culture

How To Rarely Be Wrong

17 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 14 Comments

Are there certain buzz words, catch phrases, or tag lines that drive you nuts?

There’s been a word in the press that’s driven me crazy for a few years now. Recently it’s about all I can do not to turn off the radio or TV every time I hear it.

“Allege.”

Someone allegedly did this, or an alleged suspect did that. Heck, I’m pretty sure the alleged reporter covering the story didn’t even call to fact-check on the piece.

Everyone’s got a story but no ones willing to commit to anything for liability’s sake.

Heck, even our cereal boxes make boastful statements but always cover it up with contingencies and disclaimers. Like yesterday morning on a box of my favorite cereal: “May be proven to lower your cholesterol!*”

May be proven?

And the little * lead to small print on how the inconclusive tests relied on a myriad of strict dietary changes that had nothing really to do with cereal.

Those alive today are “alleged-out.” Because the majority of what’s reported is never confirmed at the time, truth is irrelevant. Trust is cashed in on the name of a good story.

Any good leader I’ve ever known has been honest. Truthful. Safe. And if they didn’t know it for sure, they never said it at all.

Both Matthew 5:37 and James 5:12 not only tell us as Christians to “let our yes be yes and our no be no,” but they go further to say we’re in sin if we don’t.

In sin.

Can you say gossip?

I wonder how many of us go up to the altar and repent of that on a needed basis?

If you want to earn the trust of those you’re leading, only open your mouth when you’re sure of what you’re about to say. That way you’ll never have to allege anything. Such behavior will actually endear you to those you’re leading. It’s bold, mature, and so refreshing.

Sure, your inside scoop may not be as juicy or as hot, but you’ll almost never be wrong. And being right is remembered a long time after being juicy gets old. ch:

Filed Under: culture, leadership Tagged With: allege, allegedly, cheap, gossip, lies, news, reporting, rumors, truth, unconfirmed

Commercial Value

16 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 19 Comments

In order to combat the onslaught of self-narcissistic gluttony that constantly assaults those living in these great United States, we talk to our kids often about children who live in the rest of the world without the comforts and blessings we have. When we tuck our kids in at night we pray for children without moms and dads – without houses or food or schools.

In the midst of watching some TV last night, a 3rd world assistance commercial came on. I noticed Eva seemed particularly concerned. But I didn’t say anything, wondering if she’d bring it up later. Some more humorous ads passed before our show came back on, including Terry Crews’ Old Spice commercial (in which his “mind gets blown”).

Finally at dinner Eva brought up the ad she’d seen.

“Daddy, did you see that commercial with those little kids?” she asked.

“Yes, Eva, I did,” I replied.

But before I could go anywhere else with the conversation, Luik added, “Daddy, did you see that commercial with guy’s head exploded?”

And there goes the mood. Jenny and I completely lost it.

Boys will be boys.

The worst part is I thought the commercial was hilarious too. He’s so my son.

As a closing comment, it’s worth noting that Luik is extremely grateful to live in the US. Just the other day he walked in the kitchen and asked, “Daddy, can I go to America someday?” (I think he’s been watching a little too much Fievel Goes West).

“Want to know a secret, Luik?” I knelt down close to him.

“Sure.”

“You live in America.”

His jaw dropped and he literally couldn’t talk. ch:

Filed Under: culture, hopper clan, The Hopper Kids Tagged With: 3rd world nations, america, eva, gratefulness, luik, Old Spice, Terry Crews

Intimacy Not Ethics

15 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 15 Comments

Two types of Christians stand out to me, both for opposing reasons.

The first are those whose faith is based upon ethics. Their adherence to the Bible and a code of stringent morality most often sets them apart from others who do not encompass the same value set. The result is a cloistered lifestyle, and making anyone who lives to the contrary feel uncomfortable and judged.

While this often starts with good intentions, it quickly becomes a breeding ground for a religious spirit cloaked in the guise of purity if not challenged to maturity. It is birthed in self-righteousness, and if left unaddressed it kills the Christian and those around them.

The second are those who base their faith upon relationship with the person of the Holy Spirit. While certainly pursuing an understanding of God through classic forms of reading, prayer, and meditation, they emphasize a keen and dominant interest in knowing the Lord intimately, choosing Jesus Christ’s righteousness to be their morality through impartation.

The result is an individual who actually attracts those living outside of a pursuit of Christ, and in fact makes them jealous for it, often without being able to articulate it. This Christian thinks nothing of the public association with the wayward, and feels most alive when loving them selflessly.

Unbelievers loved being with Jesus. The dirty, the drunken, the destitute, the broken, the orphaned. And he loved being around them, to the point that observers thought he might actually be drunk in the bars and cavorting with the prostitutes.

Yet he was without sin.

Everywhere Jennifer and I go we desire to be attractive. Loving. Open. Full of Jesus. But sometimes we try and sneak into a restaurant for a date unnoticed.

Only one problem:

You can’t hide a light under a basket.

Our server Friday night, Christina, couldn’t put Levi down. And though her speech was more Mandarin than English, one thing was clear: she loved being around us at dinner. So did the restaurant manager. And the rest of the servers. There was something contagious in the air. The smell of Jesus. And they wouldn’t leave us alone.

Don’t substitute you’re pursuit of ethics for divine relationship. Intimacy with God will always produce morality, whereas ethics never produced heaven.

Souls are waiting for your personal freedom. ch:

Filed Under: #heavenmeetsearth, culture Tagged With: attraction, christianity, ethics, evangelical, intimacy, Jesus, Mandarin, sushi, the Holy Spirit, witnessing

Whiteout

14 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 12 Comments

It was only a matter of time. The north country finally got hit with snow yesterday.

Driving in whiteout conditions is very dangerous. Severely inhibited visibility is certainly the first thing that comes to mind. Then there are the road conditions themselves which may or may not be a product of the current precipitation. And then the performance of your vehicle. Its wheel base length, tire type, handling, and drive train all play key roles.

Of course all this is amplified when you consider every other driver behind you, in front of you, and those oncoming, all must factor in the same variables into their own driving equations.

In short, it’s a disaster.

This why our local news was overthrown by a coup of reports on multi-vehicle accidents throughout the day.

This particular shot was taken at 11:55am.

Almost anyone can drive in perfect conditions with a solid vehicle. But it takes something a little extra to manage adverse conditions.

Adversity is inevitable. If we live our lives constantly looking to avoid hardship then we are ill-prepared when it finally comes knocking. We freeze, blinded, unable to navigate. Meanwhile others are “magically” able to move forward through it, taking their time, looking for references, steering for traction, and anticipating turns and hills.

If you find a driver in life like that, follow them, especially if they’re *not* driving an SUV. The vehicle doesn’t make the driver. They probably grew up handling adversity; navigating these types of roads is second nature.

One reason I love people who live in harsher climates year round is that they tend to have a stronger outlook on emotional and spiritual adversity; if they have the fortitude to endure and even laugh at hardships in the natural, they are more prone to view the later in the same way.

I mean, how can you not laugh when you park your car at the mall in a snow storm only to return and find it ensconced in a snow drift?

Happy driving. ch:

Filed Under: culture, leadership Tagged With: accidents, adversity, driving conditions, roads, snow storms, stability, strength, weather

Buddies Make Movie Tickets

13 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 18 Comments

Buddies do things together.

They make tree forts, play basketball, and go swimming in the river.

Buddies help each other, too.

They pull out splinters, fix bike chains, and make movie tickets for each other when their parents are too busy to take them to the real thing.

But when buddies grow up, they become “friends.”

While the term of endearment may change, the need for their nearness doesn’t. Tree forts become cook outs and bike chains become marriage advice. If anything, we need our buddies even more as adults than we did as children.

God never intended us to be solely self-dependent or self-reliant. Nor was our birth family alone supposed to be the end-all solution for companionship; it’s interesting that Jesus himself is alluded to as a “friend” that’s superior in calibre to that of a birth brother (Prov. 18:24).

While I have positive occasional contact with my childhood buddies, most of the men in my life today are products of providence and of choice cultivated over the last ten years or so.

And I am very blessed indeed. We’ve traded peanut butter and jelly for dinning room entrees, BMX bikes for minivans, and Ataris for iPhones. But the genuine care for one another’s health and wellbeing hasn’t changed at all.

Maybe it’s just stronger.

To all the men close to me today: thanks for being my pals. I couldn’t do this without you. Nor would I want to.

If there are buddies in your world who’ve helped you navigate and enjoy the waters of life, make sure to thank them this week. I’m sure you’ll find they’re just as grateful.

Who knows; maybe they’ll even do a real movie with you just for fun. ch:

Filed Under: culture, leadership Tagged With: advice, buddies, childhood, children, counseling, encouragement, friendship, help, marriage, success, support, the movies

Tone Setting

11 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 10 Comments

Setting the right tone at the beginning of any venture is imperative. It tells all those you’re working with exactly what they can expect, and what you expect as their boss or co-worker.

But doing so takes a lot of work. Experience gained through years, enduring one’s own set of scars, and lots of study are a few keys. But being able to articulate all that for the benefit of a diverse group is even more labor intensive. It’s one thing to be able to do something naturally, it’s another to explain why and how you did it.

However it’s much harder to define standards “as you go” than it is to initiate them right from the get-go. So while many prefer to just wing it because it demands less prep time, ultimately they’ll suffer the long term effects. Miss managed employees, poor work environments, emotionally disenfranchised team members, and suffering business or church models are just some of the ramifications.

If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. So take your time and accrue experiences of your own. It’s easier to set precedent now than make exceptions later.

Before you embark on any new venture ask yourself a few key questions:

• What are the qualities of the people I want to spend the majority of my day with?

• What are the values I want everyone to have in common?

• What kind of work ethic and environments will promote the greatest team collaboration among the most diverse group of people?

In discovering what you value the most, you’ll be able to better cultivate and communicate atmospheres where others feel comfortable with what’s in your head.

Day 1 for New Life Media employees yesterday was all about these defining company qualities. From our company profile and mission statement to our vision and core values, the executive team did a tremendous job at setting the tone properly. The result is team members who aren’t left wondering what unspoken expectations there are; they are comfortable and therefore free to be themselves. And therefore they perform better.

Of course playing with new iPads is fun too. But even that’s one of our core value: fun! It help alleviate stress in hectic environments (which our office is).

As the military is famous for teaching: BLUF – Bottom Line Up Front. It’s what successful organizational models are built on. You can qualify your statements all you want later, but just say what you need first so people know where you’re coming from. Trust me, your teams with thank you for it. ch:

Filed Under: business, culture, geek, leadership Tagged With: BLUF, company profiles, development, employees, expectations, management, New Life Media, staff, standards, tech training, work environments

New Life Media: Staff Training Week

10 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 9 Comments

One of my latest co-creations is coming to life today. I do wish I could enjoy it a little more – 15-hour work days for a week straight leaves the sensory capacitors a little numb – but I’m thrilled regardless.

New Life Media is a marketing firm specializing in public image design, and is the brain child of master designer Jason Clement, business guru Kirk Gilchrist, marketing sensation John Cobb, and myself – master guru of sensational something or otherness.

While the company’s website won’t be public for another week or so, we have employee orientation and training all this week. We’ll be unwrapping new iPads, playing with toys, trying on apparel, talking tech and design, smelling new business cards, and diving into our sales strategies and delivery models.

As with any new for-profit venture, I get fired up about having the ability to employ people (something I’ve learned I can do much better than the government, thank you very much). One of my greatest joys in life is to help provide income earning positions that fit with peoples’ dreams. It’s truly a privilege, and I’ve fallen into it by sovereignty, not on purpose.

Many good things await New Life Media. And many organizations will be better for her existence. Here’s to another Kingdom business birthed for God’s glory. ch:

UPDATE 5:54pm ET – What a fantastic first day for all involved. I’ll be posting pics tomorrow. Lots of laughs, and lots of good content. Very proud of our new staff. Thank you Travis, Kristen, Nina, Rebekah, Candy, Theresa, John, Kirk, Jason, and Jamie for doing our office build out! Peace.

Filed Under: business, culture, geek, leadership, marketing, news Tagged With: design, employees, friendship, launch, marketing, New Life Media, staff, training

The ALDI Shopping Cart Effect

9 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 34 Comments

Have you ever had your best intentions blow up in your face? A good deed? A kind gesture? Where instead of the desired outcome suddenly you’re back pedaling, trying to figure what went wrong?

I call it the ALDI Shopping Cart Effect.

The first time I went to an ALDI grocery store was when we moved to Watertown in 2005. Jennifer and I were filling our cart – enjoying shockingly low price points for our young family – when I remembered I left my wallet in the car.

I ran out and found my wallet on the seat. After I locked the car and turned to head back in, I saw a lady nearby who was just about done loading her groceries into her car.

And just like that it hit me. I’m in a new city, I’m called to serve people. Here was an easy chance: offer to return her cart to the store and save her a trip.

Don’t startle her.

Smile big.

“Hi M’am, I’ll take that for you.”

She looks at me, then looks down at her empty cart.

Hesitation.

“Seriously, truth is I’m heading back inside the store anyway.”

She looks back at me. Uneasy. Still not passing the cart off.

This is not going as planned.

As if to help her along, I place a hand on the bin-side of the cart. “I totally got this.”

Finally she lets go with a “Thanks” that sounds way more like a question than a grateful reply.

Trying to shrug off the awkwardness of it all, I walk the cart back to the store and push it into all the other carts. But there’s this weird key-chain thing, and all these slots, and people fumbling with change, and–

I’m getting dizzy.

Everything’s spinning, a blur.

Then it hits me.

OK – so it wasn’t that dramatic. But I’d still stollen that woman’s quarter.

She probably thought I was a strange little chronic cart grabber who lived on the street surviving off quarters; some people ask for change at stop lights, I just take ALDI shopping carts.

Why do they have that quarter mechanism anyway? Are ALDI patrons just far more prone to throwing stainless steel shopping carts in their trunks and peeling out? Like a quarter is really going to overrule that desperate urge. Maybe its not such a safe place to shop with my family after all?

Of course then I had to face my wife which just added insult to injury. But we both got a good laugh out of it. Her more so.

The key to analyzing backfired plans is taking yourself out of the equation and looking purely at the experience of the other person. My wife and I use the phrase, “When you do ________ it makes me feel ________.” This is a successful tool in marriage, in church life, and in business. We can have the best intentions, but if the end experience is not positive for the receiver, intentions become inferior to the issues of the heart.

That, and learn from the mistakes of others.

To this day I still half-expect that lady to jump out at me in the parking lot somewhere and ask for her quarter back.

You’re welcome. ch:

Filed Under: culture, leadership Tagged With: ALDI, good deeds, groceries, help, intentions, motives, quarters, service, shopping carts

Discovering Dudamel

7 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 14 Comments

I remember where I was the first time I heard the song Take Five.

I remember where I was the first time I heard the singer Eva Cassidy.

And I remember where I was when I first saw conductor Gustavo Dudamel.

It was on my couch last night with Jennifer and Levi watching a PBS Masterpiece Performance of Gustavo conducting the LA Philharmonic through a George Gershwin tribute, much of it performed with the legendary pianist Herbie Hancock.

I found myself laughing.

Laughing at how funny he looked.

Laughing at how much fun he was having.

Laughing at him laughing.

Laughing at how brilliant he was.

And laughing at the staggering fact that he is the conductor of the esteemed LA Philharmonic at just 29 years old.

His mission? To inspire an entire generation to embrace music, believing that the pursuit of music by every child – regardless of their eventual vocation – will undermine the human poverty of spirit the plagues some if the world’s darkest corners. Including his homeland of Venezuela.

I’ve always loved classical music, but culturally its never had the X factor in my generation to make it mainstream. Most of today’s listeners have a musical appetite of 3-minute chunks of highly processed cheese whiz, not 20-minute non-repeating movements of genius.

But I honestly think Gustavo could change all that.

For one, he’s young. He’s incredible to observe. And he loves the modern and avant guard as much as he does the classic. Seeing him conduct makes me want to go out and buy everything he’s ever recorded.

For another – and far more importantly – he’s involved with a movement to teach music, through the program known as El Sistema, to children around the world.

If classical music ever had a chance to become mainstream today – or maybe even to survive – Gustavo is its hope. He’s the X factor. And the LA Philharmonic made the best acquisition of its existence.

Like many churches that have failed to embrace the value of reaching the next generation, the concert halls and orchestral stages of the world must no longer been seen holding only white, elderly scholars of staff and measure, but the young, the colorful, the vibrant, and the joyous.

True art does not depict the world as it is; that is the pursuit of satirists and critics. True art depicts the world as it should be – as its best.

Here’s to inspiring a world-wide movement of appreciating the greatest music the earth has ever heard this side of heaven. ch:

Filed Under: culture, music Tagged With: classical music, George Gershwin, Gustavo Dudamel, Herbie Hancock, LA philharmonic, orchestra

The Snowflake Conundrum

6 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 13 Comments

What was your most recent “it will never be exactly like this again” moment?

I had the distinct pleasure of playing drums for a very talented and anointed worship leader this week, Miss Janelle Gmitter. Playing drums is the most lucid, natural musical expression of worship for me even though most people see me behind a guitar or piano. It’s effortless, and therefore lends itself to a spiritual connection that’s different than leading from the stage-center position.

As I was getting lost in the flow that Janelle was leading us in, it dawned on me: this moment of worshipping the Lord will never happen again. Sure, other opportunities will present themselves, but never precisely like this one.

My snowflake moments in life are becoming my most precious. How many snowflakes fall from the sky in northern New York in one storm alone? Untold billions, if not more. Yet it’s statistically impossible for any two to ever be the same structurally.

The common occurrence of rare moments is one of God’s most intentional conundrums.

By default we’re creatures of habit. As people our efficiency excels with repetition. Yet without the infinite possibility of the random we’d be bound to the torture of the mundane.

No two people are the same, nor are the relationships we’ll have with them.

No two works of art are exactly the same, nor are two work projects, two trips to the same destination, two dinners with friends, two encounters with God, with your spouse, or with your children.

I see my kids everyday, yet by virtue of their rapid growth I’ll never have again what I have at the present.

Snowflakes may be common, but that single one over there is one of a kind.

Make sure you take time to savor the rare moments of your common day. You’ll never have them again in quite the same way. By doing so we pay homage to the brilliance of God in giving us a mystery that simply falls from the sky. ch:

Filed Under: #heavenmeetsearth, culture, leadership Tagged With: common, drumming, Janelle Gmitter, moments, opportunity, perception, rare, relationships, snowflakes, value, worship

OCDW

5 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 47 Comments

In my defense from yesterday’s post, I need to point out something about Jennifer.

She’s not normal.

She is an Obsessively and Cleanly Disturbing Wife.

Granted, she wasn’t always like this. I cite its onset with the arrival of sub-humanoid life forms within our domain. Though I suspect it was always within her, just dormant.

After I wrote yesterday’s post, I went down into the kitchen and opened the dishwasher. The top drawer was exactly as it appears in the picture.

Who does that?

Granted, it’s not like that every day. But the “Disturbing” element comes in when you consider she *wishes* it was like that everyday.

So to all those of you who live with a spouse like mine, I feel your pain at always being told the thing you’re looking for us right in front of you. And for those of you who have a form of OCDW, while we are grateful for the clean house you ensure, go easy on those of us without your keen eye, sharp color an pattern distinction, and supernatural ability to organize. ch:

Filed Under: culture, hopper clan Tagged With: cleaning, dishwashers, Jennifer, OCD, OCDW, organization, spousal disorders, wives

Boy-Looking

4 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 57 Comments

Have you ever had a funky habit that someone notices enough to make a name for?

I have one called “boy-looking.”

No it’s not some metro-sexual, trans-gendered, googly-eyed perv-term. It’s what my wife calls what I do when I look for something I’ve misplaced. And apparently it’s so bad that I’ve managed to include the entire male race into the trademark.

I’m just that good.

Take my new pair of glasses for example. They’d been missing for about a week after we had some dates to play on the road. I hadn’t seen them since we got home, and after looking in my toiletry kit, both vehicles, my office, my night stand, my bookshelf, and my home desk, I decided they were lost.

Until I get a text from Jennifer.

“Look what I found. They were under your night stand.” Attached was this picture of my glasses.

Verdict? I “boy-looked” for them.

It means I didn’t look thoroughly enough. I glanced here and there, then ruled out ever finding them. It drives my wife nuts. And it drives me nuts because she finds stuff in places I’ve sworn I’ve looked in three times prior.

For over eight years I’ve tried getting better at this, but I can’t seem to make any improvement. You got any tips for me my faithful readers? Or do you suffer from the same sickness? And what’s your quirky habit some’s trademarked?

And for all you married ladies out there, you can now better relate to my poor wife when she hears me yell from another room, “Hey hon, have you seen my __________?” ch:

Filed Under: culture, hopper clan Tagged With: compliments, finding, habits, lost, misplaced, searching