Got Clarity?

If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.
- the Chesire Cat

Where's your red X?


You know, the spot that says "You are here."







Looking for the shortest distance between Point A and Point B?



The answers to the above questions aren't in Will Mancini's Visual Summary to his book "Church Unique," but you will be able to grasp the process that just might answer the tough qustions you're facing today.

Take a look.

Download the free e-book.

Start out on the journey...

...today!

Church Unique Visual Summary Released today

It's the Monday after Easter and you are wiped out in every definition of the word, right?

Here's a shot of pure vision adrenaline for you - in one hundred and eleven words, illustrated and expounded on:

The Church Unique Visual Summary 

Church Unique is the most powerful tool you can use in your church today.

Period.

It is a field manual for leaders like you who are in the ministry trenches daily - struggling along, not content with the status quo.

Download this free e-book, grab a cup of coffee and read through it.

Author Will Mancini just released a "Visual Summary" of the material in a free e-book. Use this link to download your copy today.

Take a look at the book here.

For additional resources about the process, go here to Auxano's website.

The Church Unique Visual Summary will infuse you with energy today - and start you on a path to vision clarity tomorrow.

The Lord's Hospitality...

...demonstrated so simply - and so powerfully - with a basin and a towel.

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

John 13:3-5

Talk about a lasting impression!

Jesus knew his time on Earth with his disciples was rapidly drawing to a close. What powerful teaching could he give them to help prepare them for the days ahead, and for a lifetime of discipleship?

Only to serve them.

Jesus is the most active one at the table. He is not portrayed as one who reclines and receives, but as one who stands and gives.

How will you serve your Guests this Easter Sunday?

Model Jesus.

It's Almost Time...

The journey is almost over.

On March 15 I launched a "40 Day Guest Services Journey" through the words and images of this blog. It was my attempt to impress upon church leaders the importance of Guest Services by focusing on a unique calendar event: Easter Sunday is as late as it can get, followed in two weeks by Mother's Day, followed in three weeks by the "unofficial" start of summer.

Easter and Mother's Day are traditionally two of the three highest attended worship experiences at the typical US church.

So What?

If you knew company was coming to your house, you would make a special effort to have everything just right. Your house would be clean and tidy, you would probably be cooking some special meals, and your family would be on their best behavior.

Why should your church be any different?

Creating a WOW! First Impression isn't about you. It's all about your guests. It's about them coming back to your church so they can discover God's love.

First impressions really do matter. They matter on first dates, job interviews, meeting the future in-laws - and in the ministry of your church. First impressions are automatic and involuntary. You have the opportunity to influence the outcome of your guest's experience by deciding in advance what you will design that experience to be.

It's about People.

It's about Process.

It's about Place.

And a closing thought:

It's your first expression that makes the first impression

Creating Environments...

Literally and figuratively

Andy Stanley and the team at North Point have identified three types of "spaces" they are intentionally creating in order to first welcome people and then move them along a path of growth. The spaces are primarily figurative, but you could also think of them in literal terms.

The Foyer: Where you are welcomed as a guest

The Living Room: Where you connect as a friend

The Kitchen: Where you are loved like family

Literal or figurative - or both, you can design spaces and experiences that encourage people to engage with others and to create relationships.

What kind of spaces are you designing?

Mickey's Ten Commandments for the Setting

In yesterday's post the concept of the "setting" at Disney World was introduced. Going a little deeper, vice chairman Marty Sklar gave the following list of setting design principles (from "Be Our Guest" by the Disney Institute).

• Know your audience - before creating a setting, obtain a firm understanding of who will be using it
• Wear your guest's shoes - never forget the human factor; evaluate your setting from the guest's perspective by experiencing it as a guest
• Organize the flow of people and ideas - think of your setting as a story; tell that story in an organized, sequenced way
• Create a visual magnet - a landmark used to orient and attract guests
• Communicate with visual literacy - use the common languages of color, shape, and form to communicate through setting
• Avoid overload - do not bombard guests with information; let them chose the information they want when they want it
• Tell one story at a time - mixing multiple stories in a singe setting is confusing; create one setting for each big idea
• Avoid contradictions - every detail and every setting should support and further your organizational identity and mission
• For every ounce of treatment provide a ton of treat - give your guests the highest value by building an interactive setting that gives them the opportunity to exercise all of their senses
• Keep it up - never get complacent and always maintain your setting

What stories are your settings telling?

Everything Matters

All organizations, knowingly or unknowingly, build messages to their customers (guests) into the settings in which they operate.

Consider these pairs:

• A luxury car dealership and a used car lot
• A theme park and a traveling carnival
• A designer clothing retailer and an outlet store

In each pair, people are buying a similar product - cars, entertainment, and apparel. But in each case, the setting in which they buy these products is communicating a great deal about the quality of the products and services customers can expect, not to mention the price they are willing to pay.

The simple fact is that everything, animate and inanimate, speaks to customers.

The above words come from "Be Our Guest," the fantastic customer service book published by The Disney Institute. During this 40 Day Guest Services Journey, I have mentioned Disney several times. As we head into the final week of the journey - talking about Place - it's appropriate to start at Disney and understand "the magic of setting."

Setting is the environment in which service is delivered to customers, all of the objects within that environment, and the procedures used to enhance and maintain the service environment and objects.

Components include:

• Architectural design
• Landscaping
• Lighting
• Color
• Signage
• Directional designs on flooring and wall coverings
• Texture of floor surfaces
• Focal points and directional signs
• Internal and external detail
• Music and ambient noise
• Smell
• Touch and tactile experiences
• Taste

Quite a list, right? Remember that when considering Guest Services...

Everything matters.