Lorne Michaels is the Real Star of "Saturday Night Live"

The New Yorker has a fascinating long-form piece on long-time SNL producer Lorne Michaels. I highlight this article here because there is a dichotomy between comedy and ministry: both require coming up with new material week after week and both can be lonely practices.

There is so much to learn from this article; a few highlights:

The kickoff to every episode, the weekly Writers’ Meeting, is at 6 P.M. on Monday, on the seventeenth floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, in Michaels’s Art Deco office, which overlooks the skating rink. Monday, Michaels says, is “a day of redemption,” a fresh start after spending Sunday brooding over Saturday night’s mistakes… The goal of the gathering, which Tina Fey compares to a “church ritual,” is to make the host feel like one of the gang.

Although Michaels has firm rules about sketch comedy, he is more flexible about the talent-management aspect of his producer role. Different personalities, he believes, require different approaches. To some, Michaels will bark, “Don’t f—- it up.” Bill Hader, who is prone to anxiety attacks, remembers Michaels coming to his dressing room when he hosted and snapping, “Calm the f—- down. Just have fun…” With others, he is warmer. Molly Shannon treasures the memory of how, when she was nervous just before going onstage, Michaels would “reassure me with his eyes.”

Read the full New Yorker article here.

COMEDY GIANT JONATHAN WINTERS ON LEADERSHIP: JUST GRAB A STICK AND LET YOUR IMAGINATION FLY

How many times in leadership does your mind drift to:

"Well, if I only had (fill-in-the-blank), then we could do it."

You don't need more resources.  Just grab a stick and let your imagination fly:

The Fun is Found on the Other Side of 'Yes!'

LEVERAGING LAUGHTER TO ECLIPSE LEADERS' FEARS

The late Dr. Martin de Maat had a profound impact on my life (I wrote about that here).  He was not only my professor and mentor, he was a close friend (Martin was even one of my wedding groomsmen!).

Dr. de Maat taught me so much not only about improvisational-comedy, but more importantly about the joy of doing life together:

"What happens... in being with each other in acceptance and Yes And-ing each other, is that you as an individual start to believe in yourself because you begin to see yourself in the others' eyes.

Your ensemble, your group, your team, your committee, is the one that's believing in you and you pull it together to do it for them.

You know, it's simply recognizing you're not alone. It's love and unconditional acceptance.

You put yourself in a place of support, unconditional acceptance and love for who you are, the way you are and your uniqueness, and what you do is grow. You surround yourself with people who are truly interested in you and listen to you, and you will grow.

And it doesn't take much to start advancing you, it doesn't take much of that support, it doesn't take much of that love and that care and you can do it. You can play act with people. You can be in a state of play together."

This is how comedians create new material.
Yes And leads to trust leads to contagious unity leads to childlike creativity.
Its how leaders might lead teams in the 21st Century.

Don't settle for the loneliness of leadership isolation.
Dream of and strive for a team of church leaders who are accepting of one another's uniquenesses.  After all, we each bring different strengths to the table.

I love what Martin would say about the group dynamics of creating comedy through Yes And:

"There's a lot of laughter that goes on. Since we're laughing together, we're true community. It's a very safe place to confront your fears. The minute somebody says, 'Perform!' your fear comes up..."

As we Yes And, may we as leaders embrace contagious unity and laughter. 

By refusing to perform and instead choosing raw, authentic community, we may just lead at a higher, deeper, more spiritually-sensitive level than before...

CUT THE CHEESE: 3 STEPS TOWARD CREATING A NON-CHEESY RADIO SPOT FOR YOUR CHURCH

I’m a big believer in leveraging all media by all means to reach all people for the gospel. There’s just one thing that drives me crazy… Cheesy Christian Media.

Let’s be honest: if Christians excel in one area of media, it’s the cheese. We try to clumsily lump theological doctrine into 30 second church ads thinking that the goal is information-transfer.

Nope, sorry.

Effective advertising is more about connecting emotionally and relationally.
If you can touch the heart (or funny bone), you earn permission to invite people into your story.

First, here’s a recent spot:

Three steps we’ve learned in cutting the cheese:

1) KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE! 

This radio spot is not designed for deeply theological, life-long Christians.  In fact, I’ve already taken heat from over-saved Christians on the internet.  And I don’t care, because I’m not called to make men happy but instead to obey the Lord.

The message in this radio spot is aimed toward people who wouldn’t normally darken a church door.  When you know exactly who you are communicating to, it won’t bother you when the rocks come flying from outsiders.

2) CONSISTENCY BREEDS TRUST! 

When I lived in north-east Ohio, I was impressed by the media strategy of Knute Larson, a now-retired pastor of The Chapel. Over the course of many years, by consistently lending his own voice and personality to church radio and tv ads, people throughout the region began to trust Knute. Even people who never attended church began to naturally think of Knute as “their pastor.”

