Friday, October 28, 2005
Love Is the Killer App
(an article from Fast Company magazine)
[Summary: If you want to fix your future, start by fixing yourself. In the face of war and recession, what the business world needs is less greed -- and more love. So says Yahoo senior executive Tim Sanders, who argues that now more than ever, the road to prosperity is paved with a commitment to generosity.]
From: Fast Company, Issue 55 February 2002 Page 64 By: Tim Sanders Photographs by: Sam Jones
The most powerful force in business isn't greed, fear, or even the raw energy of unbridled competition. The most powerful force in business is love. It's what will help your company grow and become stronger. It's what will propel your career forward. It's what will give you a sense of meaning and satisfaction in your work, which will help you do your best work.
I know what you're thinking. The world is still reeling in disgust at the murderous events of September 11 and still trying to come to terms with a war against a stateless enemy. Companies in almost every industry -- and almost every company in my part of the world, Silicon Valley -- are closing operations, cutting people, and taking whatever tough steps are necessary to stay alive. Your colleagues are anxious about their careers, worried about the future. And I'm here to convince you that what the business world needs now is love?
Now more than ever. The most profound transformation in business -- a transformation made more urgent, not less so, by the calamitous events in New York and Washington, DC -- is the downfall of the barracudas, sharks, and piranhas and the ascendancy of nice, smart people with a passion for what they do. Forget about the Internet for a moment. Forget about Wall Street and the Fed. What's really different about the economy is that lousy guys finish last.
There are two tough-minded reasons for this soft-hearted reality. The first is the abundance of choice in business -- choice of products, schools, media, and career paths. Choice spells doom for villains. At a time when more of us have more options than ever, there's no need to put up with a product or service that doesn't deliver, a company that we don't like, or a boss whom we don't respect. The second reason is what I call the "new telegraph." It's almost impossible for a shoddy product, a noxious company, or a crummy person to keep its, his, or her sad reality a secret anymore. There are too many highly opinionated and well-informed people with access to email, instant messaging, and the Web.
The bottom line: If you don't like certain people, it's easier than ever to escape them. If you are a lousy person, it's harder than ever to keep people around you. Hence, the power of love. What do I mean by "love"? The best general definition that I've read comes from philosopher Milton Mayeroff's brilliant book, On Caring. Love, he writes, "is the selfless promotion of the growth of the other." When you help others grow to become the best people that they can be, you are being loving -- and as a result, you grow.
Mayeroff talked primarily about love in our personal lives. But what we need is a definition of love in our professional lives. Here's mine: Love is the act of intelligently and sensibly sharing your knowledge, networks, and compassion with your business partners. The secret to being a high-impact leader and the essence of individual and corporate success: Learn as much as you can as quickly as you can and share your knowledge aggressively; expand your network of people who share your values and connect as many of them with each other as possible; and, perhaps most important, be as openly human as you can be and find the courage to express genuine emotion in the harried, pressure-filled world of work. And one last point: Behave this way not because you expect something in return -- a quid pro quo -- but because it's the right way to behave. The less you expect in return for acts of professional generosity, the more you will receive.
My First Love
I came to understand the power of love the old-fashioned way: by experiencing it firsthand and by watching as it took me to some amazing places. (It's also worth noting that my formative experience with love in business involved Victoria's Secret lingerie.)
First, some background. Since graduate school, my career path has been anything but a straight line. In the early 1990s, I was living in Dallas, trying to scratch out a living as a member of a five-person band. Eventually, my wife (who was a fellow band member) and I tired of the musician's life, and I took a marketing job at a video-production company. That position led to a job with a cable-television company, which in turn got me interested in streaming video over the Internet, which then led me to Broadcast.com -- the now-legendary startup that was cofounded by Mark Cuban.
It was as if my professional life had finally begun. Today, Mark is famous as the brash owner of the Dallas Mavericks and a young Internet billionaire (yes, there are still a few left) who doesn't play by the old rules. What people forget about Mark is that he built a great new-wave company around enduring values. When it came to customers, Mark had a motto: "Make love, not war." Not original, but to me, it felt like the elixir of life. Mark passionately believed that customers should be happy, even if it meant working 24 hours a day to please them. I'd never met anyone like that before. I was thrilled. I dedicated myself to learning everything I could about strategy, service, and the Internet. I went to conferences, studied white papers, and read books -- shelves of books -- on everything from the basics of marketing to the new logic of the digital economy.
Then I got my big break -- a chance to share everything that I had learned from my crash course in business and the Web. In late 1998, not long after I'd finished reading Net Gain, the influential book on virtual communities by then-McKinsey consultant John Hagel and Arthur G. Armstrong, I got a call from Ken Weil, a vice president at Victoria's Secret. Ken wanted to explore the costs of broadcasting a lingerie fashion show over the Web. What he wanted was a good price. What I wanted was a chance to evangelize the ideas that I had learned from Net Gain.
