Who is this Jamin guy anyway?
I am the husband of one and the father of nine. I was created to sing, to worship, to encourage, and to be steady. I am the Owner & Executive Director of Trinity Arts Center, a multi-disciplinary Arts Center in Eastern Tennessee, and the President of Trinity Arts Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization focused on funding arts education and performance. I've been involved with four music projects in my life -- Hot Pink Turtle, Spin Radio, Stand Like Stone, and of course, Jamin Rathbun.

In 2013, I added my Twitter feed to this site (below). To view the old content, just scroll down past the Twitter timeline. To keep in the loop on new posts, thoughts, and updates, just follow me on Twitter using the button below. Thanks!

Tweets by @jaminrathbun

box_stuff stuff

Naked Conversations.
Are you comfortable with that?

I'm am looking forward to reading a new book by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel called Naked Conversations. (By the way, I won the book from InBubbleWrap.com as part of their daily giveaways.)

The opening line of the introduction reads, "If you came here expecting to see a couple of middle-aged white guys talking in the nude, you've come to the wrong book." = )

I've realized, over the years, that if I could pick one word to represent me -- one word that people would use to describe me... It would be authentic. To be known and appreciated for being honest, being transparent, and being real.

That, I think, is why this message resonates so strongly with me (and I believe with many of you). In this world of "reality" TV and the like -- we are beginning to tune out all of the hype and repond to the more simple, honest messages published in the blogosphere. I know I do. I subscribe to about a dozen RSS feeds, which provide nearly all of my news and information. (You can see some of them in the image above.)

It seems, at first glance, that this provides a very limited "world view" filtered through sources that are probably too like-minded to offer much real value and, I suppose, that could be the case. In my case, I have (through trial and error) honed my daily list down to a handful of sites that have proven to deliver well-written, well-researched content in a style that I can best describe as (theme music please) honest and authentic.

There are many lessons in the book. I'll address one here:

If your company (or you personally) desire to do more than simply "trick" your customers (or readers or listeners) into buying what you're selling -- you HAVE to be honest. Honest about what you are good at. Honest about what you aren't good at. If you're not... It isn't only frustrating for them -- it's frustrating for you. Whether you "win" the "business" or not -- you probably won't be happy with the result. I speak from experience here. = )

There have been many times when I, or an employer, makes promises or sets expectations far beyond our realm of strengths. In some cases, that is ok -- as long as you communicate it clearly. In most cases, it puts you (and especially the people below you on the org chart) in a bind to deliver on a promise that (probably) should have never been made.

I'm definitely not trying to dissuade anyone from expanding their horizons. If I didn't ever stretch myself, I'd still be stacking cardboard boxes onto pallets at Guy's Foods in Liberty, MO. Clearly, we want to succeed and progress... Just not at the cost of our integrity.

Naked Conversations delivers a much more business-centric message with this moral at the end of the story... The day is coming when a company who doesn't communicate openly and honestly will be the exception. Consumers are beginning to demand it and if you don't deliver...

P.S. I felt like I couldn't write about authenticity without mentioning 2 people: Vernon Armitage & Louie Giglio. = )






© 2006-2010 Jamin Rathbun & Superdink.com. All rights reserved.
Have something to say?



spacer


Recommended Music:

David Crowder Band
A Collision
Illuminate
Can You Hear Us

Chris Tomlin
See The Morning
Arriving
Live From Austin
The Noise We Make
Not To Us

Matt Redman
The Heart of Worship
Facedown
Where Angels Fear...

Charlie Hall
Flying Into Daybreak

Bethany Dillon
Imagination

Starfield
Beauty In The Broken

Brenton Brown
Everlasting God

Ross Parsley
I Am Free

Matt Maher
The End & The Beginning
Welcome To Life
Overflow

Jars Of Clay
Redemption Songs

top_spacer
legend_top
mm_leftmm_spacermm_2005mm_spacermm_01mm_spacermm_02mm_spacermm_03mm_spacermm_04mm_spacermm_05mm_spacermm_06mm_spacermm_07mm_spacermm_08mm_spacermm_09mm_spacermm_10mm_spacermm_11mm_spacermm_12mm_spacermm_2007
dm_leftdm_spacerdm_01_mbsdm_spacerdm_02_mbsdm_spacerdm_03_msdm_spacerdm_04_bsdm_spacerdm_05_sdm_spacerdm_06_mdm_spacerdm_07_sdm_spacerdm_08dm_spacerdm_09_mdm_spacerdm_10_bsdm_spacerdm_11_sdm_spacerdm_12_bsdm_spacerdm_13_bsdm_spacerdm_14_sdm_spacerdm_15_sdm_spacerdm_16_mdm_spacerdm_17_bsdm_spacerdm_18_sdm_spacerdm_19_sdm_spacerdm_20_sdm_spacerdm_21_sdm_spacerdm_22_sdm_spacerdm_23_sdm_spacerdm_24_bsdm_spacerdm_25_bsdm_spacerdm_26_mdm_spacerdm_27_sdm_spacerdm_28_sdm_spacerdm_29dm_spacerdm_30_sdm_spacerdm_31_b
content_leftcontent_spacer
content_spacer