Making a Difference

Brand Promise and the Importance of Your Front Line

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:53:00 +0000

People talk about brand management like it's something a highly paid executive carefully orchestrates from the company's headquarters. But more often, managing a brand is left to those at the front lines of contact, such as hourly workers, and sales people. Millions of dollars in advertisement...

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Learning Organizations: Women Of Faith

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:09:00 +0000

My most successful clients are a part of what I call "learning organizations." These are growing, dynamic churches, businesses or ministries that are seldom satisfied with the status quo. They are always learning and searching for ways to make a good experience a great one, to reach even more...

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Proud of Nashvegas

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:43:00 +0000

This week I had the opportunity to host a client's first trip to Nashville. He grew up in Dallas, now lives in Colorado Springs and has traveled extensively through Europe. He is also is a foodie and has eaten in some of the best restaurants in the world. I wondered how Nashville would fare in his...

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Dangers of a Critical Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:39:00 +0000

It's easy for me to be a critic. I grew up in a family that prided itself in finding what's wrong with the world and each other. It was sort of a sport around the dinner table to see who would outwit the rest and deliver the best put down. We all laughed, but someone always got hurt. Now I'm a...

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C3 Church and the God Factor

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:42:00 +0000

This week I got to spend some time with a great group of people at C3 Church in Clayton, NC. I always enjoy connecting with visionary leaders. I meet professional Christians almost on a daily basis, but it's not often that I run into people who see what's not there and who trust God to build...

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The Latest Worship Trend

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:03:00 +0000

I travel all over the country visiting some of the most innovative churches around. It's rare when I run into an experience that touches me deeply, and I recognize it as the latest trend that will sweep the country. It looks like the Worship Team from Faith Community Church is on to something...

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The Father I Never Knew

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:06:00 +0000

I miss my dad today. Monday I left him in Florida at my sister's house while my family and I drove back to Tennessee. He stood at the front porch fighting the inevitable tears. Being close to my father, Senhor Maurilio, as he is known in Brazil, is something very new to me. Growing up I respected...

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Low Tech, High Touch Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:23:00 +0000

I'm often in meetings with CEO's and business leaders looking for cutting edge ways to reach their customers. I must confess that I love technology--almost as Kip in the movie "Napoleon Dynamite" for those of you who saw it--but technology can be a trap. Today I was reminded that it's not...

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The Art of Traveling Well Part I: Planning

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:42:00 +0000

I travel a lot, more than I'd like. People are often puzzled by my busy travel schedule and seemingly calm demeanor about it. Interestingly, I book all my trips and have done it for decades. But traveling well is something you learn with time and experience. I've decide to write a few posts on...

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Top 10 Ways to Get in Trouble with Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:00:00 +0000

I’ve been Twittering for over 90 days now, and I must say it has been a great tool to build community instantly. While I’ve loved the positive aspect of Twitter, I must, in all fairness to those of you who are new to this social network or are contemplating signing on, share my experience with...

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Celebrating Faith, Faithfulness and Friendship with Frank

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:53:00 +0000

Yesterday I spent the day in New Millford, CT celebrating 10 years of ministry with a client and good friend, Pastor Frank Santora. His church dedicated the weekend services to Frank and his family for his faithfulness to his calling and to Faith Church. I met Frank 8 years ago shortly after he had...

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The Inconvenience of Travel and the Opportunity of Ministry

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:40:00 +0000

God has a way to intersect our lives during the mundane to do something amazing when we least expect. I call these moments "divine appointments." These are times when God places people, often the unlikely, in an intersecting path with our own, but the result is seldom what we anticipate. It's...

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Cirque du Soleil and the WOW Factor

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:52:00 +0000

Last night I saw the new Cirque du Soleil's show "Love." If you haven't heard, it features the music of the Beatles and the amazing cast of Cirque's uber-talented performers. It was an amazing experience--a double WOW ! The whole thing, from beginning to end, was just jaw-dropping. I won't try to...

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Southwest Gets it. American Doesn't.

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:09:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, my friend Anne Jackson blogged about American Airlines. Her inspired blog post aptly titled “American Airlines is the Devil” drew a lot of comments from weary travelers who had similarly painful experiences with the airline. It took American Airlines a long time to notice and...

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Another Trip to ER Hell: Why our Health Care Needs Reform

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:07:00 +0000

Lately I have become an unwilling member of the emergency room frequent guest program. Six weeks ago I spend the better part of an afternoon at ER of centennial hospital after finishing the Nashville Marathon. [I wrote about it here.] This past Saturday I returned to another ER, Williamson Medical...

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My Life in 140 Characters: The Twitter Writing Course

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:55:00 +0000

I've been twittering for almost 2 months now. And while it has connected me with a lot of people, it has really helped my writing. Twitter forces me to make an argument or develop a thought in no more than 140 characters. In a world of digital verbosity, that's hard to do. But how much can one...

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Thoughts from a Secret Church Shopper

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:51:00 +0000

Today I walked through a church as a secret shopper. I experienced a Sunday service for the first time and tried to answer the question that every first-time guest asks himself: "why should I come back here?" The question is not as much about musical style and preaching method as it is about...

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Tweevangelism: A New Use for Tweeter

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Thu, 29 May 2008 11:36:00 +0000

Lately, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t introduce someone to Twitter. Mike Hyatt has a great blog about it here, if you don’t know what it is. Most people’s first reaction is almost always the same: “Do you really think anyone cares what you’re doing throughout the day?” Yes, I do, but...

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Building a Winning Team: When Talent Isn't Enough

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Sat, 24 May 2008 00:11:00 +0000

The 2006 Brazilian National team was favorite to win the World Cup. They were touted as, potentially, the most talented soccer team ever assembled. Yet, the world favorite was eliminated during the quarter finals much to the disappointment of Brazilians worldwide, including yours truly. What...

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In Defense of the Techno Slut

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:26:00 +0000

Lately I have gotten a lot of "feedback" from friends, family, associates and even complete strangers on my obsession with technology, as some have labeled it, specially my ongoing usage of Twitter. Since I syndicate my tweets (what we call a twitter post) on my blog, my Facebook page, and Plaxo,...

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Inauthentic Communication and the Fake Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Mon, 12 May 2008 01:28:00 +0000

"And let's also add a blog to the new site design," he said as if it were an afterthought, which I was sure it was. Knowing his propensity for delegating, I probed further, "That's great. How often are you planning on blogging?" "Oh, I'm not going to write the blog myself, " he said assuredly, "my...

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The Difference Between TV and Real Life Courtroom or My Day as a Juror-Wanna-Be

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:17:00 +0000

This was my first day ever to be called for the dreaded, or loved, jury duty. It was something I hoped to escape altogether, but with only two days left in my window of service, I got called in. Being a product of our popular culture, I envisioned my experience as a juror playing out much like a...

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Birthing Websites

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:46:00 +0000

Going live with a website is analogous to the birthing process--ok, ladies, please give me some latitude here. First, there's a conception plan, then the site begins to take shape in the womb of a development server. A lot of work goes into creating and growing the new site that's hidden from...

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Lessons from My First Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:56:00 +0000

Between worrying about the thunderstorms and getting up on time for the race, I was a restless man Friday night. But as 4:00 AM came on Saturday, I was up and getting ready for the longest, biggest race of my life. After all, the longest race I'd run before yesterday was the Boulevard Bolt--a...

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Hires from Hell: What You Don't Know Will Cost You (a lot)

noreply@blogger.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:07:00 +0000

The wrong person in your staff can cause you not only headaches, but a bad hire can be the difference between amazing growth and a church split or an early retirement from the ministry. Not long ago I went to dinner with a friend who shared with me what could've been a staffing nightmare. A...

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