here's jake.
here's jake.
it's been a little while since i posted. i guess i need to get caught up. this could take a while, but here's what's happening in my world...
my first sunday at waters edge church was january 4th, which means i've been here for a little over a month. in that short time, i've learned a lot. probably the most important thing i've learned, though, is this... i have a lot to learn!
tony shared his take on new employees the other day and it hit the nail on the head for me. take a look at what he had to say...
It takes 12 months in any new job to figure out the role.
I’m talking about leadership roles here. If you are a widget-fabricator, maybe it’s different for you. For those of us that transition into new leadership positions, though, it always takes a full year to find out what we were really hired to do.
In those 12 months, we get to figure out what the unspoken expectations are. We have the opportunity to determine how our uniqueness fits into the unique organization that now provides our paycheck. We have the chance to see how we relate and work beside the people on our team. It takes 12 months. Until then, we aren’t really adding true value. We’re just trying to survive.
This is why finding the right people before you offer the job is so important. This is why finding the right employer before accepting the job is so important. This is why keeping the right people in your organization is so important. Every time the position opens, we lose 12 months.
when i first read that, i thought "man, that stinks. twelve months?". but i have to say i agree with tony's thoughts here 100%... because i'm there right now. i can attest to it first hand. i know i found the right employer. and (hopefully!) they think they found the right employee. but i'm still the new guy. i'm still learning the ropes.
it takes twelve months. well... one month down, eleven to go...
weekend update is all about random. what's on my mind, what i've been up to, and all points in between. my little way of getting things caught up. here we go...
... i've just been too busy to blog.
but, since i've got people in greenville wondering what's happening with us, and quite a few new readers (welcome!) from waters edge checking up on the new guy, i figured i better get something up here.
here's an update on what's happening...
:: we got into town safely last friday night. unfortunately, when we got here, there were several issues with the house we were supposed to be moving in to and we weren't able to move in as planned. obviously that wasn't good, but it was out of our hands. we were able to get checked into a hotel for the weekend until things could be resolved. (by the way... staybridge suites, very comfortable place to stay.)
:: sunday @ waters edge was great. i am so thankful that God brought us here. everyone made us feel right at home, and we had a great first sunday. i'm so excited to be a part of what God is doing at waters edge church. i love our team, i love our volunteers and i love why we do what we do!
:: by monday, it became clear that our temporary housing was not going to work out (i'm not at liberty to share the details, so don't ask... sorry), so we moved on to plan b.
enter karen and ray.
:: also known as stu's (my boss') in-laws, karen and ray graciously offered to let us stay in their home as a temporary solution until we are able to find something more permanent. karen and ray are amazing. they have made us very comfortable and we have thoroughly enjoyed living in their home for the last several days. i told them not to let us get too comfortable or we might not leave...
:: tuesday was my first official day in the office. since then, honestly, this week has been a bit of a blur. i have definitely been working hard, though. and the more i work through that "to do" list, the more seems to be added to it. but that's alright... that's the way i like it. i love my job!
:: as for what happens next... well, i'm off for the next couple of days, so kristi, logan and i will be out bright and early tomorrow to start house hunting. we still have a house in greenville that needs to sell, which does hinder us a little. we're not yet certain how we're going to work out paying an additional mortgage/rental payment up here until our house sells, but we don't really have a choice at this point... we have to move forward. there's no doubt God's big enough to work out the details on our house, so we're just not going to worry about that.
i would appreciate your prayers going forward, though. specifically, please pray for our transition to continue to be as smooth as possible. especially for kristi and logan. obviously it's been a little bit of a roller coaster this first week, but we're doing good. also, please continue to pray for our house in greenville to sell quickly. that would solve a lot of problems. and lastly, pray that God would lead us to the right place to live and make it possible for us to afford it.
if you're still reading at this point, well... thanks for sticking around for the whole thing. this was a pretty long post... i'm proud of you. thanks for stopping by, and thanks for praying!
it's 2009!
i'm glad.
2008 was kind of a weird year.
but this is a new year.
and we're making some big changes as we start 2009.
what's on tap?
new job... check.
new church... check.
new place to live... check.
new city... check.
new state... check.
new start?
check.
it all begins tomorrow.
come along for the ride.
happy new year, everybody!
so we're moving this week... sort of. actually, we're only partially moving. because we're going to be living in someone else's house for a while, we're only going to be taking some of our stuff.
so, it appears that the world is jumping on the tokbox bandwagon.
the world i live in, anyway.
i don't use tokbox.
oh, don't get me wrong...
i would love to join the party.
i blog.
i'm on facebook.
i twitter.
i use ichat.
why not add something else to distract me from actually getting any work done?
here's why...
i have a 14" ibook g4.
as in, before apple began including isight in their laptops.
that's right, i'm kicking it old school.
so...
who wants to buy me a new macbook for christmas?
i promise i'll say thank you.
every time we video chat on tokbox.
i've opened up typepad no less than twenty times in the last three or four days intending to post something on this blog. something. anything. the problem is, every time i sit down... i can't seem to articulate anything.
it's wednesday night and i'm getting geared up for catalyst 08. it's entirely possible that i've scheduled more "let's hook up @ catalyst" meetings than there are hours in the day, but that's part of the experience. i can't wait to get down there and dive in tomorrow.
something in your organization is broken. you should fix it. something in your organization needs to change.you should change it. something in your organization isn't working anymore. you should stop doing it. something in your organization is crippling your ability to grow. break through.
although it might seem like you have numerous problems, often there is a singular source. usually it's just one thing. one big thing. and that one big thing spreads throughout the organization like wildfire and keeps us from realizing our full potential.
... if momentum or laziness or lack of will (or focus) is the thing holding you back, it's time to get serious. When you remove the one big thing from people's list of objections, your career and organization will take off.
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