The Best Answer to 'What Do You Do?" ... Especially When You are in a Crisis

“We see the world not as it is, we see the world as we are” –Quote

[Adapted from my forthcoming book, "Turning Your Setbacks into Major Comebacks"]

So I got to ride in a new neighbor's car a few days back. Being strangers, we had to introduce ourselves and know more about each other.

The conversation was normal...about our work places, spouses, kids, nationalities and the like. However, when I got to the office, I was so unhappy with myself. Unhappy because I had not interested this neighbor with the product I was working on at work, neither had I made an impression on them to want to get a copy of my upcoming book...yet I had mentioned it to them.

I was unhappy because it would not take long for me to craft a speech that would capture my neighbors interest.

What do you do or Who are you...which one should we answer?

I was happy however with one thing: I volunteered the information about 'who I am'...they did not ask me. Then I realized how easy it was to add value to the lives of people, simply by telling them what you do/who you are! Next time my neighbor's company are in short of a speaker and they needed one...guess what?

One of the most dreaded questions that you can ask someone in a crisis is this: “What do you do?” 

We live in a society that apportions our worth to what we do and not who we are. That is why people are so obsessed with titles than functions.

In equal measure, most people who do not have titles tend to feel worthless. Sometimes, a crisis normally gets rid of our titles. A divorce makes a married woman single, a retrenchment makes a worker jobless, death of a parent makes a child fatherless, loss of investments make an investor bankrupt, loss of a house makes a family homeless, and so on.

These ‘new titles’ that adversities give to us almost always espouse our ultimate fears. We need not accept these new titles. 

I am not saying that we are now living in denial. I am just saying that we choose to refuse to let a crisis define who we are, who we really are. I think your definition is not based on the result of your setback.

Your definition however is the sum total of your deepest aspirations as well as your positive contribution to mankind. You should never forget that. 

When you assume a victim title that has come as a result of a setback, you self-stigmatize yourself. You walk around unconsciously dispelling anything good that can be attracted to your life. You keep re-affirming what the world has dealt with you and not who you really desire to be. 

So, how best do we answer this question, "What do you do?"

1. Document Your Greatest Aspirations: Mostly, it has to do with either the change you want to make in the world, or the difference you are bringing to it. This statement is as a result of documenting my greatest aspirations: "I see myself guiding people in living legacies in this life because I believe that that is one of the ultimate reasons for existence". I believe everyone does have great aspirations.
2. Document your Audience: The whole world might not necessarily be your audience...dependign on your aspirations. Your audience might be your children, your spouse, married men, married women, singles, single parents, business executives, illiterates, the learned and so on. Make sure you  narrow down to an audience. Take some time with this because it is absolutely important.
3. Merge the two together into one statement: Your statement must not necessarily be a business pitch...it just has to be conversational. Take this example: "I am the kind of guy that loves seeing fathers introduce their sons to the world to make a difference the way Kenny G introduced his son on stage to sing with him some time back". What this statement does is that it communicates your passion in the simplest and conversational way. I would not be surprised if your 'audience' would have questions and more questions to ask you...and the more they ask, the more details you reveal about your passion. This can be one of those conversations that is not easily forgotten...and next time there is a chance for your services to come to the fore, they will think about you. We must not forget however that 'who we are' is not just about what we do. Who we are also has to do with Whose we are, where we are from and how well we are serving the Infinite intetions of our lives.
4. Rehearse: We seldom do this. Let me speak for myself. I have not been doing this because I have been thinking that it is not important. Nothing is further from the truth. On a daily basis, I have an opportunity to showcase who I am...even if I do not have a title! I therefore need to be as thorough as possible not only in answering 'What do you do?', but also in offering 'Who I am'.

So let me ask this: Is there anyone who cannot say who they are even when they do not have a title? I do not think so!

So what do you do? I mean...who are you really? Please share with us..and leave us your contacts while you are at it. Thanks.

STAYING ON POINT IN THE PRESENT WORLD: FIVE SWIPES AT THE CHURCH

"There is no perfect Church, if you find it, do not join it, you will spoil it!" That is what my Pastor used to say in those early days of my Christian walk. It used to make sense and it still does in an ever increasing way especially in this current world. 

That being said, there are some things that I see many churches and church organizations do, especially on social media that just leave a bad taste in my mouth. "Who do you think you are to judge the church"? You might ask. Well the simple answer is that I am the targeted audience of the church and so are billions of other people across the globe. 'Worldly organizations' as the Church calls them, refer to me as a customer and they spend billions on me!

