Thoughts, devotions, and more from Jeffrey K. Ross, author of "Next Step Devotions"
There are different ways to evaluate how well a team fits together at work. There is the obvious measure of whether they get the work done that they are expected to do. What are their goals and how successfully do they accomplish them? Without that, other means of evaluation don't matter much. In addition to …
Continue reading Leap Year Lesson #117: Humor Can Be an Indicator of a Healthy Team
One of the fascinating experiences of my recent China trip was speaking through an interpreter. That was a first for me. Once we were past the basic greetings, I was out of my element due to my limited Mandarin. When asked to speak to a Chinese church congregation a couple of times, the talks were, …
If I have learned anything so far on this trip to China, it is that humans are more alike than different regardless of nationality. Sure, externals can be radically different. I don't look like any native Chinese I've seen. Still, there are so many experiences that are the same across cultures that it is a …
Continue reading Leap Year Lesson #112: We Are More Alike Than Different
After periodic perusing of a Mandarin-English dictionary/reference the last couple of weeks, I had an “ah-ha” moment today while reading more about Mandarin. In spite of the thousands of characters in the language, there are still some common aspects of the English language not included in Mandarin. For example, there are no definite articles like …
Continue reading Leap Year Lesson #111: Learning Another Language Is Good For You
I’m writing this about 4.5 hours into a 13-hour flight from Newark, NJ to Beijing, China. I took a break from my Mandarin crash course to watch the movie We Bought a Zoo. Near the end of the movie Matt Damon tells his son “Sometimes all it takes is 20 seconds of insane courage and …
Continue reading Leap Year Lesson #110: Sometimes All It Takes Is 20 Seconds
