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You are here: Home / Archives for 2 - Professional Skills

Business is Art

March 8, 2016 by James Kinnard

workbench

This is a great perspective from Work the System by Sam Carpenter:

Who says art must include a canvas, sculpture, or musical instrument? Art is creativity, and is there a better example of a creative endeavor than the machinations of building a successful business? Indeed, business is art in its purest form! The painter and the musician shouldn’t scoff at the entrepreneur or corporate chief who must take hard, cold life – sights, sounds, events, things, people – and stir them into an efficient enough mixture to produce a successful business. Business is art. It’s a heroic undertaking, and with it lies two superb by-products: tangible value to others–employees and customers–and personal income for the creator.

Filed Under: Business, Entrepreneurship, WBN the Book

Rescuing Ambition in the Workplace

January 13, 2016 by James Kinnard

I think you’ll benefit from this excellent series of articles from Dave Harvey, author if Rescuing Ambition (also highly recommended!).

This is how Dave introduces his series on ambition in the workplace:

A few years ago I wrote the book Rescuing Ambition and called for a rescue. I wanted to  snatch ambition from the heap of failed motivations and put it to work for the glory of God. I wanted Christians to realize that to understand our ambition, we must understand that we are on a quest for glory. And where we find glory determines the success of our quest. Since I wrote that book, many suggested that I address God’s design for ambition in the workplace and in one’s daily calling. 

Here are the links to Dave’s multi-part series, “Rescuing Ambition in the Workplace”: Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

 

Filed Under: Ambition, Business, Career Success

Collaboration is More than “Everyone Plays Their Part”

November 16, 2015 by James Kinnard

You’re likely working with other people to produce or create something this week.

God has put us in this together—different skills and experiences coming together to accomplish way more than we could accomplish on our own.

As Christians, we understand this at a foundational level. We know the call to use our different gifts to serve as “good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). Or how, in the body of Christ, “the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you'” (1 Corinthians 12:21).

We believe deeply in coming together for a common mission, and we want the benefits that come from strong collaboration, whether in our church or our workplace.

But in practice we can miss out. More than that, we can experience tension or even conflict with our teammates when we approach “teamwork” or “collaboration” in different ways without realizing it.

As I’ve led and worked in different teams over the years, I’ve noticed two basic levels of collaboration and the challenges that come when we apply collaboration differently.

Here’s what I mean:

Level 1 collaboration looks something like this: 
  • “Everyone needs to play their part for us to do this well.”
  • “I’m responsible for making this decision.”
  • “You do this, I’ll do that, and together we can make a big difference.”
Level 2 collaboration, on the other hand, looks more like this:
  • “You’ve only been here a few weeks, but I really want your perspective.”
  • “Can I suggest another way to think about it before we make that policy shift?”
  • “I read about this new software. Wanted to make sure you knew about it…”
  • “That’s my idea. How can we make this stronger?”

We can limit our productivity as a team if we operate solely in Level 1. And we can actually be counter-productive when some of the team are operating in the former and others are aiming for the latter.

Level 1 collaboration has it’s place, but don’t settle for that. Level 2 collaboration is where the really good stuff happens.

Filed Under: Collaboration, Teams

Creating a Business Plan that Actually Works

October 29, 2015 by James Kinnard

Thanks to the many of you who have been so encouraging as we announced the launch of What’s Best Next. You emails and shares have been meaningful.

We hope you’ll stick around to benefit from the things we have planned, and to help us refine the resources and services. None of this makes sense if people like you aren’t inspired and helped.

Creating a Business Plan that Actually Works

One of the things we’re looking to do, in addition to developing many free resources, is to publish, over time, focused books for helping Christians be more effective in their work.

Creating_A_Business_Plan_COVERThe one we started with, which seemed to make sense given what we were already working on, is a short digital book called Creating a Business Plan that Actually Works: Especially, But Not Only, for Faith-Based Organizations.

With a title like that, and given that What’s Best Next is a mere three days old, I would expect at least a snicker or two! But here’s the deal: this e-book is not about guaranteeing a level of success, however you measure it. It’s about a process that does what it’s intended to do—a framework that can make a significant difference as you plan any kind of real-world endeavor.

Whether you’re launching a new business, starting a ministry, planning an event, or managing a project of a certain size or scope, this short e-book can help guide you in thinking through your plans. Matt originally wrote this a few years ago and we’ve updated several sections in light of working through the vision for What’s Best Next.

 Here’s what you’ll find in Creating a Business Plan that Actually Works: 

  1. How Do You Think Biblically About Business Plans?
  2. Making Business Plans Useful: A Brief Overview
  3. The Elements of a Business Plan (And Getting Them Right)
  4. Further Resources

This focused book is especially for those who are making plans from a Christian perspective—whether in churches, ministries, other non-profits, or anywhere else. While you don’t have to operate from a specifically Christian perspective to benefit, it will be especially helpful for those looking for a resource that makes the integration of faith and work explicit.

Available for download from WhatsBestNext.com or Amazon.com

Filed Under: c Strategy, Entrepreneurship, WBN Product News

The 4 Phases of Developing Your Creative Voice

August 25, 2015 by Matt Perman

 

Very helpful, from the 99U. The four phases are: discovery, emulation, divergence, crisis.

Filed Under: Creativity, Innovation

4 Reasons Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook Are Making the World a Better Place

August 13, 2015 by whatsbestnext

This is an excellent post by Michael Hyatt. He begins:

It’s popular to complain about social media and talk about how it is destroying our culture, but what if the exact opposite is true?

I joined Twitter on April 6, 2008. A friend urged me to check it out. He was already using it and loved it. So after some initial eye-rolling, I tried it and fell in love with the medium too.

It wasn’t long at all before I discovered that Twitter is one of the most powerful communication tools ever invented. It also wasn’t long before I got an earful from critics who said social media was bad news.

He goes on to discuss some of that pushback, and then shows how the critics had it backward. He gives four reasons that, contrary to the criticisms that social media is making the world more selfish, it is actually making the world more generous and a better place.

Read the whole thing.

Filed Under: Innovation, Social Media, Technology, Web Strategy

Getting Collaboration Right

July 16, 2015 by Matt Perman

A great post at the 99U: The Collaboration Paradox: Why Working Together Often Yields Weaker Results

A key excerpt:

Most of the heavy creative lifting happens when we’re by ourselves, working on our own. We’re in a better position to evaluate the merits of an idea after we’ve given a topic some thought, not when encountering it for the first time.

For collaboration to work, we need to understand the crucial role of alone time and focused, individual work. Collaboration is essential, but it only yields better results when combined with individual work rather than seen as something that renders the individual work unnecessary.

Filed Under: Collaboration

Love Your Neighbor By Removing Pop-Ups from Your Website

July 11, 2015 by Matt Perman

This is an excellent, very well reasoned article by Steven Kryger: “Why I Removed Extremely Effective Pop-Ups from My Website.“

Filed Under: Web Strategy

Why Read Books? (And How?)

July 6, 2015 by Matt Perman

A fantastic article at the 99U.

And a nice start:

Warren Buffett is undoubtedly considered one of the greatest investors of all times. His empire, Berkshire Hathaway, is worth $355 billion, an increase of 1,826,163 percent since 1964 when Buffett took over. He owns (or owns big chunks) of some of the biggest brands in the world including GEICO, Dairy Queen, NetJets, half of Heinz, and significant holdings in companies such as American Express, IBM, and Wells Fargo.

But Buffett’s very best investment—responsible for literally billions of dollars in profits over the years—was very cheap. Because it was a book. That’s right, a book.

Filed Under: Reading

Jon Acuff in Christianity Today

May 19, 2015 by Matt Perman

Kate Shellnutt has written an excellent piece on Jon Acuff at Christianity Today.

I love what Jon is doing. He is writing some of the best books right now on the world of work. He understands the nature of the new economy and the best of current business thinking. And, he is very funny.

Here’s a good snapshot from the article:

[Jon] tells readers they don’t have to settle for a job they dread and offers practical steps to find passion in their daily work. His taglines include “Punch Fear in the Face” and “Build a Better Monday.” He wants people to actually enjoy their jobs, for the sake of themselves, their employers, and their witness in the world of business.

I’ve also written a companion piece on why Christians need to learn from secular business thinkers.

Check out the full article on what Jon is doing. And if you don’t have it already, Jon’s latest book, Do Over: Rescue Monday, Reinvent Your Work, and Never Get Stuck, is very much worth checking out as well.

Filed Under: c Career Navigation Skills

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About

What’s Best Next exists to help you achieve greater impact with your time and energy — and in a gospel-centered way.

We help you do work that changes the world. We believe this is possible when you reflect the gospel in your work. So here you’ll find resources and training to help you lead, create, and get things done. To do work that matters, and do it better — for the glory of God and flourishing of society.

We call it gospel-driven productivity, and it’s the path to finding the deepest possible meaning in your work and the path to greatest effectiveness.

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About Matt Perman

Matt Perman started What’s Best Next in 2008 as a blog on God-centered productivity. It has now become an organization dedicated to helping you do work that matters.

Matt is the author of What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done and a frequent speaker on leadership and productivity from a gospel-driven perspective. He has led the website teams at Desiring God and Made to Flourish, and is now director of career development at The King’s College NYC. He lives in Manhattan.

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