Catalyst Conference 2008- Day 2

Here are the highlights, as I saw them, for day 2:

Session 6- Dave Ramsey

Dave is a personal finance expert, best-selling author, and national radio talk show host. He spoke at Catalyst last year about money management, but this was his first talk on leadership. He spoke specifically about unity in an organization. The 5 enemies to unity are:
- Poor communication
- Gossip
- Unresolved disagreements
- Lack of shared purpose
- Sanctioned incompetence

Team members will become demotivated when someone on the team can’t or won’t do their job and the leader fails to act. For the sake of unity on a team, the leader must do battle early and often with any of these enemies of unity.

Specifically, as it applies to Christian businesses, I loved this comment from Dave: “If you’re going to put a fish on the back of that thing, you’d better drive it right.”

Session 7- Franklin Graham

Franklin Graham accepted a lifetime achievement award for his father. But, he spoke with conviction about the power of the gospel message. We can’t control it, we can’t manage it, but there is power in the gospel of Jesus.

Session 8- Matt Chandler

This may have been the best session at the conference, so I’m glad we stayed to watch it. Chandler is the lead pastor at The Village Church in Highland Village (Dallas), Texas. Chandler taught at length from 1 Timothy 4 and said there are a lot of people who know about Jesus, but don’t really know Jesus. Having the right answers and saying the right things doesn’t make you right with God- it’s about your relationship with Christ. His heart breaks for the people in church every week who don’t know Jesus.

Session 9- Andy Stanley

Here are the 5 things Andy Stanley is thinking about now:

1. To reach people no one else is reaching, we need to do things no one else is doing. – Craig Groeschel

It’s not good enough to do the same thing louder or better or differently. To reach people outside the church, we need to go outside the church. Stanley says we need to become preoccupied with those we haven’t reached as opposed to those we are trying to keep.

2. The next Generation product almost never comes from the previous generation.- Al Reis

If you’re over 45, you need to accept that your ideas to reach the next generation will not be effective. You need to lend your expertise to deciding which ideas are good ones instead of trying to come up with good ideas. Be a student, not a critic.

3. What do I believe is impossible to do in my field... but if it could be done, it would fundamentally change my business? - Joel Barker

Pay attention to those who are breaking the rules- they are almost always the ones that solve the problems

4. If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new CEO, what we he do? Why shouldn’t we walk out the door, come back in, and do it ourselves? – Andy Grove

Acknowledge what’s not working, and own up to why you are unwilling to do anything about it.
No pain = no change. Change is always painful, but almost always worth it.

5. When your memories exceed your dreams, the end is near. – Michael Hammer

Don’t let success overshadow your vision.

Summary

The Catalyst Conference was really great this year. I left out comments from a few speakers (Tim Sanders, Brenda Salter McNeil, Andy Crouch) that I didn’t get much from, but the sessions were almost universally good. (Sorry, I love Tim Sanders, but I didn't get much. He's great though. Really. Read Love is the Killer App.)