If they ever encountered a crisis in their lives, they knew Knute Larson and The Chapel were a safe place to go to for help. That’s my heart for Life Church in the Great Lakes Bay Region.  Consistency breeds trust.

Proverbs 22 says, “A good name is more desirable than great riches.”  Life Church has a strong reputation and name recognition among unchurched Millennials and Gen Xers in our region of Michigan as a safe, non-judgemental place to ask real questions about faith.  That is important to me as our church continues moving forward.

3) EXAGGERATE THE TABOO!  

In this 2017 ad, we were told by the radio station that we couldn’t say the full title of the movie in our radio ad for legal reasons.

What could have been a hurdle was instead turned into an opportunity.  

In my improv-comedy training, I learned about the power of exaggerating the taboo. I talk more about this in my first book, Comedy-Driven Leadership: there are no mistakes, only opportunities.

In this case, we thought it would be hilarious for our 60 second radio ad for a church to have words that are being beeped out.  It would actually make the radio spot more interesting, like playing a little game with the audience!

The result is a fresh and fun radio spot that is gaining traction in the Great Lakes Bay Region.  More people will feel welcomed at Life Church and the story of God’s love will echo into more hearts.

That One Time TINA FEY Helped Me Pick Out Panty-Hose

One Saturday night in the mid-1990's while working at The Second City comedy theater in Chicago, I received a phone call that I was being activated as an understudy for a

children’s theater performance the next day.

Somebody in the cast of the production was sick and so my moment in the spotlight was beckoning. I was excited until I realized that the production involved dressing up as a pirate and I needed to provide my own pantyhose.

Apparently Captain Hook had an inner diva.

Pantyhose, really? I’m a guy which means I have an allergy to Haines and don’t know the first thing about choosing pantyhose.

But here I was after working the late shift at Second City, clumsily fumbling through the pantyhose aisle of a Walgreens at 3 am. I think my Man Card was suspended for the night.

Luckily, two women walked into the Walgreens and came to my aid: Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey. I shared in my book, "Holy Shift," about how at this time in her life, Tina Fey was not big into parties after late night performances at Second City. Her regular rituals included renting movies at the local Blockbuster Video and grabbing a snack at the Walgreens across the street.

This is how she and Dratch found me.

I wish I could say it was one of my finer moments in life but there’s no way to spin it: I was a young college dude looking pathetic buying women’s pantyhose.

Tina and Rachel must have thought I was nuts and easily could have assumed the worst about me and walked away. Instead they walked toward me. Instead of talking ABOUT me, they chose to talk WITH me.

It didn’t hurt that they recognized me from Second City, so they came over to ask what I was up to.

After I explained my predicament in a way that only professional theater people can understand, Tina took a few minutes to choose just the right color and size of pantyhose for me to dress up in as a pirate the next day.

Yes, it’s true: Tina Fey helped me pick out pantyhose.

Actually purchasing the pantyhose was embarrassing. There is just no cool way for a twenty-year-old dude at 3 am to slyly hand over a pink package of Haines Hosiery Thigh-Highs

and declare with security in their own manhood, “It’s just something for the little lady at home.”

Yes, I may have looked odd or even a bit creepy from the outside

looking in.

The cashier didn’t crack a smile once during the checkout

process, he just stared at me in judgment. And I can’t blame him

for assuming the worst about me.

But isn’t that how we all react when we encounter something out of the ordinary without all the information on the situation?

What if we chose to believe the best about the people we encounter?

What if we eclipsed our inner judge with a presumption of compassion?

At Life Church Saginaw, we are willing to try anything and do

anything short of sin to engage people who normally will not darken a church door.

Having a whatever it takes attitude to reaching people

far from God has led us on some wild adventures.

One idea that has gained traction and successfully reached families in our region each year is our annual Easter Egg Helicopter Drop.

We invite folks to our church campus, throw a free party (remember, Jesus loved a good party!), and after they realize we are normal and harmless, we invite them back the next day for Easter services.

We have heard story after story of people becoming Christ-followers as a direct result of our Egg Drop!

As you can imagine, when you throw 50,000 eggs out of a helicopter, the media takes notice. Flying plastic eggs play well for local news cameras.

One year our Egg Drop even caught the attention of

newspapers throughout Michigan and The Christian Post, a national online publication. People far from God loved our heart and passion for serving area families. However, the online comments sections were filled with venom and judgment . . .

from other Christians.

As I read the first few comments from self-professing Christians,

I felt like a hemophiliac in a razor factory. Instead of talking

TO us, brothers and sisters in Christ were talking

ABOUT us on a public forum with assumptions that were not true.

The statements made about our church’s motives by people outside our church who claimed to represent the one true Church made people who go to church look stupid.

Assuming the worst can lead to unnecessary black-eyes within the Body of Christ. Friendly-fire is preventable. God gave us one mouth and two ears for a reason. It is always wiser to listen more than we speak.

