More pics of Lila

Some highlights from the photo shoot last week:

http://www.erinphotography.net/journal/2010/4/29/lila-alta-indiana-children-photographer.html

Lila Alta Zoeller

My daughter, Lila Alta, was born on Monday.  She was 8lbs 9oz and 20.25 inches.  Our family photographer came over today and did a photo shoot.  I am so excited to see the complete set but here is just a sneak peak.  She is so beautiful, this picture really turned out well:

http://www.erinphotography.net/journal/2010/4/23/little-lila-sneak-peek.html

Why do so many Christians turn their backs?

Why do so many “Christians” who grew up in the church fall away from their faith? I believe it’s because they grew up being taught that truth is an object. They were taught that truth and the Bible are equivalent. But truth is not an object, it is a person – Jesus Christ. The Bible tells stories and prophecies about The Truth but it is not the truth itself. Their hope was misplaced. They were taught that the Bible had all the answers to life but later found out that it did not. Seek the Truth; Seek Jesus. Everything else is just “religion”, you can be sure of that.

Creating Company Culture

One thing that’s always bothered me is when a company puts together documents and policies describing their company culture – or more specifically, the company culture that they wish they had.  The problem is that culture is born out of actions, not words.  A culture, whether good or bad, comes from years of consistent decision making.  There is no single person inside a company this responsible for creating the company’s culture, it is created every time any employee makes a decision.  Every time a support technician answers the phone, she is creating the company’s culture.  Every time a VP flies off the handle about a project running over budget, the company’s culture is being shaped.

Your mission statement may sound powerful and impressive but it’s your actions that determine your mission.  No company in the world would write a mission statement like “Our mission is to deliver pretty decent service most of the time with an occasional string of rudeness and unprofessionalism but as long as we’re profitable we can get away with it”.  It sounds ridiculous but this is probably a more accurate represenation of how a lot of companies actually operate.

Just as bad are the companies that have no mission statement at all.  This is the software company I work for.  It feels like everyone is on their own island.  You never really understand what greater good you’re working towards, you just know that you better look busy and produce results – although what the desired results might be is different depending on who you ask.  In the company I work for there is no culture.  Communication is almost non-existent.  We are only about 20 persons in size and I talk to the president of the company about once every 5 months or so.  Yet, he is upset that his developers don’t communicate with each other enough.  You see?  Your culture is created by actions, not words.