Mavuno Church Kampala has moved away from 'Church verbiage'

Now, I know many people would initially cheer me on because of what they expect me to say. I know very many people expect me to go up against the idea of tithes and offerings. I am sorry to burst your bubble, I am a firm believer in the Biblical teaching of giving. So some people might drop off right here, but I would urge you to read on.

First off, the Church like any organization has its goals. It has an audience to reach to...which is the world. The same applies to every local expression of the global church. We need to understand that all of us, in our quest for Life Signatures have our targeted audiences.

A sorry day it is when grown ups do not know who their audience is. Any visionary has a laser-like focus on his audience. His desire is to be able to reach out to as many people in his targeted audience with consistency and value.

With the view of the targeted audience, I have a few bones to pick with the church and church organizations. Now, let us know that these same things apply to thousands of visionaries across the world. It is time to unlearn the old and move on by being relevant and current. You cannot have new wine in old wine skins, can you?  So, as I take a swipe at the church, I am also taking the same swipe on all of us visionaries thus killing two birds with a single shot! Oh, the joy of writing!

• The first swipe at the church is the idea entitlement: This has the church or church organizations have the spotlight on themselves and not the people they are supposed to serve! "The church is untouchable", they would say. "The church is entitled and deserves to be respected", they would add. No one is entitled to anything on earth if they do not expend effort to acquire it! Tweet this. Just because you have a bunch of names (and do not get me started with church names here) that contain the word 'church' in them does not mean we will all flock towards you. You are not entitled  to have followers. You are not entitled to receive tithes and offerings. But here is the catch: Your audience is entitled to receive exemplary and quality services that your organization revolves around. Donge? (Kenyans will understand that word, Donge)

• The second swipe at the church is the idea of conservatism: Just stay on social media for minutes and you will be appalled at the 'advertisements' that churches carry out. You have photographs of preachers wielding big microphones...you have photographs of the congregation in 'church routines' such as lifting hands in worship...you have photographs of preachers 'fervently praying' while laying hands on people...heck, you even have scores of photographs of people sprawling on the ground apparently after being slain in the Spirit...All these antics are deeply rooted in conservatism (which has its place), but does not serve the targeted audiences. Your adverts are full of preachers portraits, and for good measure, some guys add (from USA). If Jesus Christ was the Pastor of some churches today, I am not sure he would 'advertise' Himself in the manner we see these days. It is simply appalling, lackadaisical, un-thought out, and generally puts people off! There, I said it!

• The third swipe at the church is the ever constant use of technical jargon: The spiritual anecdotes you are throwing around to all and sundry cannot be understood by your targeted audience! That is why Jesus Christ used relevant stories of the day in getting the Message across. Jesus was not all that obvious! He would use a parable that would make you ask questions, reflect, think and re-evaluate your life. He talked about bread, knowing that the targeted audience would want that any day. He talked about water knowing that they had water issues then. He used the language of the streets! Sadly, the church thinks that using the street lingo is sinful! I used to know of some Christian brothers and sisters who would find me really questionable just because I did not greet them by saying "Praise the Lord!!" Please Church, understand that you are here for your targeted audience and not for yourself. Find out what resonates with their lives and use that to communicate. And no, I am not saying that you compromise your message!

• The fourth swipe at the church is the Over-promising and under-delivering: "Come for miracles signs and wonders!!"...and then when we do...the only sign we find is a preacher shouting himself hoarse while sweating bullets! Look, if there will be miracles, there will be no need for advertising them! I kid you not! I have literally walked out of church services that lacked excellence and passion (yet I am a believer...what happens with the targeted audience?). Yeah, I know you will say that the Spirit of the Lord is the one at work...then in that case He would not need you to shout hoarse, would He? One of the hallmarks of excellence in Christianity is "Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel". You walk into a church service and you can easily see that the preacher did not prepare, the choir did not prepare, the logistics are pathetic...and we are supposed to endure all that 'because we are Christians!' We are also supposed to leave the tithes and offerings behind after those ordeals! Look, I need to see preachers going for Presentation Skills classes...and I kid you not...they do need these classes! This is part of preparation. I now concur with my Pastor years ago who told me to get a degree before I can think of full-time Ministry! Thanks Pastor Johnny!

