Every month in YouLead, we provide you with email copy that you can use to inform, invest, encourage, and praise your volunteers and staff. Following is an example of the emails we write for your use and encourage you to send out on a weekly basis. Click here if you’d like to try out a free month of YouLead.

The bright colors, the smell of popcorn, “It’s a Small World” playing in the background, the cool mist of water on a hot sunny day. You combine all of those feelings and it’s what creates an irresistible environment for families at Disney—it’s what entices them to come back for more.

In the book, Be Our Guest, Disney recognizes that when it comes to creating an engaging environment it’s important to include all of the five senses.

• “About 70 percent of the body’s sense receptors are located in our eyes, making sight the greatest transmitter setting.”

It’s why Disney pays such close attention to colors. For directional signs, Disney uses purple and red flags because of an experiment they did where they set flags around the park, and asked guests to tell them the colors they remembered seeing. Purple and red were the ones they recalled the most.

• “Sounds are caused by vibrations of infinitely varying pitch, quality and loudness.”

Disney understands the power of sound. All we have to do is mention “It’s a Small World” and you will be whistling the tune to yourself for the rest of the day.

• “There are about five million receptor cells in the human nose and it is only a short trip from there to the brain. Smells are stored in our long-term memory.”

With this information in mind, Disney starts popping popcorn at 8:30 in the morning as guests arrive, in order to communicate the living movie they are about to be a part of.

• “The skin is the largest organ in the human body and touch is the sense that resides there.”

With that, touch becomes an important part of a guest’s experience at Disney. Many attractions have tactile properties. Water is a part of many attractions, and yet the lack of touch is what makes the Twilight Zone Tower of Terrors so thrilling as people drop faster than a free fall.

• “There are about 10,000 taste buds in the human mouth and each taste bud contains roughly 50 taste cells that communicate data to our brains.”

And so Disney caters to as many of those cells as possible with over 300 restaurants throughout their parks.

How does our current environment appeal to the five senses? Are we stronger in one than another, or completely ignoring one or more? What can we do in our environment to appeal to all five senses?

*Statistics and quotes taken from Be Our Guest, by Disney Institute.

Developed by Orange, YouLead is a simple curriculum designed to develop the leadership skills of yourself, your team and your volunteers. It centers on answering three basic questions: What can I do to continue learning as a leader? How can I be intentional about connecting with my volunteers consistently? What can we do to stay on the same page as a team? We do this by creating materials that can be digested in 20 easy minutes a week. Click here to learn more about a subscription to YouLead.

It seems like everyone is talking about the heat in the southeast. Twitpics of iPhone weather apps reporting 105-degree heat in Atlanta abound. Well, how do we at Orange stay cool? With an Orange Creamsicle Smoothie!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup crushed ice
• 1/2 cup orange juice pulp (from ~3 oranges) or one whole peeled orange, pulled apart *
• 1 cup coconut milk (or milk of your choice)
• 1 scoop organic vanilla protein powder
• 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. honey (optional for a sweeter taste)

*good source of fiber

Directions

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 16 oz.

• Calories: 303
• Total Fat: 6 g
• Saturated Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Sodium: 219 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 25 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3 g
• Sugars: 13 g
• Protein: 25 g

For this and other fiberlicious recipes, visit www.fortheloveoffiber.com.

This recipe was found: http://www.fitsugar.com/Healthy-Orange-Julius-Recipe-23752212

Last year I spent a week touring colleges with our youngest daughter. Her top two choices for school were within an hour’s drive of each other. As we entered the visitor center at the first school, we were immediately greeted by a school representative, given a brochure and map, my daughter received a T-shirt, and the rep offered a guided tour of campus if we wanted one. As we walked the campus, every building we entered we were met with a friendly hello and we were asked if we needed help or information. The following day, we drove onto the next campus, my daughter’s top choice for school. It took us twenty minutes to locate the visitor’s center as there wasn’t a clear sign outside. When we entered, no one was at the desk so we waited. We actually had an appointment for a tour at this school. When someone finally helped us, they were less than friendly and their tone was short. They pointed us in the right direction but again, no signage caused us to get lost. Our tour guide appeared tired and unenthusiastic and needless to say, my daughter’s top choice after our visits ended up being the first school we visited. They were friendly, engaged, and made my daughter feel important. First impressions count!

