I received a sad email today.  A friend of mine has a mother who is sick.  In fact, the initial prognosis was 4-6 weeks.  I hope that this scenario changes.  Can you imagine many things worse than receiving the news that you have 4 weeks to live?  Perhaps there are worse things . . . but I can’t think of any of them now.

As much as this has burdened my heart for her family, it has also made me realize a couple of things: 1. Life’s short.  Enjoy it.  2. This was my year to be committed to several things.  My blog is one of them . . . and I haven’t even taken the time to blog since early August. 

If you are like me (and I am sure that you are), you get busy.  You forget the things that are important.  You neglect your commitments.  And then you hope the new year gets here fast enough so that you can recommit.  I didn’t want to be this type of person this year.

Don’t get me wrong.  I have sold a business and accomplished a couple of my other goals this year.  However, it seems that my grade on my commitments for the year might be a “low B.”  I don’t accept that kind of work.  You shouldn’t either.

This is a great week to re-commit. We are only about 51.5 hours away from the final quarter of the year.  This is the time to redevote yourself to your task. 

How many friends have you reconnected with this year?

How much debt have you paid down this year?

When is the last time you talked to your cousin?

Have you called your mother today?

Sent a postcard to your grandmother?

Let’s get to work and finish 2010 strong.  This is the year that many of us have decided is our turnaround year.  If you haven’t met your spiritual, business or personal goals, there is no better time than now.

Collin Harbour

collinharbour.com

It has been a while since this site has had a new post.  It just seems that the time can get away from a person.  This summer has been a great one for me so far.  I recently sold my business and have been searching for that next opportunity.  I have had time to connect with old contacts and spend some great time with my daughter and wife.  I will look back at the Summer of 2010 with fond memories.

One thing I have discovered . . . in the few days that I have had the opportunity to “stay home with my daughter,” it has become quite clear to me that “stay at home moms” have a quite a task on their hands.  I applaud all of the parents who have made that decision.  I do not frown on those who have chosen another path, but I now know why my wife can be so exhausted at the end of the day.  Thanks for the life lesson. 

Collin Harbour

collinharbour.com

Okay, I must admit . . . it is not okay to keep secrets from mommy.  But this weekend was Mother’s Day.  As the day approached, my wife made sure to let me know not to buy her any gift.  We got through this each year and I say the same thing at Father’s Day.  Even so, our daughter told my wife on Friday that she wanted to get flowers for Mother’s Day, but that it would be a secret. 

When I got home from work on Friday, Audrey met me at the door to tell me that we were going to get flowers for mommy.  I agreed, but told her that we needed to keep it a “secret”.  She smiled the biggest smile I had ever seen.  She was soooo happy that we had a secret from mommy.  As a matter of fact, I would bring it up several times Friday evening and up until we purchased the flowers on Saturday—each time, even if it was in the presence of mommy, Audrey would get the biggest smile on her face and put her finger over her mouth to indicate our secret.

Each time she smiled, it warmed my heart.  I am glad that we chose to keep a secret from mommy!!

(P.S.  Jeana did get new patio furniture for Mother’s Day, too!!)

collinharbour.com

I had the fortune of attending a luncheon yesterday honoring Dallas Cowboys superstar Jason Witten and his wife Michelle.  The event was to the benefit of Austin Street Centre.  I enjoyed the luncheon.  I got to shake Jason’s hand and realized how small I actually am compared to football players.  The Witten’s seem like a class act.  I truly enjoy when people that have been blessed at their level (financially, talent wise, etc) decide to give back to others who aren’t as fortunate.

I also enjoyed hearing about the work of Austin Street Centre.  I have heard about them for years through my church, but haven’t really paid much attention to their mission (I am embarrassed to say.)  Here is their mission from their website:     The Centre’s primary purpose for existence is to offer emergency shelter and related services to the homeless person in a compassionate Christian community, so that the person in need might be better able to make responsible choices and changes in their lives. The Centre has a particular ministry of caring for those who suffer from various physical and mental disabilities, unable to care for themselves, with few or no available alternatives. This includes 24-hour shelter care for those persons recovering from serious illness or injury.