• The fifth swipe at the church is copy-catting (Being plagiarist): It simply means that you feel inadequate in your mandate. I will never ever forget one day in Kampala, Uganda. I walked into a church service. The preacher mimicked all and sundry from the healing televangelist Benny Hinn. From the songs the man sings in his crusades, to the pitch, to the timing of coming on to preach, to the voice intonation! I felt so cheated! Apparently, if I had never watched Benny Hinn, that would have been a powerful service. I can assure you this guy spent hours (if not days) practicing for this show! What a cheap presentation! If we needed to watch Benny Hinn, we can just go to his website! So years after I walked out of his service, I saw the dude on TV. This time round guess as who? He came championing 'Wisdom Keys', the same thing that Dr. Mike Murdock (My mentor has done all his life). And your guess is as good as mine...I changed channels and watched a Nigerian Movie! What happened with us being Original? Why do many people in churches feel the need of using someone else methods without as much as issuing a disclaimer? The consolation to the copy catting came some few years back in Africa. Suddenly, church organizations started competing on who can bring the biggest name in Christian circles to the country! T. D Jakes came and went, Benny Hinn came and went, Eddie Long, Alvin Slaughter, Juanita Bynum, Joyce Meyer, and many more. Their colossal impact forgotten! So who is back at the pulpit? Yourself! That should tell us something.

Like I said, there is no perfect church. There never will be this side of eternity. That however can never be an excuse for lack of excellence, innovation, creativity and relentless focus on our targeted audience each year!

REALITY CHECK: WE ALL ARE REPLACEABLE!!

When your wife admires the qualities of another man and wishes you had them...you are replaceable,
When your client has become accustomed to you and can almost predict you...you are replaceable,
When your audience is chatting on facebook about the game as you rant on...you are replaceable,
When your boss wishes you could be as sharp as her friend's receptionist...you are replaceable,
It is only a matter of time, well, unless you recognize this fate... and do something right away!

One of the biggest and longest debates in Uganda is about Presidential term limits. Since 1986 @KagutaMuseveni has been the President of that nation. A very curious question has been on people's lips: Who can replace the man?

Should We stick by him or replace him?

I think another important question we need to answer is this: Can he be replaced? Yet a more sober question to ask is this: Can I be replaced? Can you be replaced? The answer is a resounding YES!

I think one of the biggest recipes of turmoil in organizations is when individuals do not accept the fact that they can be replaced. Yes, they do see that they can be replaced, yet they are scared. There is an easy way out of this, if you think it is a predicament: Acknowledge it, and do something about it! Certainly not externally, but something internally to add more value to yourself.

I host the Hour of Prayer on 104.1 Power FM in Uganda every weekday at 5:00 a.m East African Time. One of my listeners called in and was thanking me for the good job. She went as far as saying that she was wondering who would fill in the gap left by my predecessors. At the reign of my predecessors, she would not think of any other person. They were the real deal....of course until I showed up!

That got me to thinking about today's question. Am I replaceable? Is there someone out there who would do a much better job than what I am doing today?

Here is the thing: If I sit in comfort on my position and remain stale in dispensing my duties, I am a great disservice to the people. It is important that on a daily basis, I keep churning out much needed wowing value to my audience.

The same applies to any visionary out there. There is no doubt that each and everyone of us have an audience one way or another. Either in our professional life, family life, spiritual life or even in our business life...we all have our audiences.

I have discovered that if an audience sniffs out a better 'service provider', they will be much inclined to abandon my ship and move. That is a given. That is a human trait. The only thing that would hold them is loyalty.

Loyalty on the other hand is never a thread that runs on autopilot. Loyalty is always relevant. In other words, people will stay loyal as long as their loyalty is rewarded. That means that the loyalty is directly proportional to the frequency of relevance.

In a more practical language, let me say this: If I were to die today (God forbid), I am more than certain that there will be another Presenter to replace me. There is no doubt about that. In fact, I was never born a presenter, and from the time of the inception of the Program I host, there have been people doing what I am doing.

For the purpose of staying on the cutting edge of productivity and value addition to my audience, it is important that I note how replaceable I am today. It is important that I ask myself this question: If I am replaced today, what would my successor do better than myself?

In answering that question frequently, I do not need to worry about being replaced...and when I do get replaced (inevitably), there will be no replacing the legacy that I would have left behind. There will be no question about my Life Signature.

Truth be told: Nobody is indispensable...and the earlier we embraced that fact, the better.