Mavericks at Work - Innovative Business Ideas for Churches

A Maverick background
Every pastor should read FastCompany magazine. I am amazed at the business people who don't because of what they miss that can really help them. FastCompany is the only business magazine I know that understands the dramatic changes that are happening in the organizational world.  Pick up a copy and read it from cover to cover and take notes of the ideas that you find compelling.

Out of the FastCompany world has come Marvericks at Work, the brain-child of William C. Taylor and Polly LaBarre who have co-written the best book I know for cataloging the innovative ideas that are changing the business world. Taylor is the co-founder of FastCompany and LaBarre a former senior editor at the magazine. Their book is a tour-de-force of innovative ideas and stories about people and their organizations.  I love the book and have written about it over at my Leading Questions blog.

Mavericks is

devoted to the proposition that in business ... the best way to outperform the competition is to out think the competition. Maverick companies aren't always the largest in the field; maverick entrepreneurs don't always make the cover of the business magazines.  But mavericks do the work that matters most - the work of originality, creativity, and experimentation. They demonstrate that you can build companies around high ideals and fierce competitive ambitions, that the most powerful way to create economic value is to embrace a set of values that go beyond just amassing power, and that business, at its best, is too exciting, too important, and too much fun to be left to the dead hand of business as usual.

Let me say up front, that as a minister who has spent almost the last dozen years in a consulting business in the maverick mold, that Taylor and LaBarre are absolutely correct.  Just as I found a deep sense of affinity with Peter Drucker's Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the same is true with Mavericks.

Taylor and LaBarre organize their book around four major changes taking place in business.
    The Rethinking of Competition,
            the Reinventing of Innovation,
                    the Reconnection with Customers, and
                            the Redesign of the Workplace.

I want to look at some of the ideas that I find most relevant to the church.  This is a long posting divided up into four sections.

#1 - Strategy as Advocacy
Taylor and LaBarre write:

The logic of competition has evolved from the imitative world of products versus products to the revolutionary fervor of business models versus business models to, now the promising realm of value systems versus value systems. Call it strategy as advocacy ... .

Every church with whom I've worked for the past twenty five years is uniquely and distinctively different. It is far deeper than style. The commonalities between churches are the basis for connection and shared ministry, but on their own every church has its own specific niche in their community.  The problem I find is not that they are trying to be like every other church, for clearly they are not. They recognize that they are different, but that they are trying to be the church they were at a different point in time. They seek to mimic the past and cannot really do it with vitality because the societal context for being the church has changed dramatically. 

What ideas is your company fighting for?  What values does your company stand for?  What purpose does your company serve?  Those are the questions that Roy Spence seeks to answer for every organization with which he works.  "Any one who's running a business has to figure out the higher calling of that business, its purpose," he insists. "Purpose is about the difference you're trying to make - in the marketplace, in the world.  If everybody is selling the same thing, what's the tie-breaker?  It's purpose."

Today, I see this in the missional movement that is growing in our denomination.  Check out the Presbyterian Global Fellowship as one collaborative expression of this trend.  Take note of the missional movement because it is the most innovative change taking place in the church today. It is the picture of the church of the future.  From my perspective, the only churches that will survive the next generation will be those whose focus is outward in service. Should you read my words with a ring of urgency?  Yes, you should. We are at a critical stage in our life as a church. More about that another time.

#2 - No Body is as Smart as Everybody
One of the most significant movements in business over the past two decades has been the open-source movement.  Open-source, principally, has been how the Linux operating system is being developed. It is a computer system designed by volunteers from all over the world.

At the heart of the open-source movement is the belief that human interaction in the form of conversation and collaboration is a better way to develop products and businesses than the old silo model. The silo model is simply each person has an assigned task to do and their connection to other parts of the system is unknown. This is what was happening in the hosiery mill that I described here.

There's an expression in open-source circles: "Many eyes make bugs shallow." Translation: the more smart people you can persuade to look at the software glitch, the more likely it is to get fixed. The same goes for leadership in general. Many eyes, all trained on a specific market or a well-defined business problem, will invariably find opportunities that elude the gaze of a few honchos at the top.  Why settle for being the smartest guy in the room when it's so clear, in so many different settings, that nobody is as smart as everybody?

This is precisely the idea that is the foundation of my conversational planning method that I wrote about here.  And if you need a biblical warrant for this look no further than the early church.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.  (Acts 2:42-47)

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. (Acts 4:32-35)

This oneness of heart and mind is a result of a similar open-source innovation process that comes from people working side-by-side to create new things and improve on old ones.  Taylor and LaBarre offer some guidelines for how to make this work.

1.  Keep focus narrow and tightly defined. This means you don't want conversation for conversation's sake, but rather focused on some aspect of the life of the church that matters. Think in Theory of Contraint's terms of that one obstacle that stands in the way of improvement.  Then turn the congregation loose on solving it.  For example, how do we build greater participation in the education program?

2.  Keep broadening the range of participants. This is a key focus on increasing the meaningful participation level of members.

3.  Keep it fun. I hope I don't need to explain this.  Okay. Maybe I do.  Do something at every gathering of people in the church where people laugh.  And ask them are you having fun doing this?  If they are not, then find a way to make it so.

4. Don't keep all the benefits for yourself. The life of the church isn't about me, but God's Spirit alive in US.  Affirm people, share the credit, take the blame.

5.  Keep challenging yourself to be more open to new ideas and new ways of leading. Whether we like it or not, our greatest influence comes by leading by example, not by our words.  As church leaders, if we are engaging in conversation with people to learn new ideas and new ways, then they will too.  They will if what you are doing is more than just something personal.  It also needs to be social. 

My Rule of thumb: People want their experience in the church to be personally meaningful and socially fulfilling.

Think about every decision: How can this be made to be personally meaningful and socially fulfilling for the members of our church. Open-sourcing the life of the church is how we can do this.

#3 - Reconnecting with customers
We've all heard the complaints that church today is just a commodity and people are just shopping for the right combination of preaching, programs and child care. While I think it is more complicated than that, there is an element of consumerism involved in the selection process. This dilemma is not just affecting churches, but any company that has a product to sell. Listen to Taylor and LaBarre.

What is most notable about the new world of endless choice ... is not that it leaves store shelves more crowded, or business less profitable, but that it leaves consumers dazed, confused - even depressed. "At this point, choice no longer liberates, but debilitate, " (Barry Schwartz)... writes.  "It might even be said to tyrannize. ... Modern Americans are feeling less and less satisfied even as their freedom of choice expands."  It's an unsettling conclusion - but one that hardworking executives at companies with declining ACSI (American Customer Satisfaction Index) scores might endorse.

So the challenges are clear: How do you make a compelling offer to customers who already have more than enough of what you are selling? How do you break from the pack when