The Wisdom of Comics

Hi all.

The last couple weeks have been super educational as I've gotten into the swing of doing a regular web based comic strip (go here to check it out).  It's so much fun, but also quite technical.

While I have learned (and re-learned) how to streamline the art side of things and make it more efficient and expressive and how better to tell stories with pictures (also a steep learning curve and one I'm still climbing), the biggest aspect was figuring out how best to post the comic to the website while keeping the image and text crisp, clear, and readable AND while keeping the file sizes small.

That has been big deal.

I spent three hours one night doing nothing else but experimenting with file settings and formats and the like.

But it was worth it.  I now have a workable format that keeps things small and quality (thank you to Brittany for nudging me in the correct direction).

I realize that this seems like it should have been the easy part of the whole process, but in fact, it was the most difficult.  It is where 100% of my frustration has been.

The final packaging.

And it's equally important to the rest of the process because if you cannot publish what you've done, it doesn't matter how quality (or not) it is.  It doesn't matter if you do everything else correctly, if you can't put it out there properly, it's all for nothing.

Ooo, I think there is a lesson in there.  

That reminds of me of an early experience I had as a pastor.  I had just started a new district and walked in to a pre-existing hornet's nest of a problem.  The details are largely irrelevant.  But the gist of it goes like this.

The old pastor and some of the leadership had decided to make a huge controversial change.  One that I did, in fact, agree with.  The problem was that the church as a whole wasn't in agreement.  This happens from time to time, so as a leader you learn how to deal with these things and move progress through in a proper way.

They didn't do that.  Yes, they did all the proper steps.  They said all the correct things.  But the "packaging" wasn't done properly.

The issue gave them trouble for years, almost split the church, and decimated their attendance.

Here is where I ask for your forgiveness.  Because to make my point I have to do something that sounds shockingly similar to bragging.  And will it be bragging?  Um, probably a little.  But I have to say it so that the point comes across clear.  So, please, again, forgive my moment of braggadocio.

What took them years to never solve, I solved in less than 6 months WITHOUT undoing the change.  And, I did it by making the same arguments they did.

So, what was different?  

The packaging.

In that case, it wasn't just what you said, it was how you said it and who was saying it.  Some of the changes they made had to do with personnel.  Some people didn't like the personnel.  So, who did they send, after the fact to help smooth out the problems?  The very people who were not liked or respected in the first place.

Just as, if not more, importantly, the main person, who in fact is a great individual, is a terrible communicator.  This person has one tone of voice.  I like to refer to it as "angry school teacher".

One day this person asked me how I was able to fix the problem with the people who were upset about the changes so quickly.  I told her what I did and what I said.  She said, "that's what I did.  Why didn't it work for me?"

I sort of pretended a measure of ignorance because I didn't have the heart to tell her at the time that she sounded angry 100% of the time.  Instead, I told her that I was very gentle, patient, and understanding, but also very clear on the theology of such things.

She said, "That's what I did too!"

I said, "Ah, well, then I couldn't tell you what the difference is."

Ok, so, I basically lied to her.  Forgive me for that too.

It wasn't the right time to have that talk with her because I wasn't super confident in my position yet.  I probably could have done it in a way that didn't hurt her feelings (packaging), but it seemed risky.

Knowing the correct things (or what we think is correct), or saying the correct things (refer to previous statement), is only a part of making things work.  It's only part of the packaging.

How we present ourselves is the difference between success and failure before we ever open our mouths.  This lesson was the first and to this day the biggest lesson I've learned in leadership.  A person can inspire or repulse just by their very presence.  And I'm not talking about hygiene, fashion, or "beauty".

I want to encourage anyone who happens to read this to take stock on how you are perceived.  How the way you do things and say things and generally behave affects a situation around you.  It can be a very enlightening and humbling experience, even if you are doing it right.

Well, I guess that it.  That's all I got for tonight.  Have a great evening!