Thursday Three For All

It’s Thursday, kiddies: the day when I roll out a few things I’ve been reading over the past week. Three of ‘em, to be exact. Enjoy. (Remember: click on the bold print to read the entire article.)

Why I Am Voting for Steve Gaines as President of the SBC

(via @jdgreear) If you live outside of the Baptist bubble, you may not know that my pastor was recently nominated as president of the Southern Baptist Convention. The last two days have been a geekfest of church polity, resulting in two “too close to call” votes, a denomination that was almost equally divided in throwing their support behind two great men, and ultimately, J.D. withdrawing his name from the nomination. The humility you saw him display? That’s the real deal. I love this man, and I love the story of the process he went through to make the decision. Read his post and watch this brief clip taken by SBC attendee Jacob Bice.

Yesterday the messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention voted for president of the SBC. And then, because it was too close to call, they voted again. That was too close, too. So this morning, we were all prepared to vote a third time.

That third vote won’t happen, because the third vote won’t be necessary. I’m withdrawing my name from contention, and pledging my full support to Pastor Steve Gaines.

So You Have No Customer Experience Budget…Now What?

(via @jeanniecw) This is written to business leaders, but church leaders can also learn a thing or three. Before you say you can’t afford to start a guest services team, look at the myriad of ways you can create a great experience free of charge.

You may be among those who don’t have the resources necessary to improve the big picture, but you still have the power to improve customer experience incrementally.

Here are 4 things you can do to improve key moments in the customer experience right now.

1. Be your own customer.

Travel your customer journey, and look for quick fixes. I bet there’s one hanging over your head right now! A broken link, perhaps? Maybe it’s an outdated catalog item or a process that takes too long. You need not label it a “customer experience issue” to get support from your organization. It’s broken! Make that one item a priority and fix it, then find another. The more speed bumps you remove, the better the journey will be for your customers.

How Finding Dory‘s “Hank the Octopus” was Created

(via @laughingsquid) Nerd alert: this is four minutes of pure animation bliss.