It's a Motto

The word motto has been hanging around for a couple of days. First I paid a visit to the Prince's Motto in Barrow Gurney, a remarkable pub which has enough quirks to keep you in quirks for a while. The car park spaces are marked with the names of the regulars. I thought they'd misspelled an abbreviation for 'disabled' but I had parked next to Des's space. Brilliant.

You see few original signs over pub doors but we liked this one:

In case of fire
Don't panic
Pay your bar bill
Then run like hell

Good beer and nice, simple food.

But secondly, we have a new game in staff meetings. When someone says something which, once dragged screaming out of context would be an alarming thing to admit to actually meaning, someone else will shout, 'That should be our motto.' Yes, our staff team is developing a sense of fun and personality. Don't worry. I'll put an end to it.

Today's motto offerings:

Sometimes better isn't right

Many things brilliantly done aren't worth doing

If I'm going down I'm taking you with me

I expect this will continue.

Axiom again

I've lost track of what number I got up to but, in the paradoxical world of axioms, I have discovered two that are opposite yet true. The first I credit to Bishop Colin Buchanan, heard in a liturgy lecture in about 1983.

A clock that strikes thirteen is not only wrong once; it also casts doubt on all further teaching from the same source.

Today, as I immediately forgave an apologetic, and normally punctual, responder for a delay in doing something, I realised that I also allow myself to be guided by:

Consistency in performance earns you the right to err from time to time.

The wisdom trick is to know the difference.

A New Axiom

I'm still reading my way through Bill Hybel's Axioms and then came across one I've been using a bit recently. It goes, 'If you're going to have a silly day have a very silly one.'

In other words if a day looks so busy you will never get any study/desk/admin. time in the gaps between the appointments then maximise the appointment time. Fit a couple of half hour appointments in the gaps.

Bil Hybels breaks his day into fifteen minute chunks. Lord knows how small the chunks of say, a President or Prime Minister are.

My first ministry boss used to say, 'I've got a whole half hour.' Twenty five years on I think I understand at last.

One Further Axiom

Most people over-estimate what they can achieve in six months and under-estimate what they can achieve in five years.

One More Axiom

Never wear anything more interesting than your talk.

And Yet Another Axiom

Chairs should face the most boring wall.

And Another

Starting a brainstorm in the top-left hand corner imposes an order on the material too early. Start in the middle.

Yet Another Axiom

You need to give people authority to go with responsibility.

Another Axiom

You need to give people a big vision, not an apology, for the work you want them to do.

Axioms

At the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit, Bill Hybels led a session on decision making. Already one of the things he said has started having an impact (notice I avoided saying 'impacting.' I thank you) upon our team's life. He suggested making a trial decision before the actual decision. Imagine you have decided in one way or another and live for a few days (or even hours if pushed) with how that feels. It may enable you, as you think your way into it, to change your mind.

Bill mentioned that most leaders live with axioms - statements that they tend to bring out regularly which guide their decision making. His own team asked him to write them down and on a long-haul flight when the movies were duff he did just that. Expecting to have 20 or so he ended up with 76 and they are the subject matter of his latest book.

Think you don't have axioms? Think again. Here's some of mine which I came up with after no long-haul flight whatsoever:

Ideas have wings
None of us is as smart as all of us
Always think of the needs of outsiders
Look for It
Sometimes the best prayer is, 'Lord I'm still listening'
Most times, good enough is good enough
In the battle of the heating system, 'I'm too cold' always wins
Doing isn't always better than being
Ministry by hanging around
Leave space in your diary for reactive stuff
You don't get to decide where your problem goes on my priority list
Review and learn

There will be more.

Shadowmancer 2

G.P. (Graham) Taylor was interviewed by Radio 5 live yesterday morning which saves me asking him the usual dull questions. The interviewer hadn't read the book but said it looked well-written on the basis of a skim. Cheek. I'll call him again this afternoon. I'd never make a journalist. I feel far too bad about intruding on someone's day, especially someone who has said in a radio interview that they never get a day off and write at the end of their busy day. It may add to my theory that all the best 'do-ers' in the world are so because they need less sleep. I'm a 'be-er'. In fact beer is a good word for me, hyphenated or not.

Two proverbs which help me through:

1. Never put off until tomorrow that which you can put off until the day after tomorrow
2. If at first you don't succeed, lower your standards
3. (Can't count) I had a great third one and I've forgotten it
4. Stop when something is good enough not when it is perfect
5. Still can't remember the third one though