Recently I came across a great example of cutting through uncertainty or how a leader can infuse his or her organization with clarity and commitment. Apple is the darling of corporate America - it is the company that analysts point to, that nice corporate gifts come from, and which is becoming a household name thanks to the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. But Apple used to be a niche company. It's computers were the mainstays of a few industries such as printing, publishing and other areas that used a lot of graphics.
Apple was created by Steve Jobs and a few friends in the late 1970s when personal computers began coming over the horizon in great numbers. (I remember going to work right out of college in 1983 and my very first personal computer was made by Xerox! It even had two external 5.25 floppy drives - it was amazing.) Apple developed its market but it was not as successful as Bill Gates who teamed up with Intel, IBM and other major manufacturers. Apple very quickly became a niche computer company and the board of Apple fired Jobs in 1985.
A dozen years later, Apple's board of directors (by now with completely new members) re-hired Jobs. He didn't like what he found. It was a company in disarray with no focus. Almost immediately Steve began cutting product lines and making changes that lead to great fear of him by the staff. In reality he didn't cut that much but what was cut was so visible that almost all areas of the company suffered from low morale. That didn't last long - Jobs began introducing ideas and innovations very quickly (BTW, he co-founded Pixar, the animated movie maker of great fame, during his "exile" from Apple). Soon, Apple became profitable and within ten years, by 2007 had introduced iTunes, iPods, and the iPhone and in 2010 the world was rocked by the iPad which sold 15 million units in less than one year.
Under Jobs, Apple has great clarity of purpose. All extraneous items are tossed overboard. Laser-beam focus is the order of the day. I heard that Apple's tag line is, "We use technology to make life easier and we just happen to make computers." Apple is no longer a niche company.
Question for you: does your church have laser-beam focus on its goals. Have you chunked overboard everything that is not helping your church achieve its vision. Or are you saddled with unnecessary programs and activities that really don't push you forward but you do them "because everyone else is doing them."
One of my favorite analogies is of a river with stones in it. First, are you crossing the right river? There are lots of rivers with stones but your vision must point to the river which you will cross and over which your members will follow. Select your vision (river) wisely and with God's help because once you start over, it is really, really tough to get everyone to back up. You will have some people that absolutely refuse to cross that river - that is fine; let them join another church and cross another river. You're responsible for your God-given vision and your river. As you cross the river, look for the next rock on which to step - don't look too far ahead, you won't be able to see through the mist. Just look one, two or maybe three rocks ahead to know which direction to go - have a sense of direction (of the path) but not necessarily of the ultimate course.
When Jobs re-joined Apple in 1987, much less when he created it in the 1970s, he had no idea of an iPhone or iPad - he just knew his company needed to focus on making computers. Same with you - focus on leading your church in the direction your vision is leading. Don't get too far in front of your people (don't let the river's mist fog their vision of you and the rocks they need to step on to follow you) but don't slow down waiting for everyone to join you. You may even have to let some staff go and/or terminate some beloved programs - but help your followers understand that while these things are good, they do not add value to your vision. Yes, there will be bottlenecks and rapids and slippery stones - handle them one at a time, but always move forward.
Lead On!
Steve
Showing posts with label Uncertainty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Uncertainty. Show all posts
Monday, April 4, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Uncertainty
I follow the stock market. Doing fairly well but only about 15% of the way to what I need till I retire. There are two big things I know about the stock market:
Church's must have goals - targets at which they're aiming. Unless a church has one thing that unites them, then everything will divide them. Church members want to be part of something larger - that's why they joined and participate in a church. They want their church to be on mission to do something, go somewhere, be leading in some way. If their church is not, then it quickly becomes a social club. Country clubs (I've never joined a country club and won't, either) have no function except to serve their members - at least from my perspective. Church's are not country clubs - they are churches.
Get rid of the uncertainty in your church. Find a mission/purpose and charge that vision with everything you've got. Plan for it strategically and tactically (notice, I said "plan"!) and then fulfill that plan of attack.
Your church is like a ship. There are places it cannot go easily like a ship cannot easily go on dry land. But two-thirds of the earth is water so your church/ship can go to more than half the world. The church are crew members, not passengers. If your church were passengers then you'd have a cruise ship which goes out to sea each Sunday morning and returns to the safe harbor before sundown. But your church members want to sail the high seas - they want a purpose in their church. They want to aim for the horizon and THEY WILL PAY GLADLY if their leader will take them to the far side of the world. Don't underestimate your church - give them the adventure of their lives - the adventure that God promised each of us when he asked us to be fishers of men and women.
If you rob people of the chance to sail into deep and scary waters, then you've created uncertainty. No one knows where the cruise ship will head this week, what are our goals (to have a better meal than last time, a better Sunday morning show?), where are we going together and why are people leaving our church/ship for other places or even leaving the faith altogether. Don't create uncertainty - create a vision. Clothe, feed, and nurture that vision every two or three weeks (Bill Hybels says that vision must be cast every 28 days or less). Be specific, be challenging, be big in your dreams, be willing to work with other organizations, be more God-sized in scope. Give your church a purpose and you'll be amazed at the number of people clamoring to get on board.
Lead On!
Steve
- Don't follow the herd
- The market hates uncertainty
Church's must have goals - targets at which they're aiming. Unless a church has one thing that unites them, then everything will divide them. Church members want to be part of something larger - that's why they joined and participate in a church. They want their church to be on mission to do something, go somewhere, be leading in some way. If their church is not, then it quickly becomes a social club. Country clubs (I've never joined a country club and won't, either) have no function except to serve their members - at least from my perspective. Church's are not country clubs - they are churches.
Get rid of the uncertainty in your church. Find a mission/purpose and charge that vision with everything you've got. Plan for it strategically and tactically (notice, I said "plan"!) and then fulfill that plan of attack.
Your church is like a ship. There are places it cannot go easily like a ship cannot easily go on dry land. But two-thirds of the earth is water so your church/ship can go to more than half the world. The church are crew members, not passengers. If your church were passengers then you'd have a cruise ship which goes out to sea each Sunday morning and returns to the safe harbor before sundown. But your church members want to sail the high seas - they want a purpose in their church. They want to aim for the horizon and THEY WILL PAY GLADLY if their leader will take them to the far side of the world. Don't underestimate your church - give them the adventure of their lives - the adventure that God promised each of us when he asked us to be fishers of men and women.
If you rob people of the chance to sail into deep and scary waters, then you've created uncertainty. No one knows where the cruise ship will head this week, what are our goals (to have a better meal than last time, a better Sunday morning show?), where are we going together and why are people leaving our church/ship for other places or even leaving the faith altogether. Don't create uncertainty - create a vision. Clothe, feed, and nurture that vision every two or three weeks (Bill Hybels says that vision must be cast every 28 days or less). Be specific, be challenging, be big in your dreams, be willing to work with other organizations, be more God-sized in scope. Give your church a purpose and you'll be amazed at the number of people clamoring to get on board.
Lead On!
Steve
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)