Change is the Price of Survival

The title of this blog entry is borrowed… from Winston Churchill. Those words ring as true today as when he first said it. We live in a world of constant flux as leaders it is essential that we too implement change proactively not just to ensure that we survive but so that we can thrive. At ATF we are in the midst of preparing for the fall tour, it is a monumental amount of work and preparation. We are pushing to execute on tight deadlines and a very rigorous training, practice and rehearsal regimen. When you are busy, rushed or seemingly pressed on every side the natural tendency is to return to “normal” “comfortable” or “the familiar” just to revert back to the way you’ve always done things. I believe that kind of thinking can prove to be harmful in business but can be especially harmful in youth ministry. Not long ago I attended a one night event from a world famous youth minister and recording artist. I sat through the event and had a chance to meet the minister after – throughout the event I was surprised that nothing had changed in delivery and presentation from decades ago when they where in their “prime” – Don’t get me wrong, change can be tough, it means breaking old paradigms and could mean walking in territory that’s less familiar. You can keep running to the way “we always used to do it” but if those things are not working today maybe it’s time to re-think the what, how and who in what you are doing.

Some things should never change. Like operating on principle; Principles are timeless truths. They should remain fairly static, same with things like your core values. Those principles can serve like mile markers keeping you true to your core and on course towards your mission. One of the things I’m putting front and center with the staff, interns and ministry team at ATF is that we are first and foremost a ministry. I don’t care how cool our lights are or how slick the drama is if God and His Word don’t take center stage then we have produced little more than a cool show – how tragic would that be. Our desire is that every attendee, teen, youth leader, parent have an Encounter with the undeniable Love of God. If we miss that, then we’ve missed the point. It should come across in every aspect of the event.

Some things should always be changing. In my last blog entry I talked about one of the things I did when I first took over as director of ATF (and something I still do now) is to evaluate our staff, validate if the right people are in the right seats. But I am also reviewing our method of operation behind the scenes, from the registration process, seating, audio and video. (It does not really matter how powerful the message is if the people in the upper decks can’t hear) I’ve gone through every post-event survey from youth leaders, parents and teens. Even the ones from before I was director, read every comment all with the direct intent to implement the right changes… changes that will add value and really be meaningful to our ‘customer’ – Teens, Youth Leaders, Pastors and Parents. It’s not easy, I’ve got to fight people lobbing for the status-quo. It is my mission to know our ‘customer’ better than anyone else in America and to implement the changes that will not only reach them, but meet their practical needs.

These changes won’t come overnight but they are coming. Ken Blanchard said that feedback is the breakfast of champions! I agree. Being a change agent has changed the way I spend my time. For me truly knowing my 4 core constituents is easier said than done – it has altered the way I spend my time and where I place my focus. It can be challenging especially when some people want you to put your time and focus elsewhere. Effective ministry and Success in the business arena is not as complicated as we think, I believe that it’s easy when you put your focus on making the RIGHT kinds of change and put first things first.

Got a comment for ATF?  I’d love to here from you.  Send me an email or jot down a comment here.

Kemtal

Redeem the Time… because it flies!

You may remember that old talk show theme song “10 Years come and gone so fast”  It’s true as you get older time seems to fly by even faster!

I recently had a birthday… For me birthdays don’t have the pomp and circumstance they did when I was a kid – cake and that new trike!  As I’ve grown up they have become a time of thoughtful reflection.  Birthdays are a marker… an entire year has flown by.  For me they have become a time to take a bit of an inventory of life.  What has one achieved?  Am I where I thought I would be?  Doing what I thought I’d be doing?  If you had told me 5 years ago that I would be living in east Texas I would have probably laughed out loud at you.  If you had said that I would be the director of America’s Premier Youth Event, I probably would have rolled my eyes after all I was a business man focused on my career in an industry I loved.  And I was good – no scratch that, I was great at what I did.    I had always been  involved in ministry, before going to school to major in Systems & Administration I actually went to a Bible College right after high school where I studied ministry.  In Proverbs 16:9 it says “Many are the ways of a mans heart, but the Lord directs his steps”  Looking back it is amazing how the blending of business acumen and ministry leadership has uniquely placed me for the role I am fulfilling now.

Here I am today, living in east Texas, in full time ministry.  I’ve held numerous roles at Teen Mania but, I’ve only been the Executive Director of ATF for a few months now, but what I do is not a job.  Not to me.  Not by any stretch of the imagination.  It’s a precious calling!  I think if it ever became just a job – I’d leave.  This IS ministry, but I have not lost by business acumen either.  As I and my team immerse ourselves in understanding youth culture, in how best to effectively reach and minister to the young people all over North America and around the world, in how to better serve the local church and have the backs of youth pastors, leaders and parents all across the country.  We are rigorously preparing for this coming year in ATF.  I am challenging my team with concepts like exceptional Customer Service and outstanding Ministry.  We are implementing new systems and I’m soliciting feedback directly from youth leaders, pastors and teenagers themselves on how we can improve and how we can better serve.   How can we become exceptional in every single aspect of ministry?  I don’t want to just talk about being strategic, I’m pushing our team to implement and execute our operations at a very high level.  I am excited about what ATF will look like over the next few months and years!

