2 Percent Creativity

Announcing the launch of The Rock Church, one of the new churches in Squamish, BC.

The Rock Church in Squamish, BC, is a new expression of a 2,000 year-old movement called ekklesia in the Greek world of that day, but more familiar to us today as—the church.

We are followers of the one true Jesus Christ, who love God, love our neighbors, love Squamish and are excited to be one of the Jesus loving churches in Squamish. We value Jesus above all, authenticity, creativity and generosity and seek to engage our culture with the amazing grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We don’t pretend to have our lives all together, but we do turn our lives over to an awesome God who does.

If you’re a Christian, that’s an amazing thing and apparently rare in this area. Welcome to you. We would ask you to please pray for The Rock Church.

If you’re skeptical about organized religion—good! You’re among friends at The Rock. If you’ve been hurt by, or lost faith in, the ‘church’ or ‘christians,’ well, you’re not alone.

If you’re searching for truth, meaning and community, then welcome to the journey.

If you’ve experimented with spirituality but know there’s something more, well, there is. We invite you to explore the life and teachings of Jesus and find, in Him—the Way, the Truth and the Life. Jesus is our mission, He’s our example, He’s our leader and He changes everything.

As a new Jesus community we’re in pre-launch phase, which simply means we’re gathering together in homes throughout the week as family and just beginning our Sunday ‘preview’ gatherings with our core group, family and friends. You are welcome to join us!

We believe that the Bible, the inspired Word of God, ‘His’story, transcends time and is as relevant today as it has been for thousands of years. We seek to embrace the inspiration and the authority of Scripture and to teach and live what it says in a way that clearly demonstrates what Jesus had in mind—that we love one another.

The church is the body of Christ living in community. The Bible says that it is his Bride. It is not a building or a place for perfect people. So, come as you are and don’t expect to find any perfect people here.

We believe Jesus meant it when he said that he would build his church. He doesn’t really need us to accomplish that, but he chooses to make us a part of his plan. We look forward to the journey and hope that you will join us.

This is test post from my iPhone.

It is continually exciting to me when checking out the thirty plus RSS feeds that I subscribe to, that I find a new nugget. Bert Decker’s blog is just such a discovery and is now feed number thirty-one and a new recommended blog on the 2 Percent roll. I found two great posts today that you must check out.

First, there is the Top Ten Best & Worst Communicators of 2006. Quite the list for sure and very little argument I am sure on most of his choices for each list. I particularly agree with his #2 Best choice of Pastor Rick Warren and #7 Guy Kawasaki. On the Worst list I can certainly agree with his number one choice. She has turned the debate about justice into a really nasty affair.

Secondly, there is his post on the Five Key Principles to Great Communicating. If ever there were a need for better corporate, political and social communicators, the year ahead would be a great time. Bert clearly outlines five keys that can help anyone, even those deathly afraid of public speaking, to effectively communicate what they know or care passionately about.

Another great resource comes to mind. Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication, by Andy Stanley, is one of the best I have read on preparing a message that moves people to action. Although it is primarily a book about preaching (in the biblical sense), don’t miss the opportunity to see how the 7 steps outlined in this book can make any CEO, entrepreneur, business person, coach, teacher or anyone who plans to speak to a group, become a great communicator.

Let’s make 2007 our year to become better communicators in every part of our lives.

Happy New Year!

I saw this posted by Seth Godin the other day on his blog, so I admit, originality is not my claim here. The fact is it inspired me and that is what good marketers are supposed to do. It inspired me because I am in the midst of the very early stages of a new startup and there are days when that little demon on the left shoulder (yes left!) gets me thinking—it won’t work. So what do you do?

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After leaving the Okanagan valley we traveled east to the north Kootenay area of Invermere BC and spent a few days at the Panorama Mountain Resort. The experience at this Intrawest resort was less than remarkable and yet, the most expensive stay of our trip. Thankfully, our next stop was the Aspen Grove Bed and Breakfast in southwestern Alberta. Located just 20 minutes southwest of Pincher Creek, Alberta, this wonderful bed and breakfast exceeded all expectations.

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This summer, my wife, our youngest son and myself, travelled through the beautiful Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. Before leaving on our vacation, we had searched out places to stay on the Internet. Bed and Breakfasts and Country Inns were our primary choice, as we wanted to do some research into our next online venture. What a trip it was. The next few posts are focused on three highlights of our trip—three outstanding examples of why staying at a B&B or an Inn, are always better choices than the hotel/motel alternatives.

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Rather ironic that we would be staying at an Intrawest resort during our vacation and read today that the once darling Canadian success story was sold to an American company. News has been spreading about troubles at Intrawest for a while now, so the sellout is hardly a surprise.

One thing I can tell you about our Intrawest experience this summer at Panorama, is that service and quality have also gone south. We are now in our second suite after arriving to a filthy and noisy first night. Today we moved to a new suite and, believe it or not there was broken glass on the kitchen floor and dirty daipers in a waste basket on the balcony. Plus, there was only one pillow in the 1 bedroom plus condo.

The funny thing (if you are even a little bit sadistic) is that there was a nice, token card on each room’s center table signed by apparently the good person who took such care cleaning the place, saying they hoped we liked the job they had done. They even signed it
Hopefully the big US buyers can fix the problems with Intrawest soon.

I recently spoke to a customer service team for a very specialized contact center. They are part of a new breed in online lead management. They are practicing the essentials of CEM - Customer Experience Managment. Specializing in the real estate industry, their model could very easily translate to any industry that is concerned about the experience that customers receive when visiting the company’s website. More on this subject another time.

What was most interesting about this group was their response to one phrase that I used during the seminar. In a post last week, we talked about the famous ‘Rules of the Customer‘. Well that got its fair share of laughs and nods, but the one phrase that really got their attention was, “People will not remember what you said…. but, they will remember how you made them feel.” It was easy for every member of this very capable response team (their name for contact center staff), to empathize with their customers when they thought about this one phrase.

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Now, here’s a lady with some serious gusto! I mean, take it or leave it. Get your own fork. Follow me or get out of my way. I don’t think I have read a better post aimed at the dis-eased corporate world, than this one. You must check it out, especially if you are working for a company just to collect the paycheck. Remember folks, it’s about making a life—not about making a living. Here’s a taste…

So now I want to help your employees leave and start their own business. Regain control of their life. Feel blood pumping in their veins and excitement in their chest as they wake up each day. I honestly wish that it were possible for them to feel that inside your company.

Get the complete post here - Escape from Cubicle Nation: Open letter to CEOs, COOs, CIOs and CFOs across the corporate world.

How many times have you heard the age old maxim, “The Customer is Always Right”? I know the first few times I heard it was early on in my sales career and, after having experienced more than a few difficult customers, I was certain there must be an out somewhere. Seth Godin’s post on the subject highlights a picture of a rock with ‘Stew Leonard’s’ company policy engraved on it:

Our Policy

Rule #1 - The Customer is Always Right

Rule #2 - If the Customer is Ever Wrong, Reread Rule #1

Thankfully Seth provides the out that all marketers and conscientious sales people everywhere need to hear…

Rule #3 - If the Customer is clearly wrong, they are not your customer anymore - FIRE THEM!

Wow. What a relief. Freedom.

Now, here’s the most important advice on this subject. When you fire them, be very nice about it, just take away your products and services from them, refuse to do business with them AND recommend them to your arch competitor. Let them try to live up to just Rule 1 & 2.

Let’s face it friends, no matter how diligent and caring you and your people are with your most valued customers, at least 2% of them will represent 98% of your biggest problems. Your service and frankly your attitude with suffer, if you cannot learn how to effectively FIRE the worst 2%.

Glenn