Al Goracke is the pastor of Kingswood Church in Blaine, MN. He was recently elected to give oversight to a group of Churches in Illinois.
That role in the Wesleyan Church is called a “District Superintendent” and one of the things Al is doing is sending out a “60 Second DS” video to his pastors each week. I want to talk about that idea for a minute but let me give you an example of the one from last week.
He talked about we as leaders and how we spend our time with four categories of people:
[check_list]VIP – Very Important PeopleVDP – Very Draining People
VTP – Very Teachable People
VNP – Very Nice People[/check_list]
Now, if you’re a leader you definitely have some people coming to mind already when you see this list. Al, in his “60 Second DS” video teaching, gave a quick overview of each and how we should spend as much time with VIPs and VTPs as possible, while limiting our exposure to VDPs and taking a long hard look at how much time we spend with VNPs but with little purpose.
Okay, that’s a great little thought. But I want to point out more about the method Al is using than the content. When it comes to communication we leaders don’t often do do what Al is doing here. You can watch the video below, but let me point out a few things he does that make this effective:
- It’s short. Right there in the title he’s assuring me that I’m not going to waste 20 minutes of my time. What day of the week do I not have 60 seconds to learn a little leadership lesson? Seriously? It’s worth watching just to see Pastor Al’s face once a week for me.
- He uses titles on the screen. This helps me remember the content and makes it portable.
- He put an easter egg in there. He’s done this a few times, but this week it’s a picture pinned up in the background of my boss and his: Jo Anne Lyon. This helps people know: there’s going to be some fun little thing only a few of us might catch in the video… this week there was a “Reagan/Bush 1984” bumper sticker in the background. Great inside joke style there. Smart.
- When you respond to the email sending the video he replies back. The video can then become a bit of a conversation starter, not just a bit of content.
How could you use something similar to communicate? How are you working to communicate with people in short bites, instead of long missives?
[youtube link=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWTh2nVz01c&list=UUu187w1-5uiV5DousoxzMcg&index=1&feature=plcp” width=”590″ height=”315″]
Great stuff. Love the one minute lesson, and the easter egg messages.
yes the easter egg thing is genius
I think it’s great! Both the video format and the content.
Instead of VDP’s I had always heard EGR’s, or Extra Grace Required. Just seems that they are almost a necessary evil, I attempt to always use exactly what the name implies… extra grace.
But EGR didn really fit in with the V-P schtick. 🙂
Yes I’ve always called them EGR’s too.
Or, they’ve called me an EGR, depending on the season of my life. 🙂
I’ve been trying to think about ways to communicate with our supporters once we move to Europe. This could be a nice method. Hard to know the most effective way, but I’ve already received the advice that a multiple method approach is best.
yes this is even better for missionaries–as they are so far away and video will help the face time
Thanks Pastor Al: You’ve hit the nail on the head. What you said is so very true.
With enough investment in them VTPs can become VIPs in your ministry!