We probably all remember the children’s story of the Tortoise and the Hare. A cute story with a surprising ending. Have you ever thought about how different they are? Could they ever become best friends? Can any two beings so completely different enjoy a relationship? My wonderful wife and life partner of 50+ years… Continue reading My Turtle and Me
Blogs
Love One Another…A Work in Progress
“A new command I have for you: love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34) I have struggled with our society’s use of the word love for a long time. We use the same word love to describe how we feel about our wife and children and to describe how we feel about… Continue reading Love One Another…A Work in Progress
Surrender
We have all heard many messages talking about being surrendered. Typically, we think to ourselves of course we are surrendered. After all, that is what a Christian is, right? However, lately the word has been echoing in my heart and mind. What does it really mean? Part of what has this on my mind is… Continue reading Surrender
“How Great is that Darkness”
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 6:22-23), “The eye is the lamp to the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great… Continue reading “How Great is that Darkness”
God Is in the Little Things
I had an experience a few days ago that I would like to share. It was a “touch” from God in an ordinary, everyday situation. First let me set the scene. I went to Meijer at mid-morning on a Wednesday. I just had to pick up a few things. There were not many people in… Continue reading God Is in the Little Things
Parable of the Bush
I love the way our God can speak to us through everyday occurrences, like one day when I was working on spring clean-up in our yard and began trimming the bushes behind our house. While hand trimming these bushes, thoughts about scriptural principles kept going through my head. At first glance the bushes appeared to… Continue reading Parable of the Bush
“I”dolatry
A few weeks ago, I read an interesting term in an In-Touch Ministries devotional; “I”dolatry. I find that a challenging term. If I put myself on the throne of my life instead of God, that is idolatry. If I am seeking my will not His will, making my will more important than His, that is… Continue reading “I”dolatry
My Problem with Evolutionists
One of my greatest passions is for people to know why they believe what they believe. As a society that is always in a hurry, when people hear something that sounds right to them they are quick to believe it is factual. They typically do not question or research the truth of the statement; they… Continue reading My Problem with Evolutionists
Candidate Crisis – Do You Believe Me Now?
I saw this coming years ago and have been writing about this crisis for years. (See other blogs on http://www.stanfieldassociates.com). It is now in full force. “We are hiring” signs are everywhere. I actually saw a sign on a Burger King front door that said, “Lobby closed do to lack of staff. Please go through… Continue reading Candidate Crisis – Do You Believe Me Now?
We Need a Bridge from Academia to the Work Place
A generation has been told by their parents and their teachers that a college education is the only answer to a “good life”. “Manufacturing is dead” was a common statement. Young people from their mid-twenties to their mid-thirties now have student loan payments than are as large as a mortgage payment. However, because of the… Continue reading We Need a Bridge from Academia to the Work Place
Building Bench Strength
How is your bench strength? When your key performers are sidelined, do you have others following in their steps that can step in and “carry the ball” in your key performers’ absence? Everyone has key performers, but the long-term winners focus on the next level to ensure success now and in the future. Some call… Continue reading Building Bench Strength
The Strategic Importance of Trust
I heard this phrase recently and it has echoed in my head ever since. As I pondered the statement, I realized that trust, or the lack of it, is the foundation that all relationships are built on, including business relationships. Who wants to do business with, work for or employee people you do not trust?… Continue reading The Strategic Importance of Trust
Engaged Employees are Self-Governed
As business struggles to build a productive work force in the 21st century, and at the same time engage four generations with differing approaches to work in the same work force, we must not loose sight of the basic foundations of building a great team. In the current employment market, good employees can easily find… Continue reading Engaged Employees are Self-Governed
To Change Your Culture, You Must First Change Your Paradigms
“The culture of any organization is shaped by the behavior the leaders are willing to tolerate.” Gruenter and Whitaker As a leader of an organization, our organization’s culture is what we have allowed it to become; either proactively or inactively. What leaders seeking a culture change need to understand is they need a paradigm shift.… Continue reading To Change Your Culture, You Must First Change Your Paradigms
Is Your Silent Salesman Well Dressed?
by guest blogger Katie Brandel Imagine this. Your doorbell rings, and you open it to find a salesman from ABC company eager to tell you about the services he can offer you. It so happens that you’ve been looking for these kinds of services, so the chance that he could convert this visit into a… Continue reading Is Your Silent Salesman Well Dressed?
What is Quality?
When you hear someone mention quality, what comes to mind? The dictionary says: Quality (qual-i-ty) noun; The standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind; the degree of excellence of something. When you go to a restaurant do you have an expectation of the quality of service and food you are about… Continue reading What is Quality?
Effective Conversation
I read this phrase the other day while I was reading an author’s thoughts on normal one-on-one conversation. The question is do we actually listen to others while discussing a topic on which we have a strong opinion? Do we actually communicate with each other; sharing and understanding each other’s ideas and concepts? We have… Continue reading Effective Conversation
Barriers to Leadership
We all can recognize obvious barriers, like road closed signs, caution tape, etc. However, do we realize we can create barriers between ourselves and others by the way we dress, they way we talk and even the way we react to them? I have been around manufacturing management for over 40 years. I have found… Continue reading Barriers to Leadership
Lack of Available People Forces “Customer of Choice”
We are starting to see signs of something I have not witnessed in my working career. Do to the short-fall of people with employable talents, companies are starting to have problems keeping up their production schedules and therefore have to decide which customers get left behind. I have been promoting the concept of being and… Continue reading Lack of Available People Forces “Customer of Choice”
Work-Life Balance or a Balanced Life
We have all heard the phrase work-life balance used for years. It was a well-meaning phrase trying to help busy people ensure they spend sometime with their families, friends and other interests. The problem with that word picture is it creates an imaginary scale that you put your work on one side and your life… Continue reading Work-Life Balance or a Balanced Life
Employees are Whole People
My desire is to help leaders recognize the value of their employees and to develop them into the person they were created to be. Sometimes this takes a paradigm shift. Paradigm Your paradigm, or the filter you see the world through, is the sum total of what you have learned and observed up to this… Continue reading Employees are Whole People
The 21st Century Leader
Definition- A person that is respected by others for their knowledge, understanding and foresight. Also, they care enough for others in their scope of responsibility to make the effort to mentor them and help them achieve the knowledge, understanding and foresight they need to become the best they can be in their areas of responsibility.… Continue reading The 21st Century Leader
Next Economic Hurdle, Supply Shortage
We are entering a business cycle I have never seen in my 50+ years in the business arena. Multiple factors are creating a “perfect storm”. I am concerned if the business world doesn’t address this issue now, in the next few years we will slide into a recession because of supply shortages. The intersecting issues… Continue reading Next Economic Hurdle, Supply Shortage
Carefronting- A better approach to managing conflict
The world of management has transitioned from the harsh dictatorial environments of the past to a less offensive approach of today. However, for the most part, we have not equipped our managers with the ability to handle confrontation in a better way; carefronting. Carefronting is confrontation with compassion. We need to cast the vision and… Continue reading Carefronting- A better approach to managing conflict
The Road to Leadership
Leaders are relatively easy to spot in a group. Just pay attention when you are in any large gathering. There are those people that others naturally listen to and follow. The question therefore isn’t how do we find leaders; they are in every organization. The question that we need to ask is how do we… Continue reading The Road to Leadership
Christian Life Coach 