Still, my company was in the business of making money, so we set up a routine conference call. In attendance were Tim Plzak, a director at Victoria's Secret's parent company who was responsible for the Webcast; Ken Weil; my boss; and me. It turned out to be the call of my life. I reviewed some of the big ideas from Net Gain. I explained that these weren't just blue-sky concepts, but practical tactics that could make or save Victoria's Secret money. I explained how the fashion show could create an immense email-address database that could support an inexpensive conversation between the company and its customers. Think "virtual community" and "member." And I sent a copy of Net Gain to Ken.
He got it. He saw the value of using the fashion show as a draw for customer information. Even though we didn't bid the lowest price, we got the business. And on February 2, 1999, we hosted an event that went down in the annals of Internet history. Because so many people who were trying to log on to the show had experienced technical difficulties, some media pundits called it a failure. Saturday Night Live even staged a parody of the event. But for us and for Victoria's Secret it was a huge success. When the event was over, Ken told me that it was the most positive business experience of his life. He even wrote a letter to Mark Cuban saying so. (I still have that letter above my desk. Mark had it framed for me.)
The following spring, Victoria's Secret decided to stage a second event. This time around, the goal was to make sure that it was a flawless user experience. So I committed myself to facilitating an alliance between Broadcast.com and our "co-opetition," America Online and Microsoft. It was a daring strategic step for us -- and the first time that I was willing to share my growing network of contacts with reckless abandon. We hosted a summit at which Victoria's Secret could talk to everyone before they signed a contract with us. I even left the room so that the other companies could strategize about networking and distribution (and perhaps try to take the business away from us).
But instead of teaming up with someone else (and yes, other companies did try to underbid us) , Victoria's Secret stayed put, because, as they told us, we had been willing to share our knowledge and our network to make everything work for their benefit. The second show was a bigger (and smoother) success than the first. And Ken became a friend for life. He understood that I wasn't trying to sell him a bill of goods and that I cared about his success just as much as I cared about my own. And I hoped that the feeling was mutual. Our bond was not just professional -- it was personal.
The Power of Love
My experience with Victoria's Secret taught me the three critical drivers of professional success, the three elemental particles of love in business. They are knowledge, networks, and compassion. To be an impact player in business, you simply have to know more than most other people know. That means taking the power of ideas seriously, reading books voraciously, and developing a system of organizing what you've learned. But all of your knowledge won't amount to much if you don't have a network of people to share it with -- and enough compassion for the people in that network to understand that your success is a direct result of their success.
Those factors helped me to move from Broadcast.com to an executive position at Yahoo (which acquired the company in 1999) and then to my current role at Yahoo, where I get to travel the globe, strategizing with some of the biggest companies in the world.
And I'm not alone. Over and over again, I've discovered that the businesspeople who are the busiest, the happiest, and the most prosperous are the ones who are the most generous with their knowledge and their expertise. People who love what they're doing, who love to learn new things, to meet new people, and to share what and whom they know with others: These are the people who wind up creating the most economic value and, as a result, moving their companies forward.
Even in the digital era, when the Internet connects hundreds of millions of computers around the world, the power of love in business is rooted in the centrality of the human factor. Success is based on the people we know. Everyone in our address book is a potential partner for everyone we meet. Everyone can fit somewhere in our ever-expanding business universe. And the value of our network is a function of our willingness to share it.
We collect marbles, baseball cards, and antiques in order to hold on to them while they increase in value. The purpose of collecting contacts, however, is just the opposite: to give them away -- to match them with other contacts. So don't screen people out. Those who appear powerless or insignificant may be stars waiting to rise. Someday, they may become key nodes in your network -- and create a huge opportunity for you. And they will remember that it was you who was on their side before everyone else was.
But don't just listen to me. As you think about the right way to deal with your colleagues, customers, and business partners -- about how to conduct yourself in a world in which nice, smart people finish first -- just listen to Lennon and McCartney, who said it better than anyone else: "In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."
[Tim Sanders (tim@timsanders.com) is the chief solutions officer at Yahoo, where he drives some of the company's largest partnerships and delivers next-generation marketing programs for world-class brands. This article is adapted from his forthcoming book, Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends (Crown Business), which will be published on February 14, 2002. (Yes, that's Valentine's Day.)]
Sidebar: Why Love Conquers All
It's risky to talk about love in business, especially in these turbulent times. Here are five tough-minded reasons why generosity is the best strategy for individual and corporate prosperity.
You'll build an outstanding brand. By becoming a knowledge guru, sharing your network, and being a compassionate partner, you'll differentiate yourself. You'll be useful, memorable -- special.
You'll create an experience. Business is not just about what you know -- it's about whether you can break through the clutter and information overload. When you represent knowledge, opportunity, selflessness, and intimacy, you are not just a smart colleague; you are fun, interesting, and valuable.
You'll get access to people's attention. The scarcest resource in business is attention. How do you convince people to really pay attention to what you're saying or to give you advice that you need? People with outstanding brands and people whom others are eager to deal with attract undivided attention. This produces results.