We get so caught up in ourselves, that we forget their are those who are really in need.  In many of these cases, they don’t have an alternative.  It’s not like people choose to live in a shelter.  It’s not like people choose to live on the street.  I bet you didn’t know that 25% of the people in the shelter have a full time job.  Many of these individuals are escaping abusive relationships or are suffering from mental illness.  Many just flat out don’t have any other options.

Think about your local community and find a charity that helps others.  Actually, that is almost an oxymoron since most, if not all, charitable organizations help others.  Think about something dear to your heart: homeless children, abused spouses and children, people who have lost loved ones or jobs, people suffering from unbearable illness or disease.  Your community has a charitable organization to help these individuals.  Now, pick up the phone and call them to see if you can help them.  I bet you can.

Thanks Austin Street Shelter.  Thanks Jason and Michelle Witten.  Thanks to the greater charitable community as a whole.

collinharbour.com

I have been somewhat disorganized lately.  Our insurance business has been a little slow, which I think is causing this disorganization.  When I (and others) have too much time on my hands, it is easy to find ways to waste the extra time rather than make it productive.  I have spent the last couple of days re-organizing how I will spend my time.  I read on chrisbrogan.com today, where he is re-drawing how he will spend his time.  It feels nice to be on the page with someone who has put some thought into this process.  To me, it is important to spend a little time thinking about the most productive ways to spend your time.  Due to the speed with which business and work flows can change, it is important to evaluate your time at least once per quarter, if not more often.

Email:

How much time are you spending on email?  I spend a lot of time on email, yet much of that time can be shifted to non-peak business hours.  That is to say, that every email does not need an immediate response.  In fact, many emails don’t need a response within the same business day.  I have decided to make an immediate judgement on emails as they come in and determine whether they need immediate response, or whether I can work them from home at night.  This began today, and I already have a few to respond to this evening.  I think I’ll be okay.

Reading:

It is important to spend some time each day to determine what is going on in your world (local news, profession-specific news, world news).  I sometimes imagine everyone sitting around reading their local newspaper or Wall Street Journal.  Needless to say, times have changed and the consumption of news/information has felt that change.  The problem arises in that the information is so readily available and so vast, that if you don’t watch out, you can spend too much time each day “staying informed”.  If you don’t believe me, log the amount of time you spend each day on the Internet reading news (including sports, entertainment, fashion) and you will probably be amazed at just how much time you are spending. 

Even though the information is readily available, I have decided to carve out a few minutes in the morning, a few in the afternoon, and some wrap up time at night before I go to bed.  I don’t think I will miss anything major.  I do get Washington Post email updates, afterall, so I’m sure I will be informed of any news that would be immediate for me to know.

Business Contacts:

How much time do you spend each day reaching out to potential business partners?  If you spend too much time on non-essential reading and emails, then you are losing valuable contact time.   I like to pick up the phone and contact people.  When I don’t have the time to pick up the phone, I go to Linked In or Biznik and look how my connections are connected to everyone else.  I found a couple of old contacts today and reunited with them.  It was nice to connect.

Take some time and log what you are doing each day.  Is it productive?  Is it wasteful?  Maybe you are better than the rest of us, but if you go through this process at the very least you will confirm your productivity.

CWH

collinharbour.com

In business and in other aspects of life, most of us will face loosing a deal or a job.  We may even face a tough time after a good deal goes south.  I have been writing the last couple of weeks about my Baylor Bears men’s basketball team.  They lost on Sunday (the women just won to advance to the Final Four!!).  It was sad.  I had a rough day on Monday.  I spent much of the day pondering what it would have been like if the Bears would have made the Final Four/National Championship.  That would have been a big deal.  I know the team is heartbroken.  They had a great season.  Duke played a great game.  Nothing else can be said.

As much time as I spent thinking about the game, I also thought about the players and coaches and what their “Monday” must have been like.  I can guarantee it was worse than mine.  My mind also wandered to those who are having a difficult time int he current economic climate.  I am one of those.  Most likely, you are too.

The question that arises is, how do we deal with these difficult times?  What can we do to get beyond the disappointment, or embarrassment, or failure?  I have come up with the following list, which is probably only a surface scratcher:

Breathe:  Unless it is the most dire of circumstances, life will go on.  The best idea is to take a deep breath and know that you’ve still got many other things to accomplish.  Breathe . . .  it feels good.  Breathe again.