But this blog entry is about thoughtful reflection, so back on point. –  There is no place like being in the center of God’s will and plan!  I’m enjoying the journey… walking by Faith!  As you trust in the Lord you can rest assured He WILL direct your path!  We can often put making important changes or decisions off until ‘later’ it could be as simple as eating right, exercising or maybe something more major like the actual direction of your life.  One thing I know for sure, “putting off until tomorrow” can have you singing that 10 years come and gone so fast song, the next line in that song is “I may as well have been dreaming.”  Sieze your dream!-  My challenge to you is the same for my team:  Redeem the time!   We can’t be afraid of being ‘doers’… when we step out He will direct our path!

By the way if you are wondering, I had an amazing birthday, my first as a dad.   I also want to thank my awesome staff who all marched into our “daily moring huddle” meeting with cake and singing!   We all play like we don’t like it, but deep down there is a kid who want’s a piece of cake and a trike!  Of course, today I’ll take an ML 320 over a trike but that’s another story!

Six Meetings Before Lunch!

I was going to start this blog with a list of all the meetings I had this week but as I reviewed my trusty outlook calendar it became apparent that if you looked at my actual schedule you’d think I was crazy. – So I elected to show you just one half day to give a quick peek into one of my mornings.  It  started off with an 8:05 meeting with my staff in ATF we have affectionately dubbed “The Morning Huddle” (meeting 1). Next was a meeting with our Partner & Sponsorship Manager to review his progress against his upcoming deadlines and goals (meeting 2). Then a brief meeting with the ATF Booking Manager to discuss our contract addendums for 2 venues we need to contract for this week (meeting 3).  I then met with my Operations Director who serves as my ‘right hand’ in managing much of the day to day operational projects within ATF we needed to make some additional adjustments to the FY 10 Budget in time for me to deliver it to the CFO. (meeting 4).  – Meeting 4 ran a bit overtime, so I asked my assistant to let our Creative Team Director & the Director of Film & Television know I was going to be a few minutes late… I rush back to my office where I meet with our Creative Team to review the Drama and Message Support for this coming ATF tour and how we are going to practically execute it all well and within budget (meeting 5) I then take a conference call from our Event Director to discuss some key production elements, gear rental, pre-production and venue prep for next year (meeting 6)

And this was just looking at meetings that were ‘scheduled’ – in there I had an impromptu meeting with our VIP Booking manager to validate our status on band & speaker bookings that must be at 100% in the next few days!….   pheww!    Of course, I’ve blown right by lunch time and I still have a massive amount of projects that must be tackled before I can even think about calling it a day.

I don’t want you to say “poor Kemtal” remember I signed up for this.  This is just not work, it’s a calling.  I’ve always enjoyed work and I do now.  In my career in the retail industry before coming to Teen Mania it was hard to distinguish between work and play. BUT, There are times that I need to replenish, we all do.  Even us that love working hard need to sometimes call a time out and allow our batteries to recharge.

Know your signs, if you are getting short tempered, snappy, curt with those around you it’s a good sign that you’ve allowed your batteries (spiritual & physical) to run down and you better take some time to realign, refresh and renew.

It’s a holiday this weekend… I admit it, I worked today… I  thought I  “needed” to but at around 4ish I realized that instead of being helpful hubby or playful papa I was huffing around the house back and forth from my laptop staring at spreadsheets.  I sent my last email and have turned off the blackberry.  – The work will be there Monday.  My most important ministry… to my family, and myself will be my focus.

I’d challenge you… know your signs and take sometime this long weekend to relax, refresh and renew. It will be worth every second, and you’ll be more productive when you get back to work again!

- Kemtal

The Virtue of building up a great Team!

One of the most important things us as leaders can do is recruit and retain the very best talent.  The old adage “The Team with the best players win” is as true in sports as it is in business and ministry.  Finding a team of people that share your heart, passion and dedication is much easier said than done.   The cost of not selecting the right people can affect your brand, customer affinity, and corporate culture; it can even affect things like your operating costs and market share!  Additionally, in the case of a ministry it can affect precious opportunities to effectively minister to the people God has called you to.

Your staff are your representatives.  They don’t just represent the company or ministry they represent you too.  If a customer has a negative interaction with someone on my staff or if someone does not follow through on a commitment or properly take care of a customer (either internal and external) then they won’t walk away saying – Wow that lady ‘Sally’ was not very helpful.  They will say that whole company has no customer service.  If you don’t have people that are “with you” meaning they understand the vision, are committed to follow through, and understand their role in making it all happen - it can be a recipe for disaster.

Several months ago when I took over as Director of ATF one of the first things I did was evaluate our operational infrastructure, systems and each member of the team.  These are some of the things that are still constantly on my radar as we look to build a better, more effective, more ministry and customer focused ATF.

Getting the right people on and off the bus:

One of my favorite authors James C. Collins talks about this in his wonderful book “Good to Great” –  Sometimes in ministry we don’t want or like to have  ‘tough conversations’ with people we look at our team more as family or friends and thus skip over really executing performance management until it’s too late. – We think we are being nice or kind… not true.  I believe that one of the most important (and kind) things we can do as leaders is to give honest, direct, timely, up front, eyeball-to-eyeball feedback to the people that report to us or are under our leadership.  I’ve seen this over and over again especially in ministry – lack or candor in articulating performance deficiencies or non compliance in an effort to “keep the peace” – Sure, you may keep the peace… for now, but ultimately your mission and the people or customers you are trying to reach will suffer.   Keep that up long enough and you don’t have a ministry or business worth talking about.  If you’ve got people that don’t share your values, dedication or who won’t execute on vision, decisions or standards you need to move them up or out.

I can hear some of you saying “Kemtal, that’s so harsh!  You are in ministry, you are supposed to love every body!” – True, it is harsh and I am supposed to love everybody.  However we cannot mistake an individuals performance with the actual value of the individual, again, the most kind and loving thing we can do is give timely, honest and direct feedback.   Our standards for ATF are high and our values have to be more than just a plaque on the wall.  Of course you try and move their performance up before you look to move them out.   But, If there’s someone on the team that can’t or won’t live our values or execute our operations at a high level then a change needs to be made.  Don’t get me wrong – camaraderie is VERY important to a team dynamic.  I enjoy spending time with my team in and out of work.  A few Christmas’ ago when I was director of Global Expeditions (Teen Mania’s missions arm) our staff was so close, just about all of us had Christmas morning at my house!  It really had nothing to do with work, we just wanted to hang out with each other.  It was a blast!  Many members of that team have gone on to become wonderful successes in fact one of them (Emmie) was just named Director of GE!  The balance between camaraderie, accountability and dedication to execute our operations at a high level is important for any team to thrive.

The virtue of a dedicated staff is indispensable!  I’m so grateful as we build the team in ATF.  We already have so many awesome people from our road staff and Ministry Team, to our operations staff and interns we are continuing to get the right people on and everyone in the right seat!   Building an exceptional team not only makes your life easier, it multiplies your effectiveness.

Kemtal

Every living thing has a ‘Movement’

This past week there was a bit of concern in our household.  My 3 month old son Emmett had gone several days without leaving a “present” in the form of a number 2 in his diaper. As a new parent we called our doctor who said give it a few more days,  if still nothing come in for an appointment. I told Marla to plan on going first thing tomorrow morning after all “pooping” is the body’s way of getting rid of waste and if not expelled can cause harmful damage.

Just a few hours ago, our concern was turned to relief. I went to change his diaper and… well… you can imagine the rest. I shouted “He POOPED!!” I looked down at Emmett who was still laying down on the change table with his dirty diaper opened and exclaimed “YEA Pooh Pooh!!” and gleefully applauded – he returned my excitement with a playful giggle.   He was totally unaware of our concern. I called to  “Hey Marla, come over here and look at it!” – We were happy because this potentially harmful waste was expelled.  Regular bowel movements are a sign of health.

This exchange got me thinking… Every living thing has a movement! Yeah, sometimes it stinks and is not pretty to look at and yes we avoid trying to discuss it publically.  But holding on to this toxic waste is detrimental to our health. The same is true in our emotional or spiritual health.  Toxic relationships can pop up and prove to be damaging, reeking havoc on our emotions and spiritual well being.  There have been times in my life where I had to let toxic relationships, “friendships” even acquaintances go.   Sometime I’ve had to change the way I thought or the words I chose so I didn’t become my own toxic relationship!

Sometimes letting go can be painful but not as painful of continuing the cycle of having people around you that pull you down.  I often speak to people who are stuck in a seemingly endless circle of one radio-active relationship or situation after another. At times it can be tough to “walk away” but clinging on to people or scenarios that pull you down will hurt your creativity, crush your dreams and stifle your faith.  There is a difference between a real mentor and friend that will push, challenge you and hold you accountable and someone who brings drama, gossip, negativity are full of doubt & unbelief.