You'll harness the power of positive presumption. Making progress means making change. One of the biggest obstacles to change is getting people to trust you. Businesspeople embrace the power of building relationships with a deep level of trust. Your colleagues will presume that your arguments hold water, that your recommendations are solid, and that your referrals are valuable. They'll presume that you have their best interests at heart (which you do). This is a powerful advantage.
You'll receive exceptional feedback. There's one last tough-minded reason to share what you know: You'll learn whether your knowledge has value. If you are eager to offer people knowledge, they will be eager to give you helpful feedback in return. They'll tell you which ideas worked out well and which didn't work out so well. They'll tell you which contacts were helpful and which weren't. They'll keep talking to you. And you'll keep learning from them. It's a loop.
Copyright © 2005 Mansueto Ventures LLC. All rights reserved.Fast Company, 375 Lexington Avenue.,New York , NY 10017
[Summary: If you want to fix your future, start by fixing yourself. In the face of war and recession, what the business world needs is less greed -- and more love. So says Yahoo senior executive Tim Sanders, who argues that now more than ever, the road to prosperity is paved with a commitment to generosity.]
From: Fast Company, Issue 55 February 2002 Page 64 By: Tim Sanders Photographs by: Sam Jones
The most powerful force in business isn't greed, fear, or even the raw energy of unbridled competition. The most powerful force in business is love. It's what will help your company grow and become stronger. It's what will propel your career forward. It's what will give you a sense of meaning and satisfaction in your work, which will help you do your best work.
I know what you're thinking. The world is still reeling in disgust at the murderous events of September 11 and still trying to come to terms with a war against a stateless enemy. Companies in almost every industry -- and almost every company in my part of the world, Silicon Valley -- are closing operations, cutting people, and taking whatever tough steps are necessary to stay alive. Your colleagues are anxious about their careers, worried about the future. And I'm here to convince you that what the business world needs now is love?
Now more than ever. The most profound transformation in business -- a transformation made more urgent, not less so, by the calamitous events in New York and Washington, DC -- is the downfall of the barracudas, sharks, and piranhas and the ascendancy of nice, smart people with a passion for what they do. Forget about the Internet for a moment. Forget about Wall Street and the Fed. What's really different about the economy is that lousy guys finish last.
There are two tough-minded reasons for this soft-hearted reality. The first is the abundance of choice in business -- choice of products, schools, media, and career paths. Choice spells doom for villains. At a time when more of us have more options than ever, there's no need to put up with a product or service that doesn't deliver, a company that we don't like, or a boss whom we don't respect. The second reason is what I call the "new telegraph." It's almost impossible for a shoddy product, a noxious company, or a crummy person to keep its, his, or her sad reality a secret anymore. There are too many highly opinionated and well-informed people with access to email, instant messaging, and the Web.
The bottom line: If you don't like certain people, it's easier than ever to escape them. If you are a lousy person, it's harder than ever to keep people around you. Hence, the power of love. What do I mean by "love"? The best general definition that I've read comes from philosopher Milton Mayeroff's brilliant book, On Caring. Love, he writes, "is the selfless promotion of the growth of the other." When you help others grow to become the best people that they can be, you are being loving -- and as a result, you grow.
Mayeroff talked primarily about love in our personal lives. But what we need is a definition of love in our professional lives. Here's mine: Love is the act of intelligently and sensibly sharing your knowledge, networks, and compassion with your business partners. The secret to being a high-impact leader and the essence of individual and corporate success: Learn as much as you can as quickly as you can and share your knowledge aggressively; expand your network of people who share your values and connect as many of them with each other as possible; and, perhaps most important, be as openly human as you can be and find the courage to express genuine emotion in the harried, pressure-filled world of work. And one last point: Behave this way not because you expect something in return -- a quid pro quo -- but because it's the right way to behave. The less you expect in return for acts of professional generosity, the more you will receive.
My First Love
I came to understand the power of love the old-fashioned way: by experiencing it firsthand and by watching as it took me to some amazing places. (It's also worth noting that my formative experience with love in business involved Victoria's Secret lingerie.)
First, some background. Since graduate school, my career path has been anything but a straight line. In the early 1990s, I was living in Dallas, trying to scratch out a living as a member of a five-person band. Eventually, my wife (who was a fellow band member) and I tired of the musician's life, and I took a marketing job at a video-production company. That position led to a job with a cable-television company, which in turn got me interested in streaming video over the Internet, which then led me to Broadcast.com -- the now-legendary startup that was cofounded by Mark Cuban.
It was as if my professional life had finally begun. Today, Mark is famous as the brash owner of the Dallas Mavericks and a young Internet billionaire (yes, there are still a few left) who doesn't play by the old rules. What people forget about Mark is that he built a great new-wave company around enduring values. When it came to customers, Mark had a motto: "Make love, not war." Not original, but to me, it felt like the elixir of life. Mark passionately believed that customers should be happy, even if it meant working 24 hours a day to please them. I'd never met anyone like that before. I was thrilled. I dedicated myself to learning everything I could about strategy, service, and the Internet. I went to conferences, studied white papers, and read books -- shelves of books -- on everything from the basics of marketing to the new logic of the digital economy.
Then I got my big break -- a chance to share everything that I had learned from my crash course in business and the Web. In late 1998, not long after I'd finished reading Net Gain, the influential book on virtual communities by then-McKinsey consultant John Hagel and Arthur G. Armstrong, I got a call from Ken Weil, a vice president at Victoria's Secret. Ken wanted to explore the costs of broadcasting a lingerie fashion show over the Web. What he wanted was a good price. What I wanted was a chance to evangelize the ideas that I had learned from Net Gain.
Still, my company was in the business of making money, so we set up a routine conference call. In attendance were Tim Plzak, a director at Victoria's Secret's parent company who was responsible for the Webcast; Ken Weil; my boss; and me. It turned out to be the call of my life. I reviewed some of the big ideas from Net Gain. I explained that these weren't just blue-sky concepts, but practical tactics that could make or save Victoria's Secret money. I explained how the fashion show could create an immense email-address database that could support an inexpensive conversation between the company and its customers. Think "virtual community" and "member." And I sent a copy of Net Gain to Ken.
He got it. He saw the value of using the fashion show as a draw for customer information. Even though we didn't bid the lowest price, we got the business. And on February 2, 1999, we hosted an event that went down in the annals of Internet history. Because so many people who were trying to log on to the show had experienced technical difficulties, some media pundits called it a failure. Saturday Night Live even staged a parody of the event. But for us and for Victoria's Secret it was a huge success. When the event was over, Ken told me that it was the most positive business experience of his life. He even wrote a letter to Mark Cuban saying so. (I still have that letter above my desk. Mark had it framed for me.)
The following spring, Victoria's Secret decided to stage a second event. This time around, the goal was to make sure that it was a flawless user experience. So I committed myself to facilitating an alliance between Broadcast.com and our "co-opetition," America Online and Microsoft. It was a daring strategic step for us -- and the first time that I was willing to share my growing network of contacts with reckless abandon. We hosted a summit at which Victoria's Secret could talk to everyone before they signed a contract with us. I even left the room so that the other companies could strategize about networking and distribution (and perhaps try to take the business away from us).
But instead of teaming up with someone else (and yes, other companies did try to underbid us) , Victoria's Secret stayed put, because, as they told us, we had been willing to share our knowledge and our network to make everything work for their benefit. The second show was a bigger (and smoother) success than the first. And Ken became a friend for life. He understood that I wasn't trying to sell him a bill of goods and that I cared about his success just as much as I cared about my own. And I hoped that the feeling was mutual. Our bond was not just professional -- it was personal.
The Power of Love
My experience with Victoria's Secret taught me the three critical drivers of professional success, the three elemental particles of love in business. They are knowledge, networks, and compassion. To be an impact player in business, you simply have to know more than most other people know. That means taking the power of ideas seriously, reading books voraciously, and developing a system of organizing what you've learned. But all of your knowledge won't amount to much if you don't have a network of people to share it with -- and enough compassion for the people in that network to understand that your success is a direct result of their success.
Those factors helped me to move from Broadcast.com to an executive position at Yahoo (which acquired the company in 1999) and then to my current role at Yahoo, where I get to travel the globe, strategizing with some of the biggest companies in the world.
And I'm not alone. Over and over again, I've discovered that the businesspeople who are the busiest, the happiest, and the most prosperous are the ones who are the most generous with their knowledge and their expertise. People who love what they're doing, who love to learn new things, to meet new people, and to share what and whom they know with others: These are the people who wind up creating the most economic value and, as a result, moving their companies forward.
Even in the digital era, when the Internet connects hundreds of millions of computers around the world, the power of love in business is rooted in the centrality of the human factor. Success is based on the people we know. Everyone in our address book is a potential partner for everyone we meet. Everyone can fit somewhere in our ever-expanding business universe. And the value of our network is a function of our willingness to share it.
We collect marbles, baseball cards, and antiques in order to hold on to them while they increase in value. The purpose of collecting contacts, however, is just the opposite: to give them away -- to match them with other contacts. So don't screen people out. Those who appear powerless or insignificant may be stars waiting to rise. Someday, they may become key nodes in your network -- and create a huge opportunity for you. And they will remember that it was you who was on their side before everyone else was.
But don't just listen to me. As you think about the right way to deal with your colleagues, customers, and business partners -- about how to conduct yourself in a world in which nice, smart people finish first -- just listen to Lennon and McCartney, who said it better than anyone else: "In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."
[Tim Sanders (tim@timsanders.com) is the chief solutions officer at Yahoo, where he drives some of the company's largest partnerships and delivers next-generation marketing programs for world-class brands. This article is adapted from his forthcoming book, Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends (Crown Business), which will be published on February 14, 2002. (Yes, that's Valentine's Day.)]
Sidebar: Why Love Conquers All
It's risky to talk about love in business, especially in these turbulent times. Here are five tough-minded reasons why generosity is the best strategy for individual and corporate prosperity.
You'll build an outstanding brand. By becoming a knowledge guru, sharing your network, and being a compassionate partner, you'll differentiate yourself. You'll be useful, memorable -- special.