Put One Foot On The Floor And Step:  There are mornings when I wonder if it is worth getting out of bed.  I am always, 100% of the time, glad that I decided to get out of bed.  Put one foot down, and then put the other one in front of it.  Repeat it again and again.  If you don’t take the first step, you’ll run the risk of being stuck pondering the could’ve beens and should’ve beens.  Don’t waste time thinking of what could have been . . . Instead, try focusing on what will be because of the experiences you have gained.

Turn To Something That You Can Be Happy About:  Perhaps you have family that you can lean on.  Perhaps you have someone else who has had recent success.  Try not to be resentful because your time will come soon.  For now, just focus on others for a few days.  If they are happy, you will be happy, too.

Set New Goals:  Now the the disappointment is behind you, set some new goals. Where do you want to be in 6 months or one year.  Even better, make a 5 year plan with many checkpoints outlined along the way.  New goals will help you as you move forward.  They will give you something to shoot for now!!

This may be a “duh” list or it may be a list that doesn’t seem all that involved.  The reason is, because when you experience failure (which we all do), then there are only a few things you can do to get over it.  And you must get over it because if you get stuck in the miry clay, then you are only wasting time.  Take it from me.  I have wasted time in the past and it only made a bad situation worse.

Collin W. Harbour

collinharbour.com

It has been a great day.  I’ve read and learned many things.  I sold a couple of insurance policies.  I renewed a policy.  I made connections with a couple of my networking partners (phone connections–conversations!!! Yes, they are still important.)  Sitting in my office and laughing at an old picture posted on Facebook by one of my friends, I really appreciated more than ever the power of social networking. 

One of the applications I use, however, TweetDeck is almost too much for me.  I get Tweet updates on everyone I am following.  I also get updates on LinkedIn profile changes, connections, etc. etc.  This can really be too much for one person to handle.  So, I do not utilize TweetDeck as much as I used to.  Here’s a few things I learned today because of Social Networking:

• Gary Smith and Trinity Signs “just took over signwork for the John Bowles Company! We are currently working several projects at once.”
• Harold Smith of Cornerstone Mortgage just got a bit of advice from one of his clients:  “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” (Einstein) – via my smart client
• Since noon today, about 50 of my connections on LinkedIn have made a new connection and expanded their (and my) network.
• “My Customers don’t give a damn about me”.  from @JohnnyBTruant 
• I now know some of the things I should have in my emergency supply kit (water, essential medicines, can opener, radio, etc.)
• Honolulu has the second highest housing rents (I’m not completely sure what that means.)
• Host Families are needed for Russian Oprhans in Dallas

Many of these things are trivial.  But, much more trivial things are not included in this post.  I actually viewed a lot of relevant content and links to social media, insurance, small business advice, etc., too.  The content I consumed today was great.  The trivial as well as the information significant to my business.

The reason I enjoy social media so much is because I can turn it off and on whenever I want to, but it is still running around the clock and waiting for me when I return.  This is the same reason that your customers and potential customers enjoy social media.  They want to be able to turn to the information when they need it . . . when it is convenient for them.  If you own a business, you want to be there when people decide to return.  That is the significance of social media.  Being there when people return. 

collinharbour.com

Baylor Men’s Basketball is in the Sweet 16!!!  This may not mean a whole lot to you if you have not followed Baylor sports over the last decade, but let me see if I can refresh your memory.  In the summer of 2003, one of the Baylor basketball players went missing and after all of the cards were on the table, it was discovered that another player had killed him and that there were several other problems with the program, including coaches playing for players, ignoring drug use by players and etc. etc.

The team was essentially non-existent when Scott Drew was hired to run the program in 2003.  Sanctions (self imposed and NCAA) included a couple of seasons without post season play and scholarship limitations.  Or, as one writer put it,  ”The program was broke – ethically, morally, athletically. A player was dead, a teammate charged with his murder, their coach exposed in a cover-up.” (David Teel, Daily Press, Newport News, Virginia)

Fast forward to the 2009-2010 basketball season.  Baylor was picked to finish 10th in the Big XII.  After a strong non-conference season, the conference play had it’s ups and downs but the Bears were awarded with a 3 seed in the NCAA tournament and as of today, they are in the Sweet 16.  

