Dear Reader:

This is a side project blog that I started with the purpose of posting my perspectives and experiences from Catalyst conference this past year. I say perspectives in place of "notes that I collected" because anything you read here will simply be my highly subjective responses to the revolutionary thinkers and leaders who shared from the Catalyst stage. In a place where pieces of gold lie all over the place, I tried to find the nuggets which to me seemed the most valuable, stuffing my pockets full of 30 pages worth of shining jewels.

I regret that I must leave many gold nuggets for others to acquire, because my pen can only write as fast as my hand can move, which is not as fast as some of these fine people can speak. As Reggie Joiner said, Catalyst is like trying to take a drink from a fire hydrant. Your mouth can only hold so much, and you're lucky to fill your mouth up to the full capacity anyways because you get so blown away with the volume and power of what you've just heard.

The other regret I have is that a blog is not the same as a notebook, and though this will be slightly more visually and sequentially organized, it will be more difficult to understand the full meaning and concept reading from this blog. I have placed my thoughts here in the most organized and understandable way that I can think of without the use of the stars, arrows, circles, and boxes which cover the pages of my notebook. Despite this disadvantage, I hope that you will hear something new nonetheless.

I have written for too long here. Read on below and enjoy the Catalyst experience, or as much of it as I could bring home to you. Enjoy. Together.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Good to Great - Jim Collins

  • not all time in life is equal
  • if all we had were great companies, that would not automatically make us a great country
  • we must have great everything
  • good is the enemy of great
  • greatness is not a function of circumstance or luck, it is a function of choice and discipline
  • the path to greatness for any given social enterprise is not to become like a business
  • its not about the difference between business or social, its about good or great
  • FLYWHEEL DISCIPLINE --> keep pushing
  • it takes a lot of effort to gain momentum, and the first 10 revolutions of the flywheel require much force, and when you have momentum, it requires discipline and perseverance to keep pushing the flywheel, even though it would coast for a while on its own.
  • success breeds complacency, complacency breeds failure (you may see this again)
  • the # 1 cause of failure: overreaching
  • overreaching is the undisciplined pursuit of more
  • this is how the great fall. they become seduced by their own greatness
  • “Many companies die from indigestion of opportunities rather than starvation.” - David Packard of Hewlett-Packard
  • "what?" is the wrong question
  • its unpredictable
  • the question is "who" will you put on your "bus"
  • when you have the right whos, you will get better whats
  • this is how to prepare for the unpredictable
  • the signature characteristic of good to great leaders: humility
  • humility is selflessness, being more focused on the enterprise's gain than your own.
  • great leaders say "the greatness of this company will continue to thrive and grow even when I leave."
  • you will be unavailable one day. . . its not about you
  • the flywheel of church is different than the flywheel of faith
  • how to turn the flywheel: the hedgehog principle (in honor of this, Lanny brought out a pig/hog, thus dubbing this the hedgepig principle)
  • there are foxes and hedgepigs
  • foxes have lots of little ideas and tricks
  • hedgepigs get one big idea
  • FOCUS, DETERMINATION, DISCIPLINE --> be a hedgepig
  • having a "to do" list is a lack of discipline if it is not partnered with an equally robust "to not do" list
random bits of knowledge
  • practices are not equal to values
  • every generation needs to come up with its own practices to demonstrate eternal values
  • greatness is not equal to success
  • everyone on your bus should be able to articulate their responsibilities without having a title
  • don't spend 5 years getting 2 years experience --> if you're not serving others, then invest in yourself (sharpening the saw). if neither of these are happening, get out.
  • white days: mark a day off your calendar to think
  • we are freed by the choices that no one sees
  • jimcollins.com --> diagnostic test (self assessment) and other resources
  • be able to answer about what people are on your bus, and about who is in the right seat. strive to make the seat to person match 100%
  • build a personal board of directors
  • get the right young people in your face --> new ideas
  • build a counsel, ask questions
  • a great leader's passion must override the pain of great leadership. find something you are more passionate about than you are afraid of the pain.
  • responsibility is to mission and vision first, before the the individual
  • try to minimize others' pain, but if they hamper the vision, they need to be out.
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