Managing Expectations

Is it possible to manage others expectations of you?

Let me back-up a little before you answer this question. At our all staff meeting Tuesday, we were fortunate to have Mike Davis come speak to us. Mike is a leadership giant in may ways. Most recently he has been through a relocation of his store. He came to our staff meeting to share his experience and how this could apply to SFMC's upcoming relocation. See we are moving in Oct / Nov 5 miles down the road to a newly constructed 105,000 sq ft bldg. You can check out a picture of the new building by clicking here. So now, back to my question. Can you manage other expectations?

As we prepare to move, our Staff, Volunteers, Church Body, and those yet to come are all forming expectations in their mind of what the new building will be like to then. We as a staff have to first realize that the new building solves nothing. People coming to the current building are tolerating things that they will not tolerate when "we are in the new building." We as a staff are planning now to give everyone a wonderful experience that will make them want to come back week after week.

Here are a few things we are currently working on to manage expectations.

1. We need and will be communicating communicating communicating very soon about the move and what to expect when the doors open for the first time.
2. We will try as hard as we can to eliminate the intimidation factor of that large building
3. Our staff and volunteers will be ready for all the new people coming for the first time. We want to be as good as the new building looks.

These are my top three focuses in managing expectations. I'd greatly appreciate your comments and suggestions to this post!