From the Mind of MandoRon

I’m not sure if this is technically a birthday or an anniversary, but I do know that I started this blog one year ago today.  Maybe I should have asked Gil to sing “Happy Birthday Mind of MandoRon” this morning…

In the first year, we’ve seen:

• 328 posts
• 357 comments
• 21,278 total views between the old site and the new site

So I thought we should reflect on the last year with a few lists.  Check back over the next few days for more lists.

My favorite posts, in nearly chronological order:

• Sardonic (adjective) - Disdainfully, or bitterly saracastic
• A mandolin by any other name would smell as sweet…
• Demotivation
• Dear President Candidates (for the record, no one ever responded…)
• Office Wars (my kids enjoyed watching this with me Friday)
• Happy Birthday Kevin! (I’m still disappointed that nobody took me up on this…)
• Garden of the Gods (one of my favorite places)
• How to miss your flight and still get on the plane in 4 easy steps
• Overheard (I love the line “Ed kisses the frogs”!)
• Radical Grace (I stumbled across the picture on flickr and it seemed to fit the story perfectly!)
• Candid Camera
• Baby Named Jesus  (little did I know that we would end up performing the song)
• MercyMe’s Cover Tune Grab Bag
• Funeral Songs

Do you have a favorite Mind of MandoRon memory?  Let me know.

Happy Day-After-Valentine’s Day!

Today was week 3 of the “Crazy Love” series at GracePoint.  All around an awesome day.  The band was definitely on this morning.  The music was simply awesome.  I was running sound, and never had to reach for the talent knob on the sound board all morning… (inside joke)

The setlist:

• No One Like You by David Crowder Band
• My Glorious by Delirious
• Hosanna by Hillsong United
• Good Times by Chic
• Come on Back to Me by Third Day (Offering)

No One Like You has been a regular for several years.  Fun song.  DCB is one of my favorite bands.  If I was a decent songwriter, my songs would probably sound a lot like theirs.  Except with more mandolin, of course…

My Glorious is one that we debuted a few months ago, but hasn’t shown back up again.  I really like this song, and Andy did an incredible job singing it.  The lyrics of the chorus really stick out to me:  “God is bigger than the air I breathe, The world we’ll leave, God will save the day and all will say, My glorious! My glorious! My glorious! My glorious! My glorious! “  Good stuff.

Hosanna completed the worship set very nicely.  I didn’t want it to end.

Good Times was incredible.  We’ve been using a different 70’s disco/funk song each week fitting with the theme of the “Crazy Love” series.  Everything about this song was awesome.  Jeff nailing the signature bass line.  The vocals.  Bruce’s guitar solo.  Amy in a leisure suit, big glasses, and afro.  Gil and Amy’s choreographed dancing at the end.  Hopefully some video will pop up somewhere.

Come on Back to Me was a new one this week.

If you’re interested in seeing setlists from more churches, check out the links on Fred McKinnon’s Sunday Setlist blog carnival.

Most nights, our cat Oreo sleeps with Jada.  We find them in lots of interesting poses.  My favorites are the ones where Oreo forces Jada into uncomfortable positions.  Like this one that I took at 12:30 this morning.

And just for the record, I did move the cat after I took the picture so Jada could have her pillow back.

Many, many months ago I mentioned that I was writing out my personal leadership philosophy.  Last Spring, my boss asked me to read “The Leader’s Compass” by Ed Ruggero and Dennis Haley which talks about developing sort of a leadership credo, and then sharing it with people.

I worked on it every few months, and finally finished it last month.  Then I shared it with my boss, his boss, one of my colleagues, and the two guys that work for me. 

Why? Two reasons…  First, by sharing it, they can hold me accountable to it.  Second, it defines my expectations to the people that work for me and should help them be more successful.

I’d encourage you to spend some time (not necessarily nine months) writing down yours.  (If you do take that long, you may end up rewording some things based on a presidential campagn.) Then share it.

Here’s mine:

Ronnie’s Personal Leadership Philosophy

 I will strive to be a person of high integrity who always does the right thing, to constantly improve myself, to seek opportunities to build others up, to be willing to take risks, and to continually challenge the status quo. 

My core values are: respect, building others up, self-improvement, good attitude, and work ethic.

In order to respect others, I will:

• Listen to and respect the questions and opinions of others.
• Respond in a timely manner, even if just to say that I can’t get to it until next week. 
• Put the needs of others before my own needs.
• Be honest.  I may tell you that I can’t talk about something; but I won’t make things up.
• Admit when I don’t know something.  Then I will earnestly seek an answer.
• Trust others first.  My trust does not have to be won.  (However, it can be lost…)
• Do what I say I’m going to do.
• Back you up.
• Be on time.
• Give credit where it’s due.

In order to build others up, I will:

• Encourage others often.
• Share knowledge freely, and not keep things to myself.
• Coach and push others to be better.
• Show appreciation.
• Allow others to fail, without shame, and learn from their mistakes.  However, this doesn’t relax any accountability for failure. 

In order to improve myself, I will:

• Solicit, and accept feedback whether positive or negative.
• Continuously seek knowledge.
• Learn from my mistakes.

I will maintain an excellent attitude by:

• Being optimisitic.
• Being patient.
• Being even-keeled and reacting predictably.
• Not overreacting to bad news.
• Being an “open book”.

My work ethic:

• Put family first.
• Work hard.
• Have fun.
• Be self-motivated.
• Pursue excellence.
• Think “big picture” strategic, in addition to tactical.
• Be a problem solver, and not just a problem messenger.  (I will communicate potential solutions, not just problems.)

My hot buttons:

• Excessive pessimism.
• Unresponsiveness.  Acknowledge my requests; even if just to say that you can’t get to it yet.
• Chronic tardiness.
• Spending more effort on pointing fingers than just fixing the problem.
• Being uninformed.
• Being dishonest with me, or with others.
• Tell me what you want or need.  Be direct.  Don’t try to manipulate me into doing something.
• Lack of confidence.
• Don’t make up answers if you have no idea.  “I don’t know” is a preferred response.  Then take time to go find the correct answer.
• Don’t be afraid to stir things up.
• Don’t overreact to bad news.  Don’t “shoot first and ask questions later.”  I’ll ask for help, if needed.
• Don’t just communicate problems; communicate potential solutions.  Be a problem solver, not a problem messenger.

Ripped from the headlines:  Wichita UFO Report Draws Wide Attention.