April 13, 2015 Neil Young. Stephen Stills. Richie Furay. Jim Messina. Those aren’t just random names from the phone book; 49 years ago – this month – they were unknown musicians who came together under the name Buffalo Springfield, and had their debut performance at the Troubadour, in Hollywood. Together only two years before disbursing …
Author Archives: Bob Shank
Real-deal Resurrection
April 6, 2015 There should have been a one-semester class – at the beginning of high school – called "Freshman Orientation for Life." They were concerned with getting us outta-there in the prescribed time period. Their horizon was four years; not thirty. What would we have heard? Things like: you’d better take your Spanish seriously, …
Betrayal
March 30, 2015 Betrayed. You can’t find a story worth telling – or, hearing – that isn’t seasoned by betrayal. Sleep comes quickly if your bedside book tells only happy tales of people whose sublime pursuits are never opposed by someone they once loved and trusted. Every captivating plot weaves a similar tapestry: someone with …
First of the Catch
March 23, 2015 Only 22 days ‘til the Ides of April. Are you ready? The big question, for many: file, or extension? The longer you live – and, the more complicated your financial affairs – the task of preparing for April 15th becomes more ponderous. No one is excused from the turmoil: whether you prepare …
10 years ago
March 16, 2015 Where were you… 10 years ago, today? Back then, I was filling two roles: about 60% of my time was devoted to serving and expanding The Master’s Program, across America. With the other 40%, I served as the Program Director for Franklin Graham’s evangelistic events around the world, under the auspices of …
Ngiyakwemukela
March 9, 2015 Orphan. The word strikes emotional chords. UNICEF says that there are 153 million orphans in the world; the designation applies to a child who has lost one or both parents. Only 10% have lost both parents; of those, only 5% are under five years old. In the country of South Africa, the …
Making History Together
March 2, 2015 The world changed on January 9, 2007. Steve Jobs used the platform at Macworld in San Francisco to make this pronouncement: “We’re going to make some history together today.” Before he finished, he unveiled the first iPhone. Deliveries began on June 29th. Today, 600 million iPhones – in eight different generations – …
Winning and Losing
February 23, 2015 Winners… and, losers. This morning, ISIS has been crowded out of the headlines. Terrorist threats to America’s cathedrals (our retail shopping malls) over the weekend have been taken in stride. In a culture more inclined to entertainment than engagement, Oscar trumps the field of nasty newsmakers… The Academy of Motion Picture Arts …
President’s Day
February 16, 2015 President’s Day. Washington’s Birthday. The third Monday of February is the federal holiday honoring George Washington. Nearly half of our 50 states have made President’s Day the state holiday, expanding their focus to include all of our former presidents. The details of history do matter. That reality was highlighted about two weeks …
Outsider Opinion
February 9, 2015 “So, when the helicopter we were traveling in was forced down after being hit by a RPG (rocket propelled grenade)…” The incident was back in 2003, and Brian Williams – network news anchor for NBC – was flying in a military Chinook helicopter with an American army general, over Iraq. From reports …
Take Over
February 2, 2015 Phil says six more weeks, but the chill in Seattle may last longer. In case you’re on headline overload, the folks in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania have already finished up their annual tradition with their local vermin-of-note. Groundhogs are classified by Farmers’ Almanac as a pest/rodent/varmit, but don’t raise that distinction with the folks …
Parked
January 26, 2015 My “office” – home, or away – is usually a coffee specialty store; my typical day begins with the first cup at/around 5:00a. Watching the early morning weekday caffeine crowd come-and-go creates an intriguing demographic study… This morning – before daylight – a Beamer convertible pulled into the clearly-marked handicapped parking spot, …
Build Movements
January 19, 2015 He was only 39. It has been 20 years since my friend Bob Buford wrote his signature book, Halftime. I remember reading the manuscript – in a three-ring-binder – before its publication, and writing my endorsement. Now 800,000 copies are in print; Bob’s challenge has been heard around the Christian world: why …
Heaven and Earth
January 12, 2015 Nobody saw it. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. It was the “cover wrap” on the Sunday morning paper this week – you know, those funny fold-around pages that are the prime real estate for print advertising – for the Orange County Register. Local papers now serve a niche readership: more …
Before Amazon
January 5, 2015 They were Amazon, before Amazon. Richard Sears was a railroad station agent in the 1880’s in North Redwood, Minnesota. A shipment of watches arrived in his remote frontier rail office, destined for a local jeweler who turned down the delivery. Sears bought the watches, resold them… and the rest is history. Along …
End of a Chapter
December 29, 2014 It’s about time to move along… The last year – 2014 – is in its final lap. Three hundred sixty two days have come and gone; you’ve got three days left, and one of those – New Year’s Eve – is a non-starter. Even if you wanted to get something done on …
The Set Time
December 22, 2014 “I hope you haven’t been waiting long…” Have you heard that before? Usually uttered by the person arriving last – for a long-scheduled appointment – and proposed as a this-settles-everything repayment for the time spent awaiting them. Greg Savage is an entrepreneur in Australia – a noted pro in the executive search …
All In
December 15, 2014 I need to get in the mood… The mood music has been playing since Thanksgiving in all of the retail environments. Jesus can’t get a hearing in any public environment, but the tunes that connect with His birthday are in a continuous loop at Target and Nordstrom, between now and the 25th. …
Accountability
December 8, 2014 “Are you in an Accountability Group?” That’s a pretty typical question posed in Christian circles; the incidence of the inquiry seems to go up every time the news reports another Christian leader whose bad choices have taken him/her out of their role and delivered them to the has-been/no-longer-qualified leper colony. It raises …
A Note Under The Ribbon
December 1, 2014 Makin’ a list; checkin’ it twice… Someone got to the calendar when you weren’t looking. Normally, there’s a week – call it a “transition period” – between Thanksgiving and December. Time to burn through the turkey leftovers and catch a few traditional gridiron rivalries before you have to put on your holiday …
Thankful To
November 24, 2014 What are you thankful for? “We cannot achieve more in life than what we believe in our hearts we deserve to have.” That wisdom is from the late James R. Ball. His career life began with international postings with Andersen Consulting; ultimately to an entrepreneurial launch called The Goals Institute. He wrote …
Pure Evil
November 17, 2014 “An act of pure evil.” That’s the headline this morning for USA Today, as they report the death of Peter Kassig at the hands of ISIS in Syria. The third American to be killed in their brutal fashion – for their own sordid public relations purposes – is drawing additional attention to …
Career Choice
November 10, 2014 When was the last time you got a Standing O? It was great to be in church yesterday. Our pastor took the time – early in the service – to ask all of the folks in the auditorium who had served in any branch of the services – Army, Navy, Marines, Air …
Flight Tickets
November 3, 2014 Is the payoff worth the price? Is the result worthy of the risk? For the 800 folks on the waiting list – who have either prepaid or placed deposits for tickets to space – those might not be the questions on their minds. The midterm elections – and the control of the …
Ready and Willing?
October 27, 2014 Are you willing to be persecuted for following Jesus? Are you willing to die? Think about the approach we take to sharing the Christian faith in America, in the 21st Century. Presenting the claims of the Gospel to people who were born into American culture – who measure their quality of life …
Season of Stewardship
October 20, 2014 Follow the Money. The quote comes from the script of the movie, All the President’s Men; it came from a conversation between Bob Woodward – the investigative reporter from the Washington Post who, with his writing partner Carl Bernstein, broke the story on Watergate – and Deep Throat, the alias used by …
Interim
October 13, 2014 Q: “So, what do you do?” A: “I’m a temp…” There’s an answer that strikes fear at the core of the career minded modern human. Descriptions that demand more letters to spell offer little relief: contractual, seasonal, consultant, casual staff, freelance do little to ameliorate the trauma. Government statistics from last month …
Increase Deployment
October 6, 2014 “So, what do you do?” If you don’t have a quick answer to the standard-issue opening line at the First Encounter, no one will know how to frame a follow-up question, and the conversation will be DOA. No credible sociological data is available for prior generations, but you don’t need a Gallup …
Invite a Friend to Subscribe
Dear Marketplace Friend, “I know you; who are you? What’s your name?” I was standing at Gate C-2 at DFW Airport last week, waiting to board my flight home. The man who walked up to me posed that question, and I answered him. His reply: “That’s it! I read your newsletter every Monday; every word!” …
Independent of the Dow
September 22, 2014 You’re Rich; why don’t you act like it? This just out, from the Federal Reserve: the net worth of U.S. households hits an all-time high. The value of homes, stocks and other assets – minus debts and other liabilities – has climbed to $81.5 trillion; it’s never been higher. Don’t schedule the …