Come Run with Me!

Many of my running friends like to run with groups. Frankly, it has never appealed to me. When it comes to running, I am a “Lone Ranger.” I like running alone and listening to audio books.

But two weeks ago, I decided to participate in Powered by Hope’s team run on Saturday here in Nashville. This is training that they are providing through the Jeff Galloway organization for those of us at Thomas Nelson who are participating in the Country Music Half Marathon in April.

The 2009 Half Marathon Challenge

Two years ago, I ran the Country Music Half Marathon for the first time. Sixty-five of my colleagues from Thomas Nelson ran with me (about 10% of our workforce at the time). It was such a great experience that we did it again in 2007. Last year, we doubled the number of participants—135 finished the race (about 20% of our workforce).

Well, we want to do it again this year. My goal is for 150 of our Thomas Nelson employees to run the half marathon this year. This represents about 25% of our post lay-off workforce. I don’t know about you, but after the holidays, I am feeling more motivated than ever to get myself in shape.

The Recession Hits Home

Today, was a very difficult day at Thomas Nelson. We informed fifty-four of our friends and co-workers (about 10% of our workforce) that we have eliminated their jobs, effective this Friday. This will affect nearly every department in our company.

This was the second round of reductions this year. Unfortunately, this one was no less painful. We did the first round after significantly cutting our SKU count. However, this second round was purely a result of the slowdown in the economy.

Some Twitterers Worth Following

I started Twittering on April 5, 2008. What started out as a 30-day experiment, has now turned into part of my daily life. I have written about 12 Reasons to Start Twittering. I even created A Beginner’s Guide to Twitter.

So far, I have more than 1,600 people following me, but I only follow about 180. (Some people, for reasons I can’t fathom, think that they must follow everyone who follows them. I do well to keep up with the people I am following.)

Beyond the Call of Duty

Several years ago, one of my colleagues walked out of his office and collapsed on the floor in front of me. I had no idea what was wrong. Several people rushed to the scene, but all we could do was call 911 and wait for an ambulance to arrive. It was a terrible, helpless feeling. As it turned out, he had pneumonia.

Based on this—and a few other similar experiences—we created a “First Responders” program at our company about a year ago. We wanted to provide selected employees with the knowledge and skills necessary to act in an emergency situation. The role of our First Responders is “to sustain life, reduce pain, and minimize the consequences of an injury or sudden illness until more advanced medical help can arrive.”

A New Book Review Program for Bloggers

A few months ago, we began an experiment. We offered a free book to anyone who agreed to post a 200-word review on their blog. We started with The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield. We had almost 200 people request books and almost 70% of them posted book reviews.

We were so pleased with the results, we decided to do it again. We offered Through the Storm by Lynne Spears. However, this time we required bloggers to post their review on Amazon in addition to their own site. We had slightly fewer requests and reviews, but we were still pleased with the results. Almost all the reviews were positive.

How to Change a Dress Code Policy—in 24 Hours

Often, decision-making in corporations crawls along at a snail’s pace. Or so it seems. But occasionally, when the right idea surfaces at the right time, things can move quickly.

On Thursday, October 16, at 4:30 p.m. Gabe Wicks, the VP in charge of our Design and Multimedia Group, sent me an email. He challenged our dress code policy, saying

Leading Powerful Conversations

The old model of leadership is all about having the answers. According to the theory, you get to the top by being able to answer the tough questions and come up with compelling answers—usually on your feet.

But I am noticing that that a new model of leadership is taking root in many organizations, including our own here at Thomas Nelson. In this model, the leader’s primary role is to initiate conversations that bring out the best thinking of the tribe and direct those conversations toward a positive outcome.

Why Did We Publish Lynne Spears’ Book?

Last week we published Through the Storm by Lynne Spears, mother of Britney and Jamie Lynn. The book appeared in the Amazon top 100 bestsellers for most of last week.

As part of the launch, Lynne appeared on The Today Show, Entertainment Tonight, The Rachael Ray Show, ShowBiz Tonight, and Inside Edition.

Behind the Scenes—The People Who Make It Happen

Women of Faith is a conference designed specifically for women. It is owned by Thomas Nelson. We do about 30 of these events a year in cities all across America.

When I tell people about these conferences for the first time, they usually envision small church meetings with maybe a couple of thousand women. The reality is that these conferences are held in large sports arenas in major metropolitan areas. The average attendance is 13,000-plus. They are as polished and professional as any large performance event you have ever attended.