Choose people that will speak life, who are full of faith, who challenge you to be your best. Let go of those that stifle your dreams. Do you need your own movement? Don’t settle. Let go of fear, doubt and yes those would-be toxic relationships.  Celebrate each positive new step in the right direction. You don’t have to shout “YEA Pooh Pooh” – Just know you are on the right track to being your best.

-Kemtal

How A stylish guy ended up buying a mini-van.

If you had asked me two years ago if I’d ever buy a mini-van I think I would have laughed at you, yet just 2 days ago there I was at the dealership with signing the papers for gold colored Town & Country.   I consider myself a stylish guy, before joining Teen Mania and Acquire the Fire I worked in Systems Implementation and Store Operations for one of the world’s leading off-price retailers.   I’ve always kept up with the latest fashions, best-brands and still can’t shop or even enter a store anywhere without analyzing just about every aspect of it from signage, price points, customer service and I of course feel the need to share my analysis with the people who are with me.  In fact just about every shopping experience can be turned into a case study on leadership… but I’ll save that for another blog entry.  Back to how in the world I ended up buying a mini-van…  a vehicle I never thought I’d see parked in my driveway. 

I narrow it down to two factors. 

The first:  I’m cheap!  LOL – I like to say “fiscally responsible” but if you ask some of my staff in ATF or people that I know me well they’ll tell you I’m just cheap.  It’s not the worst thing I’ve been called and it’s a label I can embrace.  Now, don’t get me wrong I like very nice things and believe God wants to prosper us in every area of our lives including financially!  I’m a cheerful giver and the Lord continues to pour blessings us.  I am thankful I don’t owe a single penny on that van!  We are blessed to have found a vehicle I could pay cash for!  One day it will be cash for an ML 450 but today I’m pleased with our purchase.

 The Second Reason:  Kids change everything!  The arrival of our son Emmett a few weeks ago meant we not only needed a second vehicle but one with room.  Have you tried to put a stroller, pack and play, diaper bag etc… in the trunk of a car?  …yeah…not so much.   It’s also helpful for work.

 I’m still a stylish guy, now just one with a bit more room and a tow-package!  Next time you see a guy down the road in a minivan he may not be overtly preppy, maybe just practical!

Here we GO!

I’ve had tons of people telling me “You really should start a blog” so here the journey begins!  Click on the ‘Welcome’ tab and I’ll give you the full scoop on the reason ”Behind the Curtain”

Life sometimes moves at a neck breaking pace.  I’m no different.  I’m one who prides myself on the ability to multi-task.  To some of my staffs delight or shutter I’m a “get it done” sort of guy.  We are in the middle of an extremely busy time in ATF.  We are planning next years tour and there are seemingly 10 million details that need to be covered, addressed or dealt with between now and18 weeks from now when our premier event kicks off in Amherst, MA.  As I type this I’m not sitting behind the desk in my office, I’m actually sitting in front of my dining room table.  Two weeks ago my wife Marla gave birth to our beautiful son Emmett and today was a day packed with check ups, tests, car seats and strollers.  We are so thankful our little one is healthy!  But from the look in my wife’s eyes I needed to be on deck today as “papa” and not running off to the office.  (Like a good husband I obeyed)  This morning was hectic… We were at home getting ready for the first doctors appt.  Marla just fed Emmett and wanted to get showered and dressed (for only our 2nd outing since he was born) I had the task of changing him.  Now I’m a great diaper changer… seriously!  I’ve become an expert in burping, cleaning and now think the diaper genie is one of the world’s greatest inventions!  But this morning he had a particularly large bowel movement (you know what I mean… number 2) so here I was cleaning it up and before I could put on a fresh diaper… he starts spraying pee everywhere!   I grab the first piece of cloth I see to shield myself, but I could not shield him… we were going to be late for that first appointment and I was going to give little Emmett an un-scheduled bath.

It made me think of something Ron said when he and Katie were visiting with us the other day… “How do single parents manage?”  I mean this was 9:45AM and with two parents on task our day was already de-railed!   I LOVE being a dad.  I’m fortunate enough to work for an organization where  we value family and I can be somewhat flexible with my time.  Yet today my thoughts turn to the millions of families who don’t live in a situation like ours.  My thoughts also turn to the millions of parents who are trying to raise teenagers in today’s culture.

I think we as youth leaders have to do something to have these parents backs!  This past year at ATF we had a “Parents Workshop” where we shared tools for parents raising teenagers.  This session received overwhelming positive feedback from both parents and leaders.  As we plan the multitude of nuances of the coming ATF I think we need to really consider the importance of not just ministering to the teens themselves but provide real tools and support for parents and leaders alike.  I’m constantly looking for ways to make that happen and am not shy about asking for feedback!  So let the emails fly!