Acutely Desperate

Ferociously desperate.

Do you remember a time in your life when all of your emotions, intellect, strength, everything you possessed, was laser focussed on the perilous situation consuming your every thought?

During these times of suffering, you may find yourself gravitating toward any help that could rescue you from your situation. Let me give you an personal example:

During a particularly deep valley experience, I picked up a book by an author who had found himself in a similar environment in his life. The more I read an emotional bond was formed and by the time I had finished the book it had become an overwhelming dependence. I promptly googled his website and composed an email, pouring out my heart in a way that I had never done with any of my closest friends and family, and then I pressed send. 

I never received a reply.  

But I did learn something about myself, I am a lot more fragile than I thought I was. My emotional, physical, and spiritual strengths are deceptive, because no one can endure extended seasons of despair and suffering without breaking. The tedious threads that hold us together are just that, threads of dubious strength and resilience. When I am being swept away by the waves of my storm, I am tempted to grasp at anything that looks like a form of rescue. It is during such times that it is imperative that we guard our hearts, minds, and souls from influences that are not God inspired.

Braves Win the World Series!

Dansby Swanson fielded the final out of the 2021 World Series, a chopper from Yuli Gurriel, and briefly glared at Atlanta Braves teammate Ozzie Albies. Seconds earlier, Albies had assured Swanson that he would be standing on second base to record Tuesday's 27th out. When he wasn't, Swanson had to pivot to complete the most important throw of his life -- and maybe that was fitting.

Swanson grew up 20 miles from Atlanta and was raised to love the local baseball team. Before he graduated high school, Freddie Freeman ascended to the major leagues and began to establish himself as one of the sport's greatest first basemen. They became teammates, helped lead the Braves into another resurgence and grew close through the process.

On this night, in Game 6 of the World Series, they connected on the final out that cemented a 7-0 victory over the Houston Astros and capped the Braves' improbable ascendance.

World Series - Game 5 in Atlanta

 Join the "Daily Woo" as he travels to Atlanta for Game 5 of the 2021 World Series. 

12 Tips In Managing People

I worked in retail management for over twenty two years. I was manager of a grocery store, supervisor over eight fast food restaurants, and manager of an IT department in a computer store. In each of these positions, I applied the lessons below that helped me to lead my team members and our employers to greater sales, growth, and bigger profits. Here are twelve tips that I believe anyone can use when managing people. 

Manage yourself first

Before you can manage others, you first need to take care of yourself. Make your own schedule a priority and guard your time, setting aside a block of time each day that you dedicate to completing your own work without interruptions. And to further expand this thought, you need to prioritize your own mental, physical, and spiritual health as it is impossible to lead well when your own fuel gauges are on empty.

Get to know your team

The first step to effective management is understanding the people you are managing. Depending on their personality type, people respond differently to various leadership styles. And remember, there are no shortcuts to getting to know your team members, it requires time and commitment on your part to cultivate those relationships. 

Delegate tasks

Learning how to trust others with key tasks allows you to focus on high-level management duties instead of micromanaging each responsibility on a project. Once you learn about each team member's strengths, weaknesses, experiences and skills, you will be able to accurately delegate jobs to the people who are likely to do them well within the given time frame. One of the phrases that still sticks with me years later is if you are a 25 cent person, don't constantly be doing 5 cent jobs. Yes, of course there will be times when you need to put on an apron and jump in to help your team, but if you find yourself doing this on a regular basis you have a major problem. You are being paid to work on 25 cent jobs, hire and delegate your team to do the 5 cent tasks.