Why am I writing about this, you may ask?  Because it is a great story of new beginnings.  The Baylor Basketball program was done just seven years ago.  There was even talk about whether or not the program would ever be allowed to play again–or even discussion about a “death penalty” type scenario.  Yet, the program fought back.  They hired a new coach, he implemented his recruiting program, he implemented his system and here we are in 2010 . . . with a Sweet 16 appearance.

Think about your business or personal life and the times when you felt like you were down and out.  What did you do to pull yourself or your business out of this situation?  Did you implement a new program?  Perhaps you scraped and crawled and took each step day by day.  Maybe you set small goals and achieved them each day, week or month until you were out of the miry pit in which you had found yourself.

In my life, I find myself down from time to time.  When I do, I set goals.  Most of them are easily attainable, and some of them stretch me quite a bit.  Once I start to get back in the groove, I begin to enhance the reach of my goals.  I encourage you to do the same thing.  There is something in your life, whether it is in your business or personal life that needs improvement.  Set goals and start to work your way out of it. 

Collin W. Harbour

collinharbour.com

Staying close to home: Baylor men headed to New Orleans for NCAAs | Wacotrib.com.

We are proud of our Baylor Bears.  For those of you who don’t know, this is a long time coming.  We had some basketball issues, for lack of a better term, a little while back so it is nice to see how all of the hard work from Scott Drew and his staff and team is paying off.

Way to go Bears!!! Sic ‘em.

Collin W. Harbour

collinharbour.com

Should your church have a social media strategy? 

Should your church (or you) have a Twitter account?

Should your church (or you) be on Facebook?

If you answered “no” to any of the above questions, it is time for you to do a Google Search on social media strategy.  Many businesses and individuals are realizing the power of social media and networks.  As a business, a church must consider the absolute reality and stickability of social media in order to reach out to your constituency as well as potential church members.

First, let’s define social media so that it is clear on what we are discussing:  Social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many). It supports the democratization of knowledge and information, transforming people from content consumers into content producers.(Wikipedia definition)

Facebook  has over 400 million active users and 50% of them log into Facebook at least once a day.  The average user has 130 friends.  Twitter has milions of users and now more than 1 billion tweets are sent out each month.  If a church’s goal is to reach people, then it needs to be where the people are spending their time.  Obviously, a church needs to utilize these tools to connect.

Conservative Example:  If a church staff member or church has a blog, current and potential church members will eventually be driven to the blog (because it would be linked to your web page).  By allowing the distribution of the blog posts with a simple tool like Add This (which I will post about later), the message you are delivering can potentially reach thousands of people.  Let’s say if 30 of your members decide to re-distribute a blog post through Facebook or Twitter (and there are many, many other social networking sites), and they have an average of 130 friends or followers, then you can reach 3,900 with that message in the click of a button.  This should excite you, and it should arouse a sense of urgency in you to implement a social media strategy. 

Engaging your community: Another advantage of social media is the method of engaging your community.  Most churches have about 50% of their members in attendance.  One of the main purposes of the church is to engage its community and make disciples.  The example above can also be used as an example of engaging community.  If you have a 1,000 member church and 500 members have missed on any given week, you still have the ability to disciple them through social media such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as a blog.

The following two pastors have implemented a social media strategy.  I believe both Ellis Orozco (my pastor at FBC Richardson) and Bill Shiell (a childhood friend and pastor of FBC Knoxville) both are on the cutting edge of church social media strategy.  There are many other pastors and churches that are taking advantage of social media.

Ellis Orozco’s Blog:

http://www.kerooso.blogspot.com/

Bill Shiell’s  Blog:

http://firsthoughts.blogspot.com/

Both of them are also on Facebook and Twitter, as well as other social networking sites.  You can visit their blogs to get to their information and to connect with them if you would like (I encourage you to do so).

The bottom line is this:  If you or your church are trying to find creative ways to reach out to current or potential members, and to deliver information in a format that is cost efficient and cutting edge, you need to consider a social media strategy soon.

Check back frequently or subscribe to my blog for the following continuation of this conversation:

• The Power of Anytime, Anywhere
• Message is always available
• Go where the eyes and ears are

Collin W. Harbour

collinharbour.com