Month: May 2008

Are you a joiner?

by Stanley LearyPhotography
The student is getting face paint during the Jell-O Wars at Anderson University.

Too many people join associations as if buying tickets to a sporting event. They want to sit in their comfortable seats and watch others perform. When considering joining an organization, one of the first questions most people ask is, “What do I get for my membership?” That’s a valid question, and most organizations list the benefits their members will receive.

Ask Not What an Organization Can Do for You

But sometimes, the more important question is what you can give. I am reminded of the famous words of John F. Kennedy:

“And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what we can do for the freedom of man.”


Kennedy helped forge the idea of service by creating the Peace Corps; he believed the country’s success depended on people becoming involved. Focusing on service rather than entitlement can be a key to our professional success and personal fulfillment.

When you join a group, receiving the newsletter and being listed on the membership rolls will have little impact on your success. Unless you’re willing to commit yourself, you’d be better off saving the dues money and not wasting your time — or the groups.

The leading figures in most industries are consistently those who volunteer in their professional organizations. They network with others, they help organize competitions and awards for the industry, and they mentor others in their industry.

Today there are groups whose sole purpose is to teach their members how to be successful. Although these groups may teach you how to be a better networker, if the only reason you join is to promote your success, you will probably fail.

Go Where Your Passion Leads You

Success through an organization starts with matching your passions with volunteering. You can become involved in a community theater, entertain others and become known in your neighborhood. Through your involvement, people will get to know you, and you will get to know others. You can join the community of faith through a local congregation or play a sport in a local league … if you follow your passion, you’ll naturally want to become more involved.

You know you’re plugged into a group when others depend on you. People will not only want you around because of what you are giving to the organization but will come to value your friendship. They get to know you and appreciate your passion.

Looking for leaders not followers

Working with universities, I have become good friends with some people overseeing the recruiting. At Georgia Tech, they changed how they recruit. One of the changes had to do with the list of organizations a person was involved in; they now only want you to list your top five.

Why only five? They are recruiting the leaders of tomorrow, and they are looking for leaders — not just members. An Eagle Scout is more than just a Boy Scout.

Two groups I have worked with take this concept of involvement through service way beyond most other groups. As a result, they transform those in these organizations and profoundly affect those around them. These organizations are Youth With a Mission and Chick-fil-A.

Truett Cathy promoted his book “How did you do it, Truett?”

Truett S. Cathy

The founder of Chick-fil-A, Truett Cathy, can be seen today picking up the trash around a store before he goes in. All of his managers are trained to do every job regularly. They can be seen cleaning the bathrooms. When a Chick-fil-A event is over, everyone in the organization volunteers to help clean up.

Ellis Peters was in the YWAM School of Photography 1 school this year. She is from the Netherlands and is here working in the kitchen. It is a twelve-week program where they only study photography and work duty in the kitchen every other weekend. This not only helps keep the costs down for the school but also fosters the servant concepts taught by Jesus.

When students enroll at the University of Nations, part of Youth With a Mission, they are all expected to work while attending school. They have found that some people are like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They talk a good game and sound caring and warm, but a different person emerges on the job. The Mr. Hyde side might believe they are better than others; they might not want to do specific jobs they think are beneath them.

Choose Wisely

We can learn a lot about ourselves by volunteering. It can even change who we are. Volunteering helps smooth out those rough edges we all have.

Accountability has influenced most organizations today. People don’t want to waste their time or money. They want to make a lasting difference.

Habitat for Humanity changes not only those who receive the homes; those doing the building is changed as well. The first family to receive a Habitat home was so transformed that each of the children went to college and became successful. Habitat has provided volunteers with the opportunity to enrich their lives while making a real difference in their communities.

The two wealthiest men in the world, Warren Buffet, and Bill Gates, have joined together to give money back to society. Their foundation’s activities focus on world health — fighting diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis — and improving U.S. libraries and high schools.

In his book Giving, Bill Clinton tells stories of people who give. These remarkable stories suggest that giving takes many forms and emphasize that offerings of time, skills, objects, and ideas can be just as critical as monetary contributions.

We have a choice. We can watch the game of life or be one of the leading players. Choose wisely; your success — and fulfillment — may depend on it.

Professor and student are working in the biology lab at Anderson University.

Are all your eggs in one basket?

by Stanley LearyPhotography

To “put all your eggs in one basket” risks losing everything all at once. For me, this applies to two aspects of my business.

First, if you have a niche market, it is good to develop a second niche. Kodak saw the writing on the wall years ago and diversified beyond making film products only. If they hadn’t, they would no longer be around. Second, I have an interest in directing my photography. I love sports, which is where I first started in photography. In college, shooting all the college sports was exciting. I didn’t outgrow this interest but added other areas.

My faith has always been what drives much of my passion. I have worked for the Christian denomination’s mission organization covering missions worldwide, and I continue to do so today. I enjoy things that challenge my heart the way my faith does for me.

I also love technology. Technology challenges my mind. I love to figure out how things work and how to fix things. Curiosity has driven my interest in research and technology photography through the years. All three of these loves exist in higher education. This curiosity and love of technology are why I have helped many schools, colleges, and universities through the years with their recruiting and public relations photography.

There are times when each of these has peaks and valleys throughout the year. By diversifying a little and yet still being niche driven and not all over in my work, I am keeping my eggs in separate baskets with my work.

The second area where I have divided my eggs is marketing my services. One of my best marketing is through networking. Networking is getting me involved in my communities. By joining a photography association, I learn from others and plug into friends who occasionally get overbooked and refer to others they know in the industry. I joined the Atlanta Press Club because many members attend social events and meetings that I would not meet anywhere else. Through the years, I have met people who not only might hire me but become good friends.

I have gone to the library and found every list of people in the markets I am interested in working with to build a database. This database of 3,500+ names is categorized. I have family, clients, and prospects categories and break into almost every imaginable group. I have phone numbers, mailing addresses, and emails. Each of these is a different way to contact people. I call them, send postcards, and send out an e.newsletter and individual emails.

When someone writes me back to unsubscribe from my monthly newsletter, I don’t delete their name—I add them to my no newsletter category. They still get postcards and occasional phone calls.

Lately, I signed up for a new cell plan that lets me make unlimited phone calls as long as I use the Wi-Fi feature of the phone. The new program allows me to make lots of phone calls. I am learning how to have meaningful short conversations with many people. They are significant because I do care about each person. If you don’t feel genuinely interested in people, you have to be one incredible actor (which I am not) to pull this off. I work hard to find as many new people as possible to add to my list. If you are not genuinely interested in someone, it is essential to have someone else to talk to if they don’t exist.

One of the gifts I have, which I have learned to use more daily, is my memory. Once I know something (I understand it), I usually don’t forget. My memory has helped me in ways I am now only beginning to realize. For example, when I meet someone I haven’t talked to in a long time, I can remember so much about them I can almost remember our last conversation. So, I tend to ask how they are doing and how something we talked about last time is going. I know others who call a lot for a business need to write down something about a person when they speak to them to remind them to do this later when they call them again. I started to do this to help me by writing it down once I remembered it, so when I met them again in a grocery store and did not plan to contact them, I remember to ask how they were doing with what we talked about last. Starting with something we discussed before isn’t asking like I am doing therapy and they have a problem. It usually asks about something exciting that has been going on in their life.

When you think you have done all you know how to do in a particular niche in your field, try to apply those principles to a new place. Remember dating when trying to find a new client or knowing how to keep your present ones. Be persistent and try many different approaches.

What’s the enormous room in the world? Room for improvement.