Sunday, December 21, 2003
Built to Last
I’ve been reading the book “Built to Last” by Jim Collins which is a study of visionary business corporations who have stood the test of time and have thrived in spite of sometimes overwhelming conditions that threaten their existence. Some of the organizations studied are IBM, Disney, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Marriott Hotels, Johnson & Johnson, Nordstrom and 3M.
I know that I have said in the past that the church doesn't need a CEO in the pastor's office. Rather, we need fathers. My view hasn't really changed all that much. So why am I reading a book on business leadership? I think it's because as i read about the companies that Collins has studied over a period of 6 years, there is a certian spiritual quality about those organizations that truly last. At one point the culture within these extraordinarily visionary companies is described as "religious" or spiritual. Yeah, its really there! Read it for yourself.
According to the author, the main point of the book is that lasting visionary companies preserve the core (their ideology) and stimulate progress (constantly changing methods) at the same time. Then it follows that the most important task a visionary leaders must do is to “create tangible mechanisms aligned to preserve the core and stimulate progress.”
This is a take on what has become the common rhetoric in emerging churches when we say, “The message never changes but our methods always do.” What makes this book of great value is the way Collins offers concrete examples of how these visionary companies are putting this into practice in the real world of the marketplace. These examples have helped me think more clearly and more practically about how we do things in the church.
One overarching theme that has challenged me is what Collins calls the difference between telling time and building a clock. Imagine someone who could tell you, at your request, what time it was exactly down to the seconds. This person would be come famous and well known. He would be invited to tell time in front of large crowds. People would flock to see him do his stuff. But when he dies, that will be the end of him. But imagine instead, if that person had built a clock. Even after they were gone, the clock would still be useful to those who come after you. The time-tellers die. But the clock lives on.
This kind of thinking challenges me in my leadership of NuComm. Am I telling time or am I building a clock? A “time-telling” leader has people who are dependent on him. Without the time teller, the church stops and ceases to function. It cannot progress or move forward. But a clock building leader focuses on building a strong visionary organization; one that will last even beyond his own tenure. THe question then is, "What kind of church are we building?"
I think we Christian leaders need to think more about building a lasting ministry rather than flaunting our anointings. We need to move from telling time to building clocks; from blessing people to building a community. That will happen when we develop mechanisms that will preserve the core AND stimulate growth and change.
The first step is to develop a clearly defined ideology. This goes beyond wordsmithing a nice sounding vision or purpose statement. Rather, this is the uncompromiseable core. The dream or the DNA of the organization. It is made up of our core values, core purpose, BHAGs, and our envisioned future. This is something that I have been developing in NuComm and must solidify when I return to the Philippines.
I know that I have said in the past that the church doesn't need a CEO in the pastor's office. Rather, we need fathers. My view hasn't really changed all that much. So why am I reading a book on business leadership? I think it's because as i read about the companies that Collins has studied over a period of 6 years, there is a certian spiritual quality about those organizations that truly last. At one point the culture within these extraordinarily visionary companies is described as "religious" or spiritual. Yeah, its really there! Read it for yourself.
According to the author, the main point of the book is that lasting visionary companies preserve the core (their ideology) and stimulate progress (constantly changing methods) at the same time. Then it follows that the most important task a visionary leaders must do is to “create tangible mechanisms aligned to preserve the core and stimulate progress.”
This is a take on what has become the common rhetoric in emerging churches when we say, “The message never changes but our methods always do.” What makes this book of great value is the way Collins offers concrete examples of how these visionary companies are putting this into practice in the real world of the marketplace. These examples have helped me think more clearly and more practically about how we do things in the church.
One overarching theme that has challenged me is what Collins calls the difference between telling time and building a clock. Imagine someone who could tell you, at your request, what time it was exactly down to the seconds. This person would be come famous and well known. He would be invited to tell time in front of large crowds. People would flock to see him do his stuff. But when he dies, that will be the end of him. But imagine instead, if that person had built a clock. Even after they were gone, the clock would still be useful to those who come after you. The time-tellers die. But the clock lives on.
This kind of thinking challenges me in my leadership of NuComm. Am I telling time or am I building a clock? A “time-telling” leader has people who are dependent on him. Without the time teller, the church stops and ceases to function. It cannot progress or move forward. But a clock building leader focuses on building a strong visionary organization; one that will last even beyond his own tenure. THe question then is, "What kind of church are we building?"
I think we Christian leaders need to think more about building a lasting ministry rather than flaunting our anointings. We need to move from telling time to building clocks; from blessing people to building a community. That will happen when we develop mechanisms that will preserve the core AND stimulate growth and change.
The first step is to develop a clearly defined ideology. This goes beyond wordsmithing a nice sounding vision or purpose statement. Rather, this is the uncompromiseable core. The dream or the DNA of the organization. It is made up of our core values, core purpose, BHAGs, and our envisioned future. This is something that I have been developing in NuComm and must solidify when I return to the Philippines.
