Making a Difference

Unforgettable Memories

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:22:00 +0000

My oldest son, Marcus, turned 15 on Friday. While his uncle takes him fishing, hunting and to rural Mississippi, I decided to take him to New York City to stay near Central Park, go to Broadway to watch Wicked and eat at some of the world's best restaurants. I wanted to make some special memories...

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Selling Tomorrow's Ideas to Yesterday's Generation

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:29:00 +0000

In the past few days I have spoken at two conferences, Cultivate in Chicago and Rejuvenate in Birmingham. One of the most popular questions during the Q&A session deals with the difficulty of selling an aging generation on new ideas and technology: "How can I convince my [boss, board, church...

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Photoshop My Life

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:44:00 +0000

Authenticity. It's a big word and it's everywhere today. We want an authentic life with authentic friends, even down to attending church with an authentic preacher. But sadly, we, myself included, are often guilty of measuring ourselves against the impossible: the manufactured image of perfection...

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I Love My Work

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:52:00 +0000

I love the fact that what I do for a living matters. I realize that I could make more money if the core of my business served more corporate clients instead of not for profits, churches, authors and Christian publishers. But I know I wouldn't be any more fulfilled than I am today. Walking side...

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Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:52:00 +0000

This is not a cooking blog, but I love to cook and several people asked for the recipe once I tweeted about it. Plain tomato soup can be thin and sharp. Adding cream—the usual stodgy solution—merely dulls it. I wanted to tame the tartness without losing flavor. I found this recipe in Cooks...

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We Should Never Grow Old

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:11:00 +0000

Aging is a matter of the mind. And yet I tell my body everyday that and it still aches and hurts every time I go out on a run. The truth is that, for the most part, aging stinks. But you can live a long time and never get "old" a.k.a crabby, bitter and demanding. Well, by those standards there are...

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How to Give Bad News

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:54:00 +0000

Recently I had to tell someone that his organization had serious brand/communication issues. I don't like doing it and it still makes me uncomfortable. Who wants to be the bearer of bad news? Well, if you work around churches long enough like I have, you'll find all kinds of people who believe they...

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Carpe Diem Before It's Too Late

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:20:00 +0000

Friday night my friend Chad called to tell me his good friend Martin had just dropped dead after returning home from a run. I didn't know Martin, but he was practically my age and, according to Chad, very healthy. So what does that mean to you and me? Well, there are probably many lessons here,...

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Life Should Be Fun

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:47:00 +0000

Intuitively we know that the more fun we inject in activities, the more likely people are to respond positively to them. When my boys were small I used to play let's-see-how-fast-we-can-put-up-the toys game. They would clean the room in a matter of minutes as opposed to the whining and gnashing of...

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Find the Right Communication Language

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:05:00 +0000

I enjoy people. I'm the guy who looks forward to a party to meet someone new as oppose to dreading have to walk in a room full of strangers. Most of the time that I find myself in a new situation, I look forward to making new friends. As gregarious as I am, I have learned that not everyone...

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The Opportunity During Tough Times

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:31:00 +0000

Not long ago we feared that Wall Street was spiraling out of control, our economic system was in total chaos and the sky was falling were the headlines of the season. While I find myself very concerned about our financial future, there’s something about a shake down in the way we do business that...

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Are You an Owner?

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:00:00 +0000

I have always been an owner even when I worked for someone else. Recently I have thought about my employment history as well as those who have been my colleges and employees over the years and have come to the conclusion people fall in two main categories: owners and workers. Before you go, duh,...

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Don't Blame It on Rio (Just Take it Back from the Criminals)

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:26:00 +0000

I'm happy for Rio's win bid to host the 2016 Olympic games. I think it's past time that a South American country host the games. But beyond hosting the world for the games, I hope that this opportunity along with the World Cup event in 2014 (in many ways a bigger deal than the Olympics for most non...

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What Should You Stop Doing?

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:42:00 +0000

"Write down your favorite quote" said the lady at a recent reception where I was to be introduced to a lot of new people. Nothing came to mind. Here I was under pressure to come up with something good and my mind was failing me. Out of nowhere this comes out: Every leader must learn that just...

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In Need of New Language

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:34:00 +0000

Half-way through a great Sunday morning service at The Life Church of Memphis, it hit me: they need new language to help define their uniqueness both theologically as well experientially. And then I realized that there are potentially hundreds of churches in America in the same place. They need a...

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Selling and the Gospel

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:31:00 +0000

"I like you. How can we work together?" I remember hearing that from a person who barely knew me at the time and today is a client, and, more importantly, a friend. We all buy services and products, but we often buy them from some one, and the nature of sales has more to do with the salesperson...

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Art for Art's Sake

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 18:33:00 +0000

So art is subjective and it's supposed to evoke feelings, thoughts, or just a simple "hey, this is not the ordinary, so look at me" type of reaction. This slide show is of some of the most unusual sculptures from around the world. I haven't decided on a favorite, but I'm pretty sure it's not the ...

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Leadership Brentwood Retreat Reflections

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 21:06:00 +0000

This weekend I found myself in the middle of a 32-hour technology ban with 20 people I've never met before. What was I thinking? Well, that was one of the "privileges" of being chosen for the Leadership Brentwood class of 2010. I had not heard of the program until my friend Bob Knestrick urged me...

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SMO: Social Media Optimization

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:13:00 +0000

Most people in business has heard, worked on or paid for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) on their websites. SEO attempts to setup a website in a such a way that when search engine bots and crawlers visit your site, they are able to find, index and eventually display your information well. Here's...

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The Right Way to Apologize

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:23:00 +0000

If you've lived long enough, you've had to apologize multiple times and, if you're a married man, you've done it countless times. But not all apologies are the same. Some people apologize because they get caught and now must find a way clean it up. Others manage to say sorry while shifting the...

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How Social Media is Changing Communications

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:29:00 +0000

In this 16-minute presentation from TED, Clay Shirky, author of "Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations" makes a compelling presentation on how social media has changed the way we communicate. The landscape of information has changed dramatically. Today media...

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Alignment: A Case Study

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:00:00 +0000

I hear a lot about alignment lately. Business and church leaders like to talk about being aligned with mission, staffing, and consumers. It sounds great in meetings. It usually makes people think that you very smart when during any discussion you say “but we must make sure we have alignment here.”...

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Facing My Own Mortality

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:22:00 +0000

Last week was a difficult one for me. I was confronted with my own mortality through the deaths of several of my generation's icons, Michael Jackson, Farah Fawcett, Ed Mcmahon and even, Billy Mayes. Farah Fawcett and Mrs. Piggy posters hung side by side in my bedroom wall growing up. I didn't...

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Vacation Log: My Day at the Water Park

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:20:00 +0000

The Big Kahuna's Water Park is a vacation tradition for the boys. We must spend at least one day of our week-long vacation there. This year is no exception. I love the water park rides as well as the sea of humanity that shows up there. At Big Kahuna you're sure to encounter anything and...

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Vacation Log: Captain Schedule Takes a Break

maurilio@agroup.com (Maurilio Amorim) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:15:00 +0000

I'm on vacation this week. Vacations are weird things for me, since I'm so structured in my daily regimen that vacations are interruptions of my schedule. I'm not complaining, however, it's just the way it is. My friends and family call me "captain schedule" for my seemingly obsession with...

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