In Chapters Three and Four of Be Our Guest, we’ll take a look at the importance of your employees (and volunteers!) and your environments. Both of these areas are critical in helping people feel welcome and comfortable, and a first impression in either of these two areas can mean the difference of a guest returning—or not.

Together We’re Better
Your team plays an integral role in determining if a visitor (or even a regular attendee) will return each week. Here are some Disney tips for helping your team deliver quality service:

• First Impressions Count: Train your employees and volunteers so they understand that a first impression can be a lasting one. Let them know your mission and values and teach them how to easily and naturally communicate them in everything they do. Remind them the first point of contact with a family can determine immediately if they’ll return to your ministry.
• Set Guidelines: Train your team on how to be courteous and respectful to everyone. Provide them with language prompts that help families feel comfortable and at home rather than skeptical and leery of your church.
• Performance Culture: Teams should understand location specific behaviors such as nursery workers should understand how to speak to parents about safety and security. Student leaders should understand terms that speak the language of the teen culture.

If These Walls Could Speak
Reality is, your walls DO speak; along with your signage, lighting, décor, furnishings, and even your restrooms. Disney recommends that you consider what you want your environments to say to people and then design with that in mind. Let your story be told through your settings and environments. Consider how your environments are communicating to all five senses—this is especially important in children’s and youth spaces. Take care in keeping “backstage” out of sight, for example, tuck away your extra paper, print cartridges, or snack items in a storage area; this will help your environments look more prepared and ready to welcome guests. Finally, include everyone to be responsible in helping keep your environments presentable. If a team member notices the bathroom is out of toilet paper, empower that person to restock the stall.

Think On This
How can you train your volunteers to be welcoming and hospitable to everyone who walks through your doors on the weekend? What do your environments currently communicate to children, youth and families? What “story” do you want to tell through your environments? How can you empower your team so they feel ownership and responsibility in your environments?

I volunteer regularly at our local high school, and I’ve come to have a great admiration and appreciation for our athletic director. Taking on the job two years ago, he walked into a program that was struggling at best. But today, both teams and individual student athletes are flourishing. Why the turnaround? It’s a rare occurrence to see our athletic director sitting in his office with the door closed. He more likely can be found out in the common areas, talking to students throughout the school day. After the bell rings, he hops to various competitions to cheer on our athletes, talk to parents, and get feedback from coaches and officials. When sitting on an interview committee with him to hire a new coach, his guidelines were this: “I don’t want to hire someone who just knows a lot about the sport or is skilled athletically. That’s important, but more important, I want someone who loves kids and wants to make an impact in the lives of our athletes.” Whoa! This is why the athletic programs have grown and seen success; we have an athletic director who knows how to provide great “customer service.”

This week, we’ll take a look at Chapter Two of the book, Be Our Guest, to explore the magic of customer service. Like our athletic director, Walt Disney made a habit of getting out and walking around Disneyland, sharing the experiences and talking about them with guests. He understood the importance of not fulfilling your personal wants or needs, but knowing and providing for the needs and wants of your guests. It’s what Disney likes to call, “guestology.” Here are a few ways the church can practice guestology:

Who’s Walking Through Your Doors
It’s easy for people to sneak in and leave quickly for weekend services at church. You may not have a clue that your neighbor down the street attends your church if you don’t get out and walk among the people. Disney recommends two critical pieces of information you should gather so you can serve people more effectively:

• Demographics – These are often referred to as the “facts” about people, such as physical attributes or measurable characteristics such as family income levels. Demographic information should reveal things such as who people are, where they come from, how often they come, or family members and their ages. This information will help you know who the people are that come to your church and, who’s not coming to your church.
• Psychographics – This data will help you better understand the mental state of your audience. What are their needs and wants, what preconceived notions do they bring to your church, or what emotions do they experience when they attend service or an event? Disney categorizes these clues as needs, wants, stereotypes and emotions.

A Common Purpose
What do you stand for? Why do you exist? These are important questions to ask as an organization—it ultimately defines your common purpose. This living image should clearly define your church’s mission, communicate a common message internally, and create an outside image for your ministry. A common purpose will help you define your boundaries and it should be the one thing that everyone finds obvious about your church because you so clearly present it in everything you do.

Think On This
Would you describe yourself as a “behind the desk” or “walk around” type of leader? Explain. Why is it important to talk to people and your church and get feedback from various people, volunteers, employees, groups, and your outside community-at-large? Can you currently clearly define your ministry’s common purpose? How do you communicate that purpose to people in your church and community?

Summer just started, but aren’t we all starting to think about the fall already? I’d guess you’ve started recruiting and placing volunteers for the fall, but have you planned your fall volunteer kick-off yet? Here’s a great idea: Hire an Orange Coach for your event.

In addition to vision-casting the Orange Strategy to your volunteers and staff, our trained Orange Coaches will:

• Trouble-shoot, train and help resolve your ministry or staff’s most pressing concerns;
• Help implement 252 Basics in your church context;
• Assess your ministry environments and provide feedback to make them more effective;
• Leave you and your church with practical and applicable steps for how to implement the greatest growth and change.

Get more information by clicking the “Sign Up” button on Orange Coaching. Complete your sign up before July 31 and save $200 off the regular price. Plus, get five free tickets to the upcoming Orange Tour location nearest you.

My son moved to L.A. last week to embark on an adventure. It’s a bit risky and he’s definitely taken a leap of faith—resigning from a position that paid him well and that he was successful in. While most young people his age are just happy to get a job post-graduation, he gave his up to pursue an endeavor that may or may not work. But his phone call on Monday night confirmed his decision—he was excited again, his voice filled with passion and enthusiasm. While his previous job was comfortable and he could do it well, he wasn’t working in a field where he could use his greatest strengths. But Monday morning, he got a taste or what it feels like to fully use his natural-born strengths on the job and I have no doubt that his risky adventure will lead to success because it’s honoring his strengths.

Many have used the online StrengthsFinder to discover where their greatest strengths lie (www.StrengthsFinder.com). But research has found that most people only participate in activities or work that have our strengths in play 17 percent of the time. That means, the vast majority of our days are filled with activities that bore us, frustrate us, or leave us cold. This month, we’re digging into Marcus Buckingham’s book, Go Put Your Strengths to Work. We’ll unwrap the six steps Buckingham lays out to seize control of your assets and give you a different approach to leveraging your strengths at work and in everyday life. Buckingham says it best with this, “You have development needs—areas where you need to grow, areas where you need to get better—but for you, as for all of us, you will learn the most, grow the most, and develop the most in your areas of greatest strength. Your strengths are your multiplier. Your strengths magnify you,” (p. 55). So, get ready to learn how to magnify!

Myth Busters
There are certain things in life that we’ve grown up assuming are true, we’ve never really challenged or questioned that what we know may not be true or may not be the best way to do things. The first step in putting your strengths to work is to take a look at the three myths that we tend to believe and stop us from using our strengths. Here’s a quick glimpse of the myths and the actual truths behind them:

MYTH: As you grow, your personality changes.

TRUTH: As you grow, you become more of who you already are.
Although our values, behaviors, skills, and self-awareness may grow or change over time, the most dominant aspects of our personalities remain the same.

MYTH: You will grow the most in your areas of weakness.

TRUTH: You will grow the most in your areas of greatest strength.
Most of us try to grow and fix our weaknesses in life. But we’re the most resilient, creative, and inquisitive in our areas of strength.

MYTH: A good team member does whatever it takes to help the team.

TRUTH: A good team member deliberately volunteers his strengths to the team most of the time.
The great teams are ones that are well-rounded, precisely because each team member is not. We aren’t effective when we try to be all things to all people.

In this book, each chapter concludes with practical ways individuals can work through each step to begin achieving use of their strengths. Use these tools as you work through this book and begin to put your assets to work.

Think On This
How does my current role in ministry use my strengths? What tasks or jobs am I doing only because I’m asked or no one else will do them and how does that deter me from what I do naturally well? Of the three myths, which ones have I always believed and how have they distracted me from using my strengths?

Did you know that Orange has a video account on Vimeo? From First Look Preview videos to music videos to MarriedPeople videos to Orange Specialists bio videos, to director’s notes videos, we have a cornucopia of videos that will give you a chuckle, inspire you, or teach you something new.

Here’s an old Orange Conference promo video made at the height of the “I’m on a horse” TV-commercial craze:

Orange Conference 2011 Promo from Orange on Vimeo.

Check out Vimeo.com/whatisorange today!

So, what do we conclude about meetings? They’re critical, they’re painful, and they must happen in order to reap the rewards that make this time together a good thing.

Here’s a recap of the model outlined by author Patrick Lencioni on how to have effective meetings that will lead to higher morale, faster and better decisions, and greater results. As you review these principles, think about how you’ll implement them into your meetings with leaders and volunteers in the upcoming weeks and months.

Dramatic Flair
Lencioni claims that meetings are inherently boring and the statement is typically very true. Usually, we run from dramatic situations but in a meeting, a little bit of conflict can produce interest, engaging conversation, productivity, and even a little bit of fun. Leaders need to be “mining for conflict.” That is, looking for issues and topics that spark conversation on both sides of an issue.

Think On This: How can you mine for conflict to keep conversation in meetings stimulating and productive? How can this be a scary move—especially in ministry? What is one issue that you can talk about at your next meeting to bring a bit of controversy and fun to your meeting?

Setting Up for Success
One of the insights in the transformation of meetings at YIP was in structure. Lencioni hits it on target when he says this: “The single biggest structural problem facing leaders of meetings is the tendency to throw every type of issue that needs to be discussed into the same meeting, like a bad stew with too many random ingredients,” (p. 235). Here’s a game plan that may take some time to establish but, once it’s rolling, it will produce meetings that are worth attending.

• The Daily Check-In: A quick five minutes is all it takes to start the day out with productivity. Team members get together, report on what they’re doing for the day, and then get back to work. Everyone feels communicated to, valued, accountable, and this can eliminate a lot of confusion and unnecessary emails or schedule coordinations.
• The Weekly Tactical: A time for everyone to gather for a couple of hours each week. A lightning round report on what people are working on or highs and lows and then on to key personnel reporting on progress in areas such as budget, weekend attendance, or other issues that have an effect on everyone present. Then, based on these two reports, set a real-time agenda for one or two topics that appear to be key issues.
• The Monthly Strategic: This is a monthly meeting where key leaders or executives grapple with, analyze, debate, and decide on critical issues that will affect the church or ministry in fundamental ways. This meeting addresses strategy and allows key leaders to table critical issues at the weekly tactical knowing with confidence that there will be time to tackle them at this monthly meeting.
• The Quarterly Off-Site Review: Key leaders take time away to address key issues that require reflection and review. This is a time to look at team and personnel reviews, overall strategy—including goals and vision, and grapple with trends or what is and isn’t working. Although this meeting takes place off campus, it should limit the social activities and provide adequate time to focus on work.

Think On This: How can we implement this meeting schedule into our ministry/church? What will be our challenges? What will be the rewards? How can we assure buy-in from team members as we make these changes?

Do you know why infographics that combine compelling graphics, charts, lists and texts are so popular and spread so quickly? Our brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than printed words or auditory cues alone.

In the last decade, we’ve discovered 90 percent of what we know to be true of our brains, but we still forget 90 percent of what we learn each day, usually within the hour that we learn in. How can that be? Because our teaching styles haven’t changed much, despite all that we now know is true.

But there’s hope—good friend and Orange leader Chris Lema, put together this handy guide to Sticky Teaching—some of the biggest themes in all the research, pulled together in one place for your own development and volunteer training.

So many of these concepts remind me of the chapter in Think Orange about how we refine the message to really amplify what’s important. (If you haven’t read it, pick up a copy here and dive in to my favorite section starting on page 135.)

When I look at this amazing infographic, I marvel at how research confirms much of what we all know instinctively, but have to really work at each week. Going down his ABC’s:

A – Awaken the Intrigue—We talk about sometimes not saying anything and creating an experience to really capture their attention.

B – Begin and End Often—We emphasize the importance of unpredictable routines and planned transitions so that kids feel safe but excited about what we’re learning.

C – Create Lots of Contrast—Sometimes we know to say it louder, we need a catchy series title, or a counter-intuitive Bottom Line or even visuals on the screen.

D – Draw them in with Stories—We’re wired for authentic stories, which is why we encourage leaders to personalize and share in appropriate ways every week.

E – Emotion Drives Attention—We know that kids are drawn in when they can empathize and relate, in addition to seeing how it applies in their own lives.

F – Focus on the Big Idea—This may be the most important point in an age of constant information. Say less so you can say it clearer and say what matters most. We want to really impress this on young minds and recycle key truths so they stick.

After you take some time to process this, what stood out to you most? What do you think is most helpful to know when you think about this Sunday and the kids coming to learn about the greatest story every told? Do you think anything’s missing? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and continuing the conversation here.