that true wisdom to interpret all of life needs wisdom from above. It is the right heart in legal matters that gives us justice.

Hopefully, we have the right person in Brett Kavanaugh.

That’s The Way WE Work. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

Let’s Talk with Mark Elfstrand can be heard weekdays from 4-6 PM Central. To listen outside the Chicago area, tune to www.1160hope.com for live streaming or podcasts, or download the AM1160 app.

For more information:

https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/white-pages/on-originalism-in-constitutional-interpretation

Believe in Something. Even if it Means Sacrificing Nike.

A significant shock rattled the advertising world this past week. The company with the famous “swoosh” logo branded on a myriad of sports products put a controversial face on its latest ad campaign. Colin Kaepernick.

The message being delivered by the unemployed NFL quarterback encourages his brand of protest. “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” Of course, Colin really doesn’t want to sacrifice everything. He’d love to be back hurling footballs at wide receivers and tight ends. Also, likely taking his famous knee before the game during the National Anthem.

Politics and business have not mixed well for the NFL. Mr. Kaepernick has found the way to drive a wedge between fans and one of the most popular sporting events in America. In some communities, love of country and love of football go hand in hand. Colin has fostered a kind of fan divorce in this game.

The National Anthem controversy has become so divisive, ESPN decided NOT to even show anthem performances before Monday night NFL games it covers. The National Football League itself has had a terrible time locking in on a policy that purportedly would respect the players' rights and fans' loyalties to our nation. What a mess!

So Nike enters the fray by throwing its corporate weight of support behind Kaepernick. And they did it in a somewhat “in your face” style by airing the first of the “Just Do It” ads that featured Kaepernick in the first commercial break of the third quarter last Thursday night. That was the season opening NFL game between the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles. The ad ran two minutes.

The two minute commercial featured superstar athletes LeBron James, Serena Williams, and others. Content dealt with the controversy of NFL players protesting racial inequality, police brutality, and other issues by demonstrating during the national anthem. It’s part of the Nike “Dream Crazy” campaign.

The narrator, Colin Kaepernick, appears about half way through the ad. CBS News reported, “As a camera pans to reveal Kaepernick's face, a reflection of a United States flag is reflected on the facade of a building behind him.” And it ends with him saying, "Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” Touching. But to many, insulting.

A report from Morning Consult reports some interesting research findings. Before the announcement from Nike, the company had a net +69 favorable impression among consumers. That declined to a +35 favorable. Even in key demographics of younger generations, Nike users and African Americans, that rating declined. And how about this: before the announcement, 49 percent of Americans said they were absolutely or very likely to buy Nike products. That dropped to 39 percent now.

So how does Nike benefit? Bloomberg reported that according to the Apex Marketing Group, Nike generated $43 million in media exposure in the first 24 hours after the ad announcement was made. So some in the media industry believe the risk is worth it. And a company the size of Nike can afford to take that risk.

So do we applaud this effort by Nike…or not? I offer this assessment from Jim Geraghty’s opinion piece in the National Review:

“If you ever wondered what it would take to get the whole Social Justice Warrior crowd to loudly support a multinational corporation with nearly $35 billion in revenue in 2017; that pays its assembly line workers about 2.5 percent of production costs; that faces accusations that its factories bar independent inspections of working conditions; whose workers frequently faint from heat and exhaustion, and suffer wage theft, forced overtime, restrictions on their use of toilets, exposure to toxic solvents, and padlocked exit doors . . . well, apparently Colin Kaepernick is all that it takes.”

Note that revolutionaries can be positive. I follow one. His name is Jesus. He dealt with social justice by way of action. Caring for the poor. Healing the sick. Even raising the dead. Offering hope. Showing true sacrifice. I like His game plan better.

Instead of simply believing in something, pursue believing in someone. Discover the real Jesus. Then join me in taking a knee.

That’s The Way WE Work. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

Let’s Talk with Mark Elfstrand can be heard weekdays from 4-6 PM Central. To listen outside the Chicago area, tune to www.1160hope.com for live streaming or podcasts, or download the AM1160 app.

For more information:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nike-colin-kaepernick-just-do-it-ad-nfl-football-game-thursday-night-after-dropping-early-online/

https://morningconsult.com/form/nike-kaepernick-report/

https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/colin-kaepernicks-controversial-nike-campaign/

Thinking Like Solomon

Today being a Labor Day holiday, I am turning to a wise counselor as a guest for my blog. He’s Rick Ezell—life coach and workplace chaplain with Employee Care of America. Here is some sound guidance from Rick:

Solomon wrote, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.” (Proverbs 4:23, GN) It’s been said, “You’re not what you think you are, but what you think, you are.” Mohandas Gandhi wrote, “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”

The way we think determines the way we feel, and the way we feel determines the way we act. So if you want to change your actions, change the way you think. If you want to change your attitudes, change the thoughts you put in your mind.

Granted, this is easier said than done. But let me give you some practical steps for positive thoughts.

1. Make your first thoughts God-directed. Before you face the day, face the Father. Before you crawl out of bed, crawl into his presence. C. S. Lewis wrote: “The moment you wake up each morning . . . [all] your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job of each morning consists in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.”
2. Focus your waiting thoughts on uplifting ideas. Consider that by the time your life is over, you will have spent six months at stoplights, eight months opening junk mail, a year and a half looking for lost stuff, and a whopping five years standing in various lines. In the waiting moments, the common becomes the uncommon, by becoming a cathedral as you pray, or a classroom as you learn from a teaching CD or read a book.
3. Center your repeated thoughts on the winning outcome. We all talk to ourselves often saying the same thing over and over again. Make sure those repeated thoughts are positive and will benefit you, not bring you down. Positive self-talk is one of the most powerful tools we can use. We are going to talk to ourselves (some of us will even answer ourselves). The point is to make those words uplifting and encouraging. We, in many respects, are the benefactors of self-fulfilling prophecy. We become what we think and say to ourselves. I remember when I was playing competitive tennis I had a few phrases that I would repeat to myself. I would say, “One point at a time,” or “Concentrate on the ball and hit a winner,” or “Racquet back, watch the ball, follow through,” or “You can do this. You’re a winner.” I would repeat those phrases throughout the course of a match. These repeated thoughts helped me to stay positive and focused. Likewise, we need to utter repeated positive thoughts so we can stay positive in everyday life. 
4. Give your final thoughts to God. Conclude the day as you began it: talking to God. Thank him for the good parts. Question him about the hard parts. Seek his forgiveness. Seek his wisdom. Seek his strength. And as you close your eyes, take assurance in the promise, “He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4, NIV).

Thanks Rick! You connect with Rick Ezell and sign up for his newsletter at either of his websites: www.rickezell.com and www.employeecareofamerica.com.

That’s The Way WE Work. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

Let’s Talk with Mark Elfstrand can be heard weekdays from 4-6 PM Central. To listen outside the Chicago area, tune to www.1160hope.com for live streaming or podcasts, or download the AM1160 app.

A Gap in Perspective

Our pastor decided to do a series of messages over the summer that involved answering questions from the congregation. One area of questions I knew would arise involved women in leadership at the church. Congregations differ on how this is handled.

The arguments raised over women in church leadership mirror cultural questions. Aren’t women as capable as men to offer leadership? How should gender equality be administered in the workplace to assure its viability? Does the principal “equal pay for equal work” have application in all spheres of the workplace?

Answers are not always easy—or what people want to hear. Worth reading is a story in The Atlantic describing a video interview with Jordan Peterson and the British Journalist Cathy Newman. It’s titled, “Why Can't People Hear What Jordan Peterson is Saying?” Peterson is the outspoken University of Toronto clinical psychologist who aggressively defends the role of men in a society.

In part of the interview with Peterson, Newman presses the professor on the equal pay issue. She’s pressing the issue of a nine percent pay gap in median hourly earnings between men and women. From the transcipt…

Peterson: Yes. But there’s multiple reasons for that. One of them is gender, but that’s not the only reason. If you’re a social scientist worth your salt, you never do a univariate analysis. You say women in aggregate are paid less than men. Okay. Well then we break it down by age; we break it down by occupation; we break it down by interest; we break it down by personality.
Newman: But you’re saying, basically, it doesn’t matter if women aren’t getting to the top, because that’s what is skewing that gender pay gap, isn’t it? You’re saying that’s just a fact of life; women aren’t necessarily going to get to the top.
Peterson: No, I’m not saying it doesn’t matter, either. I’m saying there are multiple reasons for it.
Newman: Yeah, but why should women put up with those reasons?
Peterson: I’m not saying that they should put up with it! I’m saying that the claim that the wage gap between men and women is only due to sex is wrong. And it is wrong. There’s no doubt about that. The multivariate analyses have been done.”

