last thursday and friday, i drove up to orange county to attend a couple days of catalyst west coast. i’m not presenting, and didn’t come with anyone. it’s nice to just attend an event semi-anonymously and observe.

the first morning, andy stanley gave one of the top two or three best talks on leadership i have ever heard in my life. really (i’d say it was the best, because i’m not thinking of a better talk on leadership at the moment, but i’m trying not to use hyperbole here). i don’t know if they’re going to have recordings of these things; but i really want to listen to it a couple more times. i wish i’d taken notes. i did twitter a few things, so i can copy and paste those here:

when the uncertainty in your situation goes away, your leadership is no longer needed.

I will always be uncertain; I’m certain of it.

leadership is not about making decisions on your own; it’s about owning them once they’re made.

andy went on to talk about “clarity” and “flexibility” as the two leadership skills needed in this context.

i learned my lesson about not taking any notes, and thumbed an email to myself on my blackberry during guy kawasaki’s talk. given that a large room of church leaders would not be his normal audience, he did great — regularly connecting his points to church-world and christianity.

here’s my rough little outline of notes:

Innovation

1. Make meaning (stop bad stuff, or create or assist good stuff)

2. Make mantra (not a mission statement) – something that defines why you exist. 2 or 3 words.

3. Jump to the next curve (Most orgs define what they do by what they do – that’s the way to miss the next curve.)

4. Roll the dicee.
-Deep.
-Intelligent. (Anticipate what I need)
-Complete. (The total experience)
-Elegant. (Design)
-Emotive. (Generates strong emotions)

5. Won’t worry, be crappy. (In technology: we ship, and then we test. Don’t wait for perfection. You’ll never get that until there’s consumer interaction.)

6. Polarize people. (If you try to please everyone, you’ll get mediocrity. Better to have people love or hate it, than to be indifferent to it).

7. Let 100 flowers blossom. (Let things happen organically. It won’t always be what you expect).

8. Church baby, churn. (Constantly tweak and create new versions. Evolve.)

9. Niche thyself. (Equation: high uniqueness and high value).

10. Follow the 10, 20, 30 rule. (All presentations: 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30 pt font).

11. Don’t let the bozos grind you down.

btw: mariner’s church is a great venue for an event like this, but i can’t believe a hipster church like that doesn’t allow coffee (even with a lid on the cup) in their worship center! come on!