Pathfinder Christmas Party
We went to Indy Friday for the Christmas Party for Jenny’s company. She teaches pre liscence Insurance classes here in NW Indiana for Pathfinder Corporation, which is the largest Insurance School in the state. She’s been with them since January, so it was her first Christmas Party and a chance to meet many staff she only interacts with by phone/email.
A few fun observations:
-We ate at Bravo Cucina Italiana…really great food/ambiance…hear it’s one of the best places in Indy.
-Talked to 2 employees who attend East 91st Street Christian Church — our Mother Church!
-A lot of the instructors are part time or hold other roles. One is a stand-up comic, who writes a lot of humor also. One is a pastor. I sat close to a former criminal court judge and an attorney…some wild stories!
-They asked me and the pastor who works for them to both say the dinner prayer. I still laugh at how I’m regarded as the “professional prayer” in most settings.
-I was thinking today about how huge this business is and yet it has fewer staff than Suncrest. A couple of things hit me…
- One was how much work they contract out. I wonder if churches will ever do that (Can you imagine just contracting out our children’s ministry or worship ministry? Nope.
- Second, was how much LEADERSHIP we demand of our staff vs. a company like this. Everyone who works for Pathfinder is very highly skilled in their expertise and they do collaborate about best practices/decisions/etc., but as near as I could tell there was only 1 leader…the owner. None of the them need to accomplish major goals (let alone changed lives) by setting goals, creating plans, recruiting volunteer leaders, motivating those leaders to recruit volunteers and an emerging leader, providing training, executing the plan while caring about both the people involved and the RESULTS of the initiative.
It really was a great experience. I appreciate the staff Jenny works with…and appreciate my staff all the more!
.Real.Greg.Lee. 