Thought

Story Contest Winner

2008-02-01T14:59:00-05:00

Jason Boyett, author of “The Day I Met Paw-Paw,” lives in Amarillo, Texas. He keeps busy working as the communications director at a medium-sized church in Amarillo. But he’s also a freelance writer, marketing consultant and the author of several books. His most recent book is Pocket Guide to the Bible (Relevant, 2006). He also keeps a regular blog at http://jasonboyett.blogspot.com/.

CHANGEffect Story

2008-01-03T14:13:00-05:00

We talk a lot about crafting stories for organizations. Are you wondering about our story? Would you like to see it? Careful. It’s been known to change the way people think about CHANGEffect.

And The Winner Is

2009-03-10T19:43:00-05:00

And the winner of the National Religious Broadcasters Conference six word story contest is…

Aligning People, Process and Technology (with your brand)

2009-02-05T01:43:00-05:00

While I was hanging out in the hospital awaiting the birth of my daughter Ellie, I don’t think i saw a nurse or a doctor write something down even once. Everything was entered into one of the two computers in the room. All the monitors and drips were being observed from the nurses station--and (we were told) could be from almost anywhere else in the new Prentice Women’s Hospital. Reuters recently did a piece featuring the findings of a study of hospitals in Texas, that found “patients treated in hospitals that ranked highest in use of health information technology to manage patient records and physician notes were 15 percent less likely to die compared with patients in hospitals that ranked lower.”

We’re Headed to Nashvegas for NRB 2009!

2009-02-03T18:21:01-05:00

This weekend four members of our team will travel to Nashville, TN, for the National Religious Broadcasters Conference. While we’re in town we’ll be doing more than taking in the sights—although I’m sure we’ll make a little time to enjoy Music City USA. As an exhibitor we get sit in on the conference’s main and breakout sessions in addition to getting to know attendees and our fellow exhibitors. This year the conference is especially significant as two of our clients are introducing new brands at the conference. Re:Frame Media and Moody Radio are both unveiling the result of many hours of collaboration. We’re excited for them and look forward to their continued success as they reap the benefits from the fruit of their labor.

Living [Your] Brand

2009-01-30T02:34:00-05:00

Southwest airlines successfully translates their brand promise and brand characteristics into practical implications so that the brand is digested down to the touch point where the most important customer experience is occurring. The airline has effectively created human resources training programs (a.k.a., brand training) so that everyone understands what it means to live the Southwest brand promise. While high-level brand definition, core beliefs, operating values, a creative strategy and an enticing visual brand language are critical–and under gird the overall brand strategy–unless the firm is organized in a way that aligns with the brand story, the public will never experience the story.

The Reason Your Church Must Twitter

2009-01-26T19:19:00-05:00

Does your church tweet? Should your church/pastor use Twitter? In his new e-book, The Reason Your Church Must Twitter, Anthony D. Coppedge (@anthonycoppedge) explores how pastors and church staff can use twitter to make their ministries more contagious. As an avid tweeter myself (@ryanwynia), I have been growing in my understanding of Twitter’s usefulness and have been enjoying how my church (@parkchurch) uses Twitter. “The connection people want to feel with their pastor and pastoral staff cannot be overstated. Twitter is a free and simple way to connect churches to the cell phones of their congregation, volunteers and staff.”

Is Your Organization Happy? Seven Ways to Get There

2009-01-20T22:14:00-05:00

Now that neuroscientists, psychiatrists, behavioral economists, positive psychologists, and Buddhist monks are arriving at consensus on the definition, we can all breath a sigh of relief. The February edition of Psychology Today examines our individual happiness: How to turn it on (what works and what doesn’t). If these are the keys for individual happiness and organizations are really a collection of individuals, then organizations have the ability to be happy. This also means leadership has the opportunity to foster individual and organizational happiness.

The Pursuit of Happiness

2009-01-19T17:47:00-05:00

The cover article of the February issue of Psychology Today explores the phenomenon of happiness--how to turn it on: what works and what doesn’t. I was fascinated to learn that in the last year there have been roughly 4,000 books on happiness released as compared to about 50 in 2000. I also found it curious that “as a nation, we’ve grown sadder and more anxious during the same years that the happiness movement has flourished.” Finally, the most astounding information I read was this: