[Applause]
what would you do if you had a month off
from work what could you do if you had
an entire month off from work I came to
be interested in the idea of sabbaticals
when we arrived here in Pittsburgh my
wife and my 18 month old son
we arrived in 2000 and we we lead a
local church and we promptly took that
local church from 30 attendees to 25 in
about a week and then we started seeing
growth and more growth and we had to
move out of our rented facility and so
we started building a building when I
say we started to build a building we
started to build a building and I’m the
pastor that can stand in front of people
and talk but not too good with tools and
so well on the work days they tell me I
had my tool belt on backwards so I
turned it around and then five minutes
later they tell me you have your tool
belt on backwards and slide I was that
guy we finally got the building done and
that was one of most exhausting things
I’d ever done he might think it’d be
time to take some rest at that time but
it’s the absolute opposite thing to do
when you finally have a tool and a
resource you’ve needed for the past
three years to move your organization
forward we ramped up not down and then
around 2004-2005 wiped out wiped out
tired the but we still were still here
we’ve been there for 17 years and this
in about 60 days I’ll take my fourth 1
month sabbatical and it’s been an
amazing process I’m so glad we started
the conversation via we have a situation
in our society that the idea of a
sabbatical is extremely rare and it may
be because we because the only word that
we know that ends in a holic that we
like is workaholic we think that’s an
okay word as if it’s something a badge
of honor or something but back in 2005
Harvard Business Review did a study on
this idea of present tias we all know
what absenteeism is we don’t just show
up not sure for work we have such a
workaholic attitude we will walk go to
work when we should stay home when we
show up what we’re doing or spreading
influenza A and influenza B instead we
should stay home but we don’t
because that’s frowned upon absenteeism
what we do instead is presenteeism we
clock in but we check out your coworker
they clock in but they check out your
boss they clock in well maybe not clock
in they just go to their office door and
shut the door yeah they’ve disengaged
2004 Harvard Business Review said he
said that was caused in American
businesses about a hundred billion a
year more recent study by a global
challenge says it’s costing 1.5 trillion
dollars a year to American businesses
whereas absenteeism is down here at
about a hundred and fifty it’s a ten to
one ratio a ten to one ratio that
requires some activity some action that
we’ll have to do because we have no
space in our lives we live without
margin those are my notes for this talk
without margin don’t you just want to
take that to the hammock and read that
doesn’t just make you go oh yeah there’s
no capacity for crisis when we live
marginalist lives there’s no space for
spontaneity that needs to have needs to
be a spot in our lives we are wide for
work but that’s not all we’re wired for
there’s no time to think if we’re gonna
live margin less of lives and I
understand now at age 51 that having one
week off is good but having two weeks
off is more than twice as good when
they’re two weeks off in a row the power
of contiguous time and some industries
might think well I’m not sure that can
happen we’re definitely at an industry
right now that has no problem with the
idea of sabbaticals education we’re on a
college campus and you might think well
that could never happen in my industry
and I would just almost literally beg
you to consider at least consider it
consider starting the conversation even
if it’s gonna be a four or five year
conversation even if you never get a
sabbatical but it’s for someone who’s
underneath you or comes after you that
gets the sabbatical because the bottom
line in your organization whether you
are for-profit or nonprofit the bottom
line is if it helps the bottom line
it’ll get done if it helps the bottom
line
it’ll get scheduled and I’d like to urge
you to consider that a sabbatical can
increase the bottom line and the idea of
how it can help business is the one idea
is the idea of retention
recruiting a recent Harris poll said
that 57% of those that are being hired
right now especially of those that are a
younger generation than me value the
benefits package as much as the
compensation as much as the salary
translation time is the new currency
time is the new currency can’t pay me
more can I get more time off kind of get
more time off now the idea seems awkward
to some people why don’t we roll and
give two weeks vacation why because
that’s the way we’ve always done it
which is the great way to kill your
industry and kill your organization you
see every organization I know of is
limited in the compensation they can
offer we hire people we just made a hire
we’re limited in compensation that we
can offer but we’re not limited we have
flexibility in the time off that we can
offer our employees that we have so if
you have that opportunity of a limited
in compensation but we’re flexible in
time off and we just made a hire we just
hired a children’s pastor from Duluth
Minnesota if you don’t know where Duluth
is just drive north until the flag
changes when the flag changes you just
went a little bit too far you went into
Canada but that’s where she’s from and
when we offered her the compensation
package the salary amount if she went to
another church of a similar size and a
town of similar size the compensation
that could have been much larger but not
when it came down to how much time off
we were probably trumped any other offer
she would have seen and that’s the thing
we can do so you get the benefit for the
employer for the employer of the
retention and a recruiting of a Galli
employee is another one is the idea of
re-engaging of rien gauging them the
capable educated trained workforce is
when I hear about a Chamber of Commerce
events we want a capable educated
trained workforce that’s why the city
and the college has to work well
together we want a capable educate a
train to work for us and I think duh who
doesn’t want a capable educated trained
workforce what are you gonna do when
you’re capable educated trained
workforce as families blowing up and her
body’s falling apart what are you gonna
do then what are you gonna do when
they’re diminished drained and damaged
just find more capable educated trained
people and throw them away I think not I
think not author Tim Keller puts it this
way the idea of a sabbatical can restore
the diminished not because your
organization is diminishing people but
because life takes it out of us
especially if they’re working hard
restoring the diminished replenishing
the drained and repairing the damage
when you have that happen what’s going
to happen to presenteeism which is going
to help whatever your bottom line is
with your bottom line is nickels and
noses or your bottom line is profit
another benefit to an organization is
the return when an employee comes back
from being off work my last week of a
sabbatical I am itching to get back in
the saddle and can’t wait for that
opportunity is that how you are when you
get back to the office after your last
day of vacation what people have been on
spring break right right and then when
they come back hey how you to hold your
how are you when you ask how was your
vacation if they go ma’am I’m so glad to
be back in the office I couldn’t wait to
get back and get re-engaged they don’t
know what they did what if your coworker
was enthused because they got to really
truly disconnect from work while they
are off and they want to reconnect
because we’re not just why we think it
would be cool just to go on cruises for
the rest of our life we’d eventually run
out of purpose and realize this is not
satisfying this is not satisfying what
if your coworker was totally engaged
what if your boss came back from a
sabbatical was totally engaged what if
your direct report came back and was
totally engaged it is valuable to the
employer to the possibility of having
that bottom line being raised
besides how productive are you on the
last day uh before you go on vacation
huh and how productive are you on the
first day when you come back from
vacation it’s powerful to be able to say
I can’t wait to come back
there’s also benefit for the employee
not just for the employer for the
employee there’s a reprieve some of you
are college students you’re still
looking for that professional job some
you were in that role but if you’re
going to get into a role where it’s
going to be any form of leadership
you’re gonna have a hard time finding
one to find that switch and go off even
if you’re not literally on call 24/7 365
the idea of is when do I quit thinking
about work when do I break away and
disengage and live what is supposed to
be called a life we think well when
things slow down I’ll do that when
things slow down when do things slow
down let me know when that happens in
your life so I can find that time I’ve
not been able to locate that in 51 years
because when things seem to slow down
because right now we’re in a busy season
it’s the end of the quarter we’re in a
busy season at the end of the fiscal
year when
busy season finals are coming up dude
I’m a pastor it’s Easter this Sunday I
understand busy season so what happens
when things do things slow down we’ll do
that one thing slow down you ready got
your top ten list done so you just move
number 11 to 20 to the top ten and you
just keep on going and you start running
it 110 percent and you realize man I’m
getting hot don’t have 110% and you
start thinking that pace is sustainable
it’s not it’s not all work and no play
make Jack and Jill a dull employee adult
co-worker a dull boss a dull direct
report dull as a nut sharp not cutting
edge not on their game not lifting the
bottom line of your organization author
Stanley Andy Stanley says this life
moves to a better place when you move at
sustainable pace another benefit for the
employee is the idea to revive to get
revived again when I’m on that 1 month
sabbatical it takes me about a whole
week before I realize what is this this
is oh this is my breath yeah this is my
this is my pulp f it takes a week to
unwind I know something you are
listening to me going dude I think it
takes you two weeks to unwind you’re
kind of bound up man but that’s because
they had me speaking right now and only
I’d be in bed so that’s why but it takes
a week to unlined now what’s our typical
American vacation look like the Friday
afternoon the last Friday afternoon here
in the office before you want baked
Asian you’re not getting any work done
you’re searching all your reservations
online and then you book you off and
then the following Sunday you pull in at
9 p.m. in your driveway you’re back in
the office on Monday morning your bags
that’s called reading gauging that was a
reviving time in your life so that when
you come back to work you can fulfill
the purposes that maybe you were created
and designed for and thrive there or
just see if you can keep getting the
paycheck and hang in that’s not what any
of us feel like we’re called to do or
call it to be we can do a whole lot more
than that author Rick Warren is a good
way to figure out how to balance the
rhythm of this and he says this divert
daily withdrawal weekly and abandoned
annually another benefit of a sabbatical
if you have an entire month sabbatical
that’s just a definition I
work with one month off every two years
one month off for every two years that
would be a not paid time that’s paid
time during the sabbatical and you can
adjust that for however you want your
industry wants to work or that’s not
just one month but maybe six weeks or or
maybe they got to work three or four
years but something where they have that
opportunity and they can see that coming
and it’s it’s paid time and and that’s
the opportunity there but the idea to
rest and relax 99% of Americans of which
I probably include myself and cannot
afford a month of vacation and what I
mean by four I’m talking about finances
more than likely we normally think oh
man I’m out of money nice and I’ve still
got month left well in this case it’s
similar you’re out of money because you
can’t continue to go on vacation for a
month who can afford an entire month of
traveling flying around lodging eating
out towards attractions you’re gonna run
out of that and you’re still gonna have
a paddock ileft
relax do this with me if you would take
a deep breath on three one two three let
it out when’s the last time you took a
breath that you’re that cognizant of if
you can’t remember is that a good thing
is that a good thing we’re here that’s
business thing and he’s telling us how
to stop and smell the ropes
this has nothing to do about stopping
smelling the roses this has to do about
recalibrating your olfactory glands
because they’re out of whack we’re
sensing what is urgent we’re not
smelling what is valuable and we do that
enough we’re gonna end up with a pile of
stuff that we’re gonna realize wasn’t
worth having in the first place I would
like to propose to you that doing
nothing is something worth doing let me
rewind that to say that I can do nothing
something doing nothing good you’re
still like doing nothing is something
worth doing now I don’t know how many
road trips you take I don’t mind I’d
rather fly but I don’t mind a road trip
but I know I would balloon to three
hundred pounds in three months if I was
a truck driver because I cannot drive or
not eat snacks and drink stuff
I’m not munching and and whatever
vehicle I am in weather is not
vehicle I’m driving a church vehicle or
something my our vehicles always make a
beeline to quick trip any quick trip
fans they always headed the quick trip
and quick trip has this 32 ounce drink
up that’s for rookies that’s for newbies
man I go I get the 52 ounce we fill it
up very little ice you get more drinks
that way and then when you get it all
filled up you go get whatever food you
want then you come back to your drinking
you get a couple sips if he’s looking
fill back up some more and go back and
get it now I’m driving and but then I
noticed my bladder it isn’t 52 ounces
and I’m sure all the next counts 54
miles away and then you see a sign like
this rest area ahead man 21 miles not
longer than I want I just drank 52
ounces
what 21 mile yeah I’m PI make it how
many miles have been you know if I drink
a little bit more I’ll be okay put it
back down never once in my 51 years if I
not made it to the rest area head your
capacity to continue at an unsustainable
pace when you know there’s a rest area
head is amazing but what if there was
not a rest area ahead and what if you’re
busting through the end of the quarter
you’re busting through finals you’re
busting through the end of the fiscal
year you’re busting through the most
important sales season and there is no
light at the end of the tunnel it’s
actually is the headlamp of an oncoming
train according to Murphy’s Law what if
there is no rest area ahead and what if
the rest area was actually affordable
you know it actually helped the
organization you’re working for the
first sabbatical that we took was too
long delayed three months into the
sabbatical I was in the hospital for a
three-day stay you may be familiar with
Psalm 23 it’s read at funerals the Lord
is my shepherd I shall not want he makes
me lie down and he made me lie down
since then the sabbaticals have come a
lot more regularly and that’s been very
helpful now push back on him the idea of
