February 18. Do You Know Who Robin And Matban Are?

As leaders, are we aligned with a purpose today? There is a pretty good chance that if you have ever heard of Batman and Robin that the title today annoyed you. Our judgment filters and need to be right make us want to fix things. When they cannot be fixed the frustration gap occurs.

I can think of times when a value offer has been perceived as annoying because it was not aligned correctly. It could be the extra suggestive sale proposition that a salesperson asks you after the first sale. "Would you like a milkshake with that?" which could go along with your purchase is an example.

Sometimes I appreciate them and at other times I really wonder why they asked. This can be an issue of being aligned with our why. The restaurant industry tends to get the concept, or they do not.

Would you like a piece of pie and ice cream to go with your salad, steamed vegetables, and grilled chicken breast? That is an example of a restaurant or server that is missing the point of the order in the first place.

If I had been offered a low-calorie Jell-O dessert with fruit, I just might have jumped at the offer. But the offer just did not fit the situation as it was out of alignment with my purpose of the order. When a business is making an offer to its customer, we need to have our purposes align.

That takes us to a point of awareness with one another. As leaders, we serve better when our team is aligned as well. Think of that wobbly wheel at the base of the grocery market shopping cart.

When the cart’s wheels are not in alignment it changes the experience so much that customers might abandon the cart. That means that our team members might leave as well. Where might you or your team be out of alignment with values?

Hoping that team members will tolerate the wobbly wheel is likely to lead to disappointment and decreased value. Who can help you find alignment?

We are taught in the book of Mark in the Bible, a great example that correlates. Jesus was quoted in chapter 2:27 as saying, "The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath."

Are our businesses and relationships made to meet the needs of our customers and employees? It could be that we have made our businesses to be for our needs first and everyone else, a distant second.

That might be recharacterized as providing you an income instead of creating a value-based business serving others. That can be a very lonely and detached situation. In the same way, we must pay attention to the church and the value that it offers.

Where might we be out of alignment as followers or as Christ's church? Let us put as much energy into meeting the needs of others as we might for the requirements of ourselves. Ultimately, we are the ones that are to align things even when we receive offers that are not aligned.

At your church organization, is the trinity, the leaders, the members, and those you seek to serve in alignment? What is the first thing that you can do about it in the next seven days?

Let us pray, Heavenly Father, today we will have the opportunity to give our love and service to benefit others. May our blessings that you bestow on us be enough every day. May our love to your world be served with a smile. May we start our day with a focus on your "why." In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen