Things My Kids Say #4
I’ve continued collecting some of the things my kids say. Kids may drive us crazy sometimes, but there is no question they keep life interesting. For perspective: Caleb- Age 10 Logan- Age 7 Micah- Age 4 Dad- Hard to say Wife- Ageless 1. On the roof Logan, running inside: "Daddy, Caleb needs you." David: "Why" Logan: "Uh....because he's on the roof of the garage." David (only somewhat surprised): "Why is Caleb on the roof"? Logan: "He threw a frisbee on it and now he can't get down." 2. Cleveland Sympathy Caleb after visiting the Cleveland Orchestra: "I loved it! Did ...
Exercise Room Closed Due to Wall Hole at Thorne Inc.
A mysterious wall hole has temporarily impeded exercise at Thorne Inc. Management is currently taking steps to rectify this situation. A recent memo from management addressed mysterious hole situation directly. The Butt-shaped Hole Signs had to be put in place during repairs Signs to keep employees off exercise equipment during repairs Thorne Inc. would like thank employees in advance for their cooperation during repairs and ask in the future they keep their butt under control during all exercise.
Potential Destruction at Thorne Inc.
Thorne Inc. Thorne Inc. was working through some company destruction recently. You can follow along to find out how it all played out: An e-mail to the company: What happened here? In the news: The search for truth Press Release: oops, an inside job Letter: a personal apology
The 4 Most Powerful Letters in a Parent’s Vocabulary
Words Matter There is no question word’s matter. The Bible even says that reckless words can pierce like a sword” (Prov. 12:18) and have the power of “life and death” (Prov. 18:21). We get this in the workplace and so try to watch what we say and how we say it, so as to not get fired. We understand sarcasm and yelling don't help us get promoted. But, I wonder if we apply these same principles at home? Are we as careful with what we say and how we say it with our spouse and children? My Words I was ...
The Balanced Scorecard of a Successful Family
Winning The old saying goes, “What gets measured gets done.” I recently read an article explaining how essential it is for successful businesses to develop a scorecard, indicators letting them know if they’re winning or not. Typically a business will choose one main scorecard- finances. But, the authors encouraged a more balanced scorecard focusing on different parts of the company. Also, these scorecards should be linked to the company’s vision and strategy. When it comes to your family- are you winning? What scorecard would you use to determine if your family was winning or not? The first things that come ...
4 Ways to Create Great Family Culture
Culture Matters There’s the old saying, “People don’t quit jobs, they quit managers.” They quit the environment managers create in their workplace. The most effective businesses in the world know that culture matters! Collins and Porras shared that companies built to last will have “cult-like cultures” (p. 114, 1994). They have a very clear idea of who they are and what it should be like to work in their environment. In their leadership research, Kouzes and Posner found that above all, people want to work for a leader they consider consistent and trustworthy (p. 37, 2012). Who wants to work ...
Making Decisions that Won’t Make Your Kids Crazy
How does your family make decisions? I'm talking about things like: what kids should wear to school, eat for breakfast, haircut to get, sport to play, what the family will eat for dinner, do on the weekend, and do with their free time? Families make a lot of decisions. One study on leadership determined there are 4 main decision making styles. When managing people or leading a team, it's important to determine the appropriate decision-making style that will bring about the most success for the team and development of the individuals on the team. But, these 4 leadership styles don't have to stay ...
Every Family Needs a Vision
Every great company begins with a vision. A vision is an inspiring but simple word picture of a future you hope to create. I love how John Maxwell explained, “Vision is everything for a leader. It paints the target. It sparks and fuels the fire within, and draws him forward…Show me a leader without vision, and I’ll show you someone who isn’t going anywhere” (1999, p. 150). Pastor Bill Hybels said it this way, “Vision is at the very core of leadership. Vision is the fuel that leaders run on…It’s the fire that ignites the passion of followers” (2002, p. ...
Top 5 Posts of 2015
I had a blast blogging this past year and hope to blog even more in the coming year. I thought I'd share the top 5 most viewed posts from this previous year. 5. The Prayer that Changed My Life Forever I decided to share what I remember about saying goodbye to my dad in third grade. This was definitely an emotional post for me to write. I had a counseling appointment in grad school that changed how I viewed my dad's death forever and shared about it in this post. 4. Stuff My Kids Say #3 I began writing down ...
The Most Awkward Text I Ever Received
Technology can be a wonderful thing. But, it can also be dangerous. A little over a year ago I received the most awkward text of my entire life. I thought I’d share my story in hopes of protecting you from suffering a similar experience. We were a few weeks away from my youngest brother’s wedding in Omaha, Nebraska. The extended Thorne family is a fairly close-knit group and texts were flying a mile a minute as the wedding approached. Soon, a large family group text began, filled with cousins, aunts, uncles, and my brothers and me. On July 2nd my cousin ...