You'll create an experience. Business is not just about what you know -- it's about whether you can break through the clutter and information overload. When you represent knowledge, opportunity, selflessness, and intimacy, you are not just a smart colleague; you are fun, interesting, and valuable.
You'll get access to people's attention. The scarcest resource in business is attention. How do you convince people to really pay attention to what you're saying or to give you advice that you need? People with outstanding brands and people whom others are eager to deal with attract undivided attention. This produces results.
You'll harness the power of positive presumption. Making progress means making change. One of the biggest obstacles to change is getting people to trust you. Businesspeople embrace the power of building relationships with a deep level of trust. Your colleagues will presume that your arguments hold water, that your recommendations are solid, and that your referrals are valuable. They'll presume that you have their best interests at heart (which you do). This is a powerful advantage.
You'll receive exceptional feedback. There's one last tough-minded reason to share what you know: You'll learn whether your knowledge has value. If you are eager to offer people knowledge, they will be eager to give you helpful feedback in return. They'll tell you which ideas worked out well and which didn't work out so well. They'll tell you which contacts were helpful and which weren't. They'll keep talking to you. And you'll keep learning from them. It's a loop.
Copyright © 2005 Mansueto Ventures LLC. All rights reserved.Fast Company, 375 Lexington Avenue.,New York , NY 10017
Monday, October 24, 2005
Email from one of our own working the Katrina disaster
Many of you will remember Lavonne Adams. She sends this from Texas:
Hello,
My family & I routinely keep up with the ketsda website—Kettering will always be our home church. Right now, I’m combining the eating of my lunch with e-mailing and reading the blog . Saw the messages re ACS-DR volunteer needs, and I thought I would share some of our experiences with disaster response from the TX perspective.
Doug & I had completed several levels of ACS-DR training, and had been awaiting additional training and some actual action when Katrina hit—followed too closely by Rita. We have since become certified fork lift operators (yes, I really do mean that), and we have received an immense amount of on-the-job training. We are heavily involved with the Tarrant County VOAD (voluntary organizations active in disaster), and we are responsible for disaster response coordination at our church, so we both spent days following Katrina with at least 1 phone attached to our ears—if not 2 at a time! If that wasn’t enough, I volunteered for the American Red Cross during this time, but that is a whole other story.
TX conference has a permanent warehouse in Keene for clothing & hygiene items. I had never been there until Katrina, and it has made me a believer in organized disaster response and donations management. The warehouse at Keene is a perfect example of why financial contributions are the best, followed by donations of specifically requested new items. If you’ve never seen pallet boxes filled with unsorted items stacked three high, 8 wide, and 6 deep, try to imagine it. Picture the pallet boxes being the size of a booth for 4 at your favorite restaurant. Think of how much time and energy has to go into the raw sorting for useability of those items; and only after the raw sort can we consider how to organize and prepare them for distribution. Each time Doug & I left the warehouse thinking we had made a little progress, we would return to find even more black bags waiting to be sorted. Please, please, please consider that sight and what it means before you ever think of sending anything other than monetary donations for disaster relief.
The warehouse (or “Resource/Disaster Depot”) also serves as home to our mobile distribution units, which are essentially bureaus on 18 wheels. (A pack consists of jeans, shirt, new underwear, and new socks). By prepackaging, we are thus able to distribute packs of clothing or hygiene items to large numbers of people in a short period of time. Our record was distribution of 653 clothing packs in less than 2 and a half hours to Rita evacuees at the Dallas Convention Center on 9/23! Doug & I have both been out with the truck for distribution, and have spent many hours completing inventory on it and restocking it. Mom (Hazel Beck) has joined us at the warehouse (in the air conditioned portion) to make up clothing packs. When you send money to Adventist Community Services, you are giving us the ability to make up these packs by purchasing items in bulk. When you send money to Adventist Community Services, you are enabling us to carry out the mission of serving the poor and hurting in Christ’s name.
Since your last e-mail from Pauline Lewis, another ACS-managed multi-agency warehouse has actually been set up. It is in Crosby, TX, and it was set up at the request of the state of Texas in response to needs in east Texas following Rita. Doug & I were part of a start-up management team at the beginning of October, and we are making a return trip at the end of the week. It has been slow process, and the warehouse is still not in full swing. Corporate donations were heavily tapped following Katrina, and independent donations in the northern states are still awaiting sufficient finances for 18-wheeler transportation to TX.
For anyone who wants to volunteer at one of the warehouses, take Pauline’s advice seriously. Motels are truly tapped out, especially in areas where evacuees from Katrina have now become evacuees from Rita. We can attest to the need to be flexible and self-sufficient when volunteering at these warehouses. The Crosby warehouse is in an old Walmart. Doug & I spent much of a full day helping to make it habitable, and our proudest moment came when we converted a janitor’s closet into a shower. For those who are accustomed to camping, that would be no big deal. For us, it was an accomplishment of ingenuity.
I hope this gives a flavor of what we have been experiencing in the metroplex. We all send our love to our Kettering family (that is what you all are), and we ask for your prayers as we continue our efforts with Adventist Community Services Disaster Response.
Lavonne
Hello,
My family & I routinely keep up with the ketsda website—Kettering will always be our home church. Right now, I’m combining the eating of my lunch with e-mailing and reading the blog . Saw the messages re ACS-DR volunteer needs, and I thought I would share some of our experiences with disaster response from the TX perspective.
Doug & I had completed several levels of ACS-DR training, and had been awaiting additional training and some actual action when Katrina hit—followed too closely by Rita. We have since become certified fork lift operators (yes, I really do mean that), and we have received an immense amount of on-the-job training. We are heavily involved with the Tarrant County VOAD (voluntary organizations active in disaster), and we are responsible for disaster response coordination at our church, so we both spent days following Katrina with at least 1 phone attached to our ears—if not 2 at a time! If that wasn’t enough, I volunteered for the American Red Cross during this time, but that is a whole other story.
TX conference has a permanent warehouse in Keene for clothing & hygiene items. I had never been there until Katrina, and it has made me a believer in organized disaster response and donations management. The warehouse at Keene is a perfect example of why financial contributions are the best, followed by donations of specifically requested new items. If you’ve never seen pallet boxes filled with unsorted items stacked three high, 8 wide, and 6 deep, try to imagine it. Picture the pallet boxes being the size of a booth for 4 at your favorite restaurant. Think of how much time and energy has to go into the raw sorting for useability of those items; and only after the raw sort can we consider how to organize and prepare them for distribution. Each time Doug & I left the warehouse thinking we had made a little progress, we would return to find even more black bags waiting to be sorted. Please, please, please consider that sight and what it means before you ever think of sending anything other than monetary donations for disaster relief.
The warehouse (or “Resource/Disaster Depot”) also serves as home to our mobile distribution units, which are essentially bureaus on 18 wheels. (A pack consists of jeans, shirt, new underwear, and new socks). By prepackaging, we are thus able to distribute packs of clothing or hygiene items to large numbers of people in a short period of time. Our record was distribution of 653 clothing packs in less than 2 and a half hours to Rita evacuees at the Dallas Convention Center on 9/23! Doug & I have both been out with the truck for distribution, and have spent many hours completing inventory on it and restocking it. Mom (Hazel Beck) has joined us at the warehouse (in the air conditioned portion) to make up clothing packs. When you send money to Adventist Community Services, you are giving us the ability to make up these packs by purchasing items in bulk. When you send money to Adventist Community Services, you are enabling us to carry out the mission of serving the poor and hurting in Christ’s name.
Since your last e-mail from Pauline Lewis, another ACS-managed multi-agency warehouse has actually been set up. It is in Crosby, TX, and it was set up at the request of the state of Texas in response to needs in east Texas following Rita. Doug & I were part of a start-up management team at the beginning of October, and we are making a return trip at the end of the week. It has been slow process, and the warehouse is still not in full swing. Corporate donations were heavily tapped following Katrina, and independent donations in the northern states are still awaiting sufficient finances for 18-wheeler transportation to TX.
For anyone who wants to volunteer at one of the warehouses, take Pauline’s advice seriously. Motels are truly tapped out, especially in areas where evacuees from Katrina have now become evacuees from Rita. We can attest to the need to be flexible and self-sufficient when volunteering at these warehouses. The Crosby warehouse is in an old Walmart. Doug & I spent much of a full day helping to make it habitable, and our proudest moment came when we converted a janitor’s closet into a shower. For those who are accustomed to camping, that would be no big deal. For us, it was an accomplishment of ingenuity.
I hope this gives a flavor of what we have been experiencing in the metroplex. We all send our love to our Kettering family (that is what you all are), and we ask for your prayers as we continue our efforts with Adventist Community Services Disaster Response.
Lavonne
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
E-mail from Mike Fortune
I received this from Mike Fortune, one of our Ohio Conference pastors, and thought it was worth sharing because of the innovative ways he has become involved in the lives of non-church members in his communities. Maybe it will stimulate your thinking as it did mine.
I DID have fun this summer in Wooster!!! I just got off the phone with Andy, a guy I met in the parks this summer. He and Eric Larson were at prayer meeting tonite even though I wasn't...Sandy, who comes to our soup kitchen and park picnics, came to prayer meeting 2 weeks ago. She has 2 grown sons. One my age named Jamie. Two other folks, Tony and Patty, are coming with their daughter Alyssa who joined Pathfinders. They LOVED our block party July 31st. Especially the rather LOUD band we had play at the very end...I'm going to interview them, take a group picture, and send it to you when I can. I'm assigning each young disciple one of these people to keep in touch with during the week, inviting them to prayer meeting, and church, and stuff. Later this fall, we're inviting them plus 10 more who signed up at our block party to receive an invitation for a Diabetes or Bible Prophecy class. So we're looking forward to that. Did Tom Hughes tell you we ran into his daughter this summer? She's hasn't come yet, but was impressed with our efforts in her neighborhood...
FYI, in Canton the other day, I asked one of my neighbors across the street I've gotten to know pretty well over the last couple years if he wouldn't mind sharpening my mind. When he asked me what I meant, I explained to him that the Bible says "iron sharpens iron" (Prov 27:17) and that when we talk, he raises good questions that help me think about ways to explain Bible things better and that if he would study the bible with me, he could make me a better pastor. I told him up front my goal is not to convert you to my church but to sharpen each other and hopefully draw closer to Jesus. And he said YES!!! His name is Ron.
Then, a day later, my next door neighbor, Shari, who Jackie [Mike's wife] had invited to an Arbonne thing at our home, out of the blue actually asked me when we were going to start our neighborhood Care Group!!! She's a wonderful Christian already and an avid reader so we have lots in common and we have attended her church's Easter Passion play for years. We exchange Christian books too. Last winter, she let me borrow her copy of Larry Crabb's The Pressure's Off right about the time I was secretly praying for ideas on how to preach about sanctification in the spring. (After reading Crabb's book and comparing it with EGW's The Sanctified Life -- I swear it's almost identical, like a 21st century version with good illustrations) I told Shari that the Holy Spirit used her to talk to me and that it was exactly what I needed at the exact time I needed it. Which leads me to think her "casual suggestion" the other day in jest has to really be a Holy Spirit thing since we've never even talked about doing something like that before!!! So I told her we would co-teach it taking turns in each other's homes and do it Monday nights this fall. I am very excited about that.
Also starting next Monday, in the afternoon, Pastor Stan Hood (Canton New Hope SDA Church -- Alleghany West) and I start our after school program at Sowers Elementary in downtown Canton. We're helping at-risk latch key kids with homework or whatever else they're dealing with. Stan and his wife Lisa have been doing this for at least a couple years but desperately need more help. I'd been praying for a place to invest my time in Canton so when Stan told me about the need and his desire to "turn it over to someone else" I thought this may be the Holy Spirit's will for me too...
And these Visible Community Service things come at a good time. Because I needed a plan to share with my Canton church family what I'd be doing with my time. Especially since I declined to particate in their annual Stark County Fair Booth. They've been doing this fair booth since creation I think and I hate it. Always have. But did it any way the last 5 years.
Well, not this year. No more. I told them at our last business meeting that they can do it if they want, but that I wasn't going to participate this year. Because last year, we did the best we could, tricked it out with Passion of the Christ books and a huge 8 x 8 foot banner of EGW's Christ the Way of Life painting and signed up 274 people for Bible Studies---only to have 13 people finish lesson one, 4 of the 13 finish lesson five, and 1 of the 13 finish all the studies before deciding not to even visit much less attend our church. I told them, for me, it is not something I wish to invest my time in any longer. That instead, I was doing a Bible study with my neighbor, an after school proram, and hosting a Care Group on my street not to mention my other stuff in Wooster. Which I need more time for so despite the cost, I'm adding another travel day, spending Tuesdays and Wednesdays there now. I needed another day for a regular staff meeting there anyway so this works out.
Selah!
MSF
I DID have fun this summer in Wooster!!! I just got off the phone with Andy, a guy I met in the parks this summer. He and Eric Larson were at prayer meeting tonite even though I wasn't...Sandy, who comes to our soup kitchen and park picnics, came to prayer meeting 2 weeks ago. She has 2 grown sons. One my age named Jamie. Two other folks, Tony and Patty, are coming with their daughter Alyssa who joined Pathfinders. They LOVED our block party July 31st. Especially the rather LOUD band we had play at the very end...I'm going to interview them, take a group picture, and send it to you when I can. I'm assigning each young disciple one of these people to keep in touch with during the week, inviting them to prayer meeting, and church, and stuff. Later this fall, we're inviting them plus 10 more who signed up at our block party to receive an invitation for a Diabetes or Bible Prophecy class. So we're looking forward to that. Did Tom Hughes tell you we ran into his daughter this summer? She's hasn't come yet, but was impressed with our efforts in her neighborhood...
FYI, in Canton the other day, I asked one of my neighbors across the street I've gotten to know pretty well over the last couple years if he wouldn't mind sharpening my mind. When he asked me what I meant, I explained to him that the Bible says "iron sharpens iron" (Prov 27:17) and that when we talk, he raises good questions that help me think about ways to explain Bible things better and that if he would study the bible with me, he could make me a better pastor. I told him up front my goal is not to convert you to my church but to sharpen each other and hopefully draw closer to Jesus. And he said YES!!! His name is Ron.
Then, a day later, my next door neighbor, Shari, who Jackie [Mike's wife] had invited to an Arbonne thing at our home, out of the blue actually asked me when we were going to start our neighborhood Care Group!!! She's a wonderful Christian already and an avid reader so we have lots in common and we have attended her church's Easter Passion play for years. We exchange Christian books too. Last winter, she let me borrow her copy of Larry Crabb's The Pressure's Off right about the time I was secretly praying for ideas on how to preach about sanctification in the spring. (After reading Crabb's book and comparing it with EGW's The Sanctified Life -- I swear it's almost identical, like a 21st century version with good illustrations) I told Shari that the Holy Spirit used her to talk to me and that it was exactly what I needed at the exact time I needed it. Which leads me to think her "casual suggestion" the other day in jest has to really be a Holy Spirit thing since we've never even talked about doing something like that before!!! So I told her we would co-teach it taking turns in each other's homes and do it Monday nights this fall. I am very excited about that.
Also starting next Monday, in the afternoon, Pastor Stan Hood (Canton New Hope SDA Church -- Alleghany West) and I start our after school program at Sowers Elementary in downtown Canton. We're helping at-risk latch key kids with homework or whatever else they're dealing with. Stan and his wife Lisa have been doing this for at least a couple years but desperately need more help. I'd been praying for a place to invest my time in Canton so when Stan told me about the need and his desire to "turn it over to someone else" I thought this may be the Holy Spirit's will for me too...
And these Visible Community Service things come at a good time. Because I needed a plan to share with my Canton church family what I'd be doing with my time. Especially since I declined to particate in their annual Stark County Fair Booth. They've been doing this fair booth since creation I think and I hate it. Always have. But did it any way the last 5 years.
Well, not this year. No more. I told them at our last business meeting that they can do it if they want, but that I wasn't going to participate this year. Because last year, we did the best we could, tricked it out with Passion of the Christ books and a huge 8 x 8 foot banner of EGW's Christ the Way of Life painting and signed up 274 people for Bible Studies---only to have 13 people finish lesson one, 4 of the 13 finish lesson five, and 1 of the 13 finish all the studies before deciding not to even visit much less attend our church. I told them, for me, it is not something I wish to invest my time in any longer. That instead, I was doing a Bible study with my neighbor, an after school proram, and hosting a Care Group on my street not to mention my other stuff in Wooster. Which I need more time for so despite the cost, I'm adding another travel day, spending Tuesdays and Wednesdays there now. I needed another day for a regular staff meeting there anyway so this works out.
Selah!
MSF
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Need for Long-Term Volunteers for Hurricane Relief
This just came to me forwarded from Ohio Conference:
From: Pauline Lewis
Subject: Volunteer information
There is a great need to supply volunteers for a long period of time.
There are positions in the warehouse, order pullers, floor manager,
office manager, sorting, boxing, clerical, materials handlers, certified
forklift drivers, etc and many more. Please give training you have and
information that may be helpful in placing you. If you have not been
trained there is lots of work for all to do.
You may want to get a tetanus shot..
You would need to be self contained, transportation to the warehouse,some
warehouses have sleeping and others do not. Needed light clothes and a
light jacket, air mattress would be nice, sheets, light blanket,
toiletries, most feed at least once a day , some 3 meals, water is
provided, Motels are rare to find, Contact other churches near you to
see if you can caravan or ride with them. When you get the number of
those going and the dates you can stay, please e mail me the information.
There are 3 warehouses. 1 Mobile, Ala, 2 Chattanooga, Tenn. 3 New Iberia,
La You need to contact me before going. Each warehouse works through me
for supplying volunteers. Contact me for directions to the warehouse. If
you are flying I may have updates on closest airport.
Suggested items to think about: 2 pair of boots and lots of socks,
jacket/wet weather gear, sun screen, foot powder, lip balm, hand jell,
sunglasses, drivers license, insect repellent, fanny pack no purses,
watch, flashlight, trash bags for dirty clothes, resealable plastic bags
for storage, DO NOT BRING OR WEAR VALUABLES
Use either e mail or phone to contact me.
pauline-lewis@juno.com
816-233-6929
From: Pauline Lewis
Subject: Volunteer information
There is a great need to supply volunteers for a long period of time.
There are positions in the warehouse, order pullers, floor manager,
office manager, sorting, boxing, clerical, materials handlers, certified
forklift drivers, etc and many more. Please give training you have and
information that may be helpful in placing you. If you have not been
trained there is lots of work for all to do.
You may want to get a tetanus shot..
You would need to be self contained, transportation to the warehouse,some
warehouses have sleeping and others do not. Needed light clothes and a
light jacket, air mattress would be nice, sheets, light blanket,
toiletries, most feed at least once a day , some 3 meals, water is
provided, Motels are rare to find, Contact other churches near you to
see if you can caravan or ride with them. When you get the number of
those going and the dates you can stay, please e mail me the information.
There are 3 warehouses. 1 Mobile, Ala, 2 Chattanooga, Tenn. 3 New Iberia,
La You need to contact me before going. Each warehouse works through me
for supplying volunteers. Contact me for directions to the warehouse. If
you are flying I may have updates on closest airport.
Suggested items to think about: 2 pair of boots and lots of socks,
jacket/wet weather gear, sun screen, foot powder, lip balm, hand jell,
sunglasses, drivers license, insect repellent, fanny pack no purses,
watch, flashlight, trash bags for dirty clothes, resealable plastic bags
for storage, DO NOT BRING OR WEAR VALUABLES
Use either e mail or phone to contact me.
pauline-lewis@juno.com
816-233-6929