a sabbatical is pretty obvious and plain
well great who doesn’t want a month off
from work duh
who’s gonna do my job and the person
that would have to authorize his back
well who’s going to do that work let’s
come up with the opposite salute
instead of granting someone a sabbatical
let’s say they were forced to take one
and you had no choice in the matter
because some of you you’re looking for a
job eventually but some of you you’re
going to be hiring people are gonna be
employing people you’re gonna have the
power to make those decisions so let’s
assume it’s this you have a valuable
employee they’ve been serving your
organization for two or three years
they’re a direct report to you or maybe
it’s a boss that you actually love and
you like and they’ve got they’ve been
there on maybe a two or three years
they’ve got a lot of information on the
organization they know your clients they
know your business they have so much
inside information if they were hired by
your competitor they could tear you down
but because they’re inside your
organization they’re valuable and they
get in a car wreck and they’re out for a
month what do you do do you walk over to
their desk grab their grab their
nameplate and take it to them the
hospital says Ben that’s working for you
Ben that’s working with you we’re
calling manpower going on LinkedIn right
now and getting your replacement you
wouldn’t do that at all it’s not just
because you want to be kind
it’s because they’re too valuable the
next day you would call everyone in in
the office those same level employees
and I say all right
Jill’s out for a month Jack you’re
taking care of that responsibility Doug
you’re doing that Suzy you’re doing that
hang in there for a month they’re gonna
come back and we’re gonna be okay and
the bottom line is probably gonna be
fine but you’re gonna gain some things
you’re gonna gain something one of the
things you’re gonna gain to some
realization you’re gonna realize right
we didn’t know Jill did all that
wow man she might be underpaid a little
bit look at all those subji nods and
when Jill comes back they’re gonna be
yeah Jill’s back awesome now we don’t
have to do that or that I can’t believe
you even do that how do you put up with
that client there are paint mom there’s
gonna be realization there can be more
respect for Jill the other thing that
you’re gonna have is a redundant scene
of resiliency in your company in your
organization by the way why is it that
only Jill knows the password of that
program is that a wise thing why is it
that Jackie is the only one that knows
that that client wants deliveries on
Monday and that Tuesday is is that how
you want your organization to be of
course not there’s a resiliency no
redundancy built in and no matter what
kind of organization you end up working
for or you work for now or you lead
you’ve got metrics that you follow I
lead a local church and we have metrics
some people would say we count Mickle’s
and noses a more contemporary term would
be we count bodies in Bitcoin but we
count
we count in the same way that an
organization counts whether if the
profit or loss and the first sabbatical
that we took the one month we checked
the metrics in wenton when we check the
nickels and noses we were down 10% could
chunk boom no denying it
the following month we were up 15% has
been continuing to go up ever since 2009
it’s been worth it there was a risk
there some people didn’t understand it
maybe some that still don’t or don’t
like it because they don’t get one I
actually wish they would I think it’d be
beneficial not just for them think it’d
be beneficial for the organization
they’re part of and for some of them
that the business they run all by
themselves and when I came back my staff
had a better understanding volunteer and
paid staff had a better understanding of
what it is I supposedly do what I’m
sitting in my office and I would just
encourage you to start the conversation
what would you do if you had a month off
from work what could you do and not just
for you some of you have bosses you
would like to send to the moon and I
have not come back but what if we get to
send him away for a month and they came
back would you get a better boss back
yeah you probably would you have a
direct report that your wonder if you
should let go maybe you should let them
go for a month so they can come back and
reengage and you might think this can’t
work in my industry all I’m asking you
to do is consider starting the
conversation consider starting the
conversation when we look at
organizations profit or nonprofit we
judge pretty harshly
we look back and how they operate in the
1950s the 1970s in the 90s in the early
2000 and we go seriously that was a were
quit seriously that was a dress code my
goodness no flexible time they they
couldn’t commute and work from home
what’s up we judge them harshly and in
10 or 15 years we will be judged harshly
and whether you feel like you’ll only be
judges by future organizations future
generations excuse me or a higher power
I would like to challenge you to hold
closely and use wisely the most valuable
resource you’ll ever have the
opportunity to manage the human resource
thank you [Applause]