Labeling people in public forums is not a sign of maturity—it’s a

preschool mentality. If we are unable to gather all the facts, then

our default as Christ-followers needs to be believing the best about people, not assuming the worst.

We have a fantastic team of Interns at Life Church who are learning and growing in their leadership skills. Part of the program is that we are intentionally providing a safe environment to make mistakes in.

We learn when we try.

When an intern makes a mistake in our church, we always believe the best. We walk alongside them, tell them to take a deep breath, and then we ask, “You’re okay, you tried something new, now what did you learn from that experience?”

Believing the best can be a game changer in your life and your

leadership. Jumping to positive conclusions creates energy, trust,

and forward movement in any ensemble. Believing the best helps

eliminate gossip and unnecessary drama.

Believe the best about the people you are partnering with and watch how your leadership climate shifts toward a stronger ensemble!

[ Excerpt from the book, "Holy Shift," by Dr. Jonathan Herron ]

Steve Martin: "Be So Good They Can't Ignore You"

One of my FAVORITE MOVIES is the sleeper-comedy, Leap of Faith, starring STEVE MARTIN and a then-unknown PHILLIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN.

Just after winning the 2006 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama (Capote), Philip Seymour Hoffman explained the approach that helped him reach the top of his profession.

In reply to a question about what advice he’d give to aspiring actors, Hoffman said,

“This is something a teacher told me years ago, and he’s right: even if you’re auditioning for something that you know you’re never going to get or for something you read and didn’t like—if you get a chance to act in a room that somebody else has paid rent for, then you’re given a free chance to PRACTICE YOUR CRAFT. And in that moment, you should act as well as you can.”

“Because when you act as well as you can,” Hoffman says, “there’s NO WAY the people who have watched you will forget it.”

So it leads to opportunities, but more importantly, “at the end of the day, all that matters is the work. Everybody knows that. If I show up one day and the work I’m doing isn’t any good, then I’m just a guy who’s not acting well…

So I would say it to anybody starting out: if you’re given a chance to act, take those words and bring them alive. If you do that, something good will transpire ultimately.”

Takeaway 1:

Philip Seymour Hoffman saying that good things inevitably transpire when you just focus on doing whatever you're doing as well you can reminded me of a piece of advice from Steve Martin.

“Despite a lack of natural ability,” Martin writes in his memoir, Martin would go on to put together one of the most decorated careers in the history of entertainment (five Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, a couple of Lifetime Achievement Awards, an Honorary Oscar, and on and on).

Someone stood up in an audience once and asked Martin, how do you become successful?

“You have to become undeniably good at something,” he said. “Nobody ever takes my advice, because it’s not the answer they wanted to hear…but I always say, ‘Be so good they can’t ignore you.’ If you are just always thinking, ‘How can I be really good?’—people will come to you.”

Takeaway 2:

I've written before about a trait often possessed by those who reach the heights of their profession:

They do what they do, not as a means to some end (money, fame, awards, etc.), but for the sake of doing it. To them, as Hoffman said, the work is all that matters. To them, as Ryan Holiday once told me, “the work is the win.”

You control the effort, he says, not the results. You control how well you act, not whether or not you get the part. “So ultimately,” Ryan told me, “you have to love doing it. You have to get to a place where doing the work is the win and everything else is extra.”

- - -

“She brought so much love, energy, and cheerfulness to the work that she could not but succeed.” — Louisa May Alcott

Colin Mochrie Reflects on Over 30 Years of Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Vulture has a great interview with Colin Mochrie, the improv phenom who has been making us all laugh for 30 years.

As you know, improvisational comedy has many “rules” that apply to business, leadership and life, as revealed in my book, Holy Shift.

Here are some highlights from the article:

On improv entering the mainstream:

“There are still times I think, How did they pitch the show to a network and have it get picked up? There’s four guys you have never seen before, and we don’t have a show until the end of the taping, and it’s 22 episodes of that. I’m proud that it got improv into the public mind-set.”

---

Anybody can improvise:

“Like any muscle, it has to be worked and exercised. Because, I mean, basically, we’re all improvisers. That’s what our lives are. We have sort of a rough framework; we know how it’s going to end. Everything in between now and then is just totally improvised.”

---

Why improvisers hate Hoedowns:

“Well, they’re horrible! First of all, is it even a song style? It’s like, “Oh, let’s hear the hoedown stylings of …” Who? No one. And there’s no good place to be in line. The first person: You get this suggestion right away, you have no time to think. And then the rest of the time, you’re just hoping no one will take your verse. There’s some topics we think, All I’ve got is one thing. If somebody does that verse … And when they do it right before you? I can’t even describe the feeling. It’s just loss and despair. And the fact that the Hoedown was invented? It’s horrible.”

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Read the full article on Vulture.