Peterson then proceeds to cite examples and evidence to his point.

On August 2nd, TheHill.com published an article titled, “Mothers’ low productivity hurts overall pay for women.” It is an opinion piece by Yana Gallen, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. She received a PhD in economics from Northwestern University. Her research focuses on understanding the sources of the gender pay gap—preferences, discrimination, and/or productivity.

She writes, “The backbone of the equal pay movement—equal pay for equal work—assumes that men and women are equally productive in the same job. But the evidence does not support this claim. Using Danish data, I studied the relative output of firms employing more men compared to firms employing more women and found that productivity differences explain about two-thirds of the gender pay gap. On average, women are 8-percent less productive than men, so we would expect them to be paid 8-percent less.”

Professor Gallen’s conclusion? “A large gap between pay and productivity would suggest that women are being paid less for the same work. But I do not find a large gap between the pay of women and their productivity.”

What’s the point? No person should be discriminated against because of race or gender in hiring. Or for pay purposes. However, people should be paid for the quality of work they do commensurate with the factors of experience, education, and their relative value to the success of an organization. That’s not always easy to measure.

Blanket statements about equality without facts to support a position can lead to wrong conclusions. And in the end, these do not serve any of us well.

Want true equality? The Bible gives us one of the greatest examples in our standing before God. It says, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith….There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26, 28, NIV)

God is an equal opportunity lover of mankind if you accept His gift. Refreshing, isn’t it?

That’s The Way WE Work. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

Let’s Talk with Mark Elfstrand can be heard weekdays from 4-6 PM Central. To listen outside the Chicago area, tune to www.1160hope.com for live streaming or podcasts, or download the AM1160 app.

For more information:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/01/putting-monsterpaint-onjordan-peterson/550859/

http://thehill.com/opinion/finance/400077-firms-pay-females-less-because-they-produce-less-on-average

Bugs in the Office

I wouldn’t want Michael Cohen as an attorney. I would not ask Omarosa Manigault Newman to be on my team. And I would not want to ever report to Donald Trump. Frankly, it would very difficult to choose any of them as friends.

You know their names, right? Michael Cohen has been the high profile personal attorney for the president. Omarosa Manigault Newman is the former reality TV star who became a top White House aide to President Trump. No explanation is needed for The Donald. But let me start there.

I’ve only worked for two bosses in my life who I would describe as controlling. They lacked the touch of human kindness with employees. They were inflexible.

President Trump carries a lot of that in his management style. What really sets him apart as a leader, however, is his spirit of revenge. Cross him in a way that hurts his pride, and look out. We saw it in the primaries with fellow Republicans. We see it with the press being called “the enemy of the people.” And we see it when a former team member doesn’t measure up.

Michael Cohen has been President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer. He is currently under criminal investigation by the Southern District of New York for certain unscrupulous business activities including payments made to certain women with sexual claims regarding the president. He is also the guy who made secret recordings of his conversations with Donald Trump. How is that for a “trusted counselor?”

Omarosa Manigault Newman is another story. By most accounts, the president gave her wings via her television appearances with him and a White House job. Once in her role, the story goes that she didn’t measure up and was terminated. It happens. What followed, however, virtually never happens.

Omarosa covertly recorded conversations both in the White House and with Lara Trump. She saved those recordings until the recent release of her book, Unhinged. The book purportedly is an insider's discrediting of President Trump. Now she is sharing audio she should never have recorded.

Dana Perino was commissioned as a special assistant to the president and served as a deputy press secretary to President George W. Bush in 2005. She, along with many others who have worked inside that prestigious White House, has likely heard and seen much that’s unpleasant. But you don’t secretly record people!

Regarding Omarosa’s taped conversations, Perino blogged, “That is galling, despicable behavior. And even if Omarosa didn’t think that the president of the United States–the one who had given her the opportunity to try to achieve great things–doesn’t deserve better from her, I believe the citizens of this country do.”

During her tenure, Perino recalled that a White House employee wrote a book that criticized former President Bush. Dana was hurt and angry. That word got to the President. According to Perino, “He didn’t ask me to fight. He asked me to forgive.” And as President Bush told her, “working in the White House…isn’t about the self but it is about the people of this nation. They deserve the best work ethic White House employees can muster.”

That attitude and the words of forgiveness from President Bush reflect a far cry from the tweet barrage shared by President Trump following Omarosa’s pitiful actions. It’s demeaning to all involved. Yes, we deserve better.

The Michael Cohen and Omarosa Manigault Newman stories do send a warning to us all. We are being watched more than we realize. And recorded as well. And tracked by Google. Beware.

Jesus of Nazareth said there would be a day when what seems private will be revealed. “For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all.” (Luke 8:17, NLT) Something we should all keep in mind to guide our daily behavior.

In the meantime, don’t bother calling Terminix. These bugs in the office are much more sophisticated.

That’s The Way WE Work. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

Let’s Talk with Mark Elfstrand can be heard weekdays from 4-6 PM Central. To listen outside the Chicago area, tune to www.1160hope.com for live streaming or podcasts, or download the AM1160 app.

For more information:

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/08/13/dana-perino-omarosas-book-will-be-forgotten-her-despicable-behavior-will-not.html

Signs of Our Times

I cut my broadcasting teeth during my time in the military. First assigned to the personnel division, a highly fortuitous (or providential) friendship in the same office alerted me one day that the Air Force was looking for broadcasters. Although I fell short of one requirement, my friend explained that sometimes waivers were offered for the point difference I needed.

He was right. And I got accepted to attend the Defense INFOrmation School (DINFOS) at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the fall of 1973. Six months later, I was an honor grad and headed for my first (and only) duty assignment at Keflavik, Iceland. I became the TV sports guy for American Forces Radio and Television (AFRTS). Thus began my career in broadcasting.

Not long ago, I signed up for a Facebook page with other former members of that military broadcast group. It was from them that I first learned of the passing of one of the legends of this fraternity— Adrian Cronauer. He was, if you'll remember, the inspiration for the film Good Morning, Vietnam, which starred Robin Williams. Cronauer had recently died at the age of 79.

It would take too long to share his legacy. See the film if you need that story. But he shared, in 1989, a few particulars of the movie that were true. "Yes, I did try to make it sound more like a stateside station. Yes, I did have problems with news censorship. Yes, I was in a restaurant shortly before the Viet Cong hit it. And yes, I did start each program by yelling, 'Good Morning, Vietnam!'"

I’m not sure whether he traversed the same hallways as I did at DINFOS. But a lot of talented broadcasters did—and went on to successful careers outside of the military. I’ve made my mark in a way as well.

Around the year 1998, I was making a journey from Pittsburgh to San Diego. I made a stop in Indianapolis to visit what was Fort Ben Harrison. I found the DINFOS building where my life was so changed.

The end of war and the passage of time had shut down the base as a military training post. The barracks area looked like a ghost town. Curiously, the DINFOS sign still hung above the entrance to that building. I so wanted to claim that piece of history, hoping it would not be thrown into some dumpster one day. It belonged in a broadcasting museum as a piece of military history.

This recollection came to mind this week as I wondered about the future of the Global Leadership Summit (GLS). This event, founded by Bill Hybels of the legendary Willow Creek Community Church, had grown to phenomenal heights. Visionaries from corporate America, a former US President, and former British Prime Minister have spoken at this magnificent leadership training event.

As I wrote last week, the Summit convened last week in rather dire circumstances. Its founder and chief advocate, Bill Hybels, has been forced out of both the church and the GLS. Then, just as the Summit was to begin, more negative publicity surfaced both about Hybels and the downsizing problems that resulted at the GLS.

And so I wondered, what will happen? I remember the vibrant, life-filled days during my time at DINFOS. Only to return years later and find a ghost town remaining. A shadow of history.

I’m not predictor. And I certainly hope that there remains a future—a bright future—for the Global Leadership Summit as well as the Willow Creek Church. So much good has emerged over the years from both.

On the other hand, we must never believe that what’s in front of us now is permanent. It is not. Including this very Earth.

The refrain of the old hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” calls us to a more lasting perspective of life. It says,

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus. 

Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, 

In the light of His glory and grace.”

Today, my friend, invest your time in that which will last.

That’s The Way WE Work. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

Let’s Talk with Mark Elfstrand can be heard weekdays from 4-6 PM Central. To listen outside the Chicago area, tune to www.1160hope.com for live streaming or podcasts, or download the AM1160 app.

For more information:

http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-adrian-cronauer-20180719-story.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-willow-creek-leadership-summit-20180726-story.html