CharlieDean

I picked up this book at David’s suggestion.  I’m glad I did.  I’ve read a lot of business/leadership books in the last 15 years.  Many, if not most, were written by successful CEO’s of major corporations/churches or by academics.  Some were good.  Many are just so-so.  Rework is the first business book that I’ve read that is written in “my language,” the language of a 30-something Gen-Xer/Millenial/whatever I am, who is distrustful of the “organization” and “policies” and “corporate cultures.”  Of course, some of the content doesn’t cross over from the organization & business practice of a software company to a church, but much of it does.  Below the jump are some of my highlights.

• “Interruptions break your work day into a series of work moments…you should get in the alone zone.  Long stretches of alone time are when you’re most productive.”   – BTW… I’m terrible at interrupting myself.  This was a great reminder that I need to isolate myself from distraction.

• “Go to Sleep” – “Creativity is one of the first things to go when you lose sleep.”    ”…some people still develop a masochistic sense of honor about sleep deprivation.  They even brag about how tired they are.  Don’t be impressed.  It’ll come back to bit them in the ass.”    GUILTY.

• “Welcome Obscurity”  -   “Use this time to make mistakes without the whole world hearing about them…obscurity helps protect your ego and preserves your confidence.”     HEAR! HEAR!  I’ve enjoyed the obscurity of our church for the last 2+ years.  It’s a gift, for sure.

• “Decisions are temporary”  - “the decisions you make today don’t need to last forever….at this stage it’s silly to worry about whether or not your concept will scale from five to five thousand people.”    FREEING!

• “They’re not 13″  - “When you treat people like children, you get children’s work.”    - A quick story.  In my first pastorate, I was trusted with the spiritual lives of around 75 students, but I had to ask permission to get the church credit card or access my ministry checkbook.  I felt like I was a little kid asking for allowance.  I sure didn’t feel like an adult hired and trusted to do a great job.

• “Send People Home at Five” – “When people have something to do at home, they get down to business.  They get their work done because they have somewhere else to be…you want busy people.  People who have a life outside of work.”  YES!

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