ARE:A Renewal Enterprise

Doing What Matters - Whatever It Takes

Dave: The recent NFL lockout has meant lots of football players are stuck in limbo, waiting and wondering if they will be working next fall as football players or if the season is simply going to be lost in the shuffle. So, when I saw this story about one player who decided that he could either wait and see what life brought or he could engage it and make something useful come of this, I was impressed with the choices he made.

Broncos safety David Bruton is hoping to start his third season as an National Football League player. But with the owners locking the players out, those of you who are following sports know that there is still some question about whether there will even be a 2011 NFL football season. The owners have the upper hand - they have money. The players are at some disadvantage - with aging meaning they lose a year of playing time for the season being cancelled, the owners can simply wait them out. A football player's career is not that long - the average player stays in the league less than 5 years.

But David Bruton isn't just thinking about football. He is clear who he is. He is alert to what is happening around him and what he has to work with. He is committed to doing what matters - even during this time of waiting. You can see his story here. He has decided to use the time to be with his son and teach school in Ohio. It is a way that he can connect with kids, do something useful and give positive input to his community.

Bruton is a poster child for "Be who you are. See what you have. Do what matters." He is purposeful and clear about his values. He is alert and committed to engaging life. And he is willing to make course adjustments based on reality to do what matters, even if it isn't what he originally planned. 

Are you or your organization this clear about what you do? And are you able to shift what you do when circumstances change? The book Reclaiming the V Word: Renewing Life From Its Vocational Core may be helpful to you as you personally reflect on this question. Seeing Through New Eyes may help you think about this with your organization. You can order these and other resources from the ARE Bookstore. Enter Coupon Code AREB for a discount. And let us know if time with an ARE Coach might be a helpful way to gain more clarity and focus on your own stuff. David Bruton may inspire many others to consider how to "Do what matters" more effectively.

Great Big See

Tana and I had the opportunity to see one of our favorite bands live in concert on Tuesday night. Great Big Sea (videos below!) appeared at the Rialto Theater in Tucson, a terrific little venue with great sound that lets you get close enough to the musicians to see them giving each other funny looks. These guys are, as lead singer Alan Doyle put it, from "the Hawaii of Canada" – they're originally from Newfoundland – and he invited us all to visit them in February, which I sincerely doubt any of us will be doing. (It's 70F here in February!) They've been playing together for 18 years - something that, as you can imagine, has taken a lot of commitment, mutual respect, love, and forgiveness to pull off.

They got their start playing in Newfoundland bars to rowdy crowds and college kids. And their sound reflects the energy of traditional Newfoundland folk music. I love it for a bunch of reasons not the least of which is that it makes me feel like I'm sitting in a pub in Doolin, County Clare, Irelend again. But what's interesting for our purposes here is how they produced their most recent record, Safe Upon The Shore. 

They got help to do it.

Getting My Nerd On

I'm not exactly sure how it happened - because i was pretty sure i had seen them all - but on a flight from Houston to Chicago yesterday I watched two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation that I've never seen before. Made me remember how much I love that show. And how much it has to teach us...in a playful way, of course. When I got home I googled "leadership lessons from star trek" and found a whole raft of articles and blog posts, including this one from Fast Company - a respectful enough magazine that I self-talked my way into sharing with you what may be the nerdiest blog post I've ever written.

Here are five lessons on leadership I (re)learned from my favorite starship captain and his crew yesterday, while flying somewhere over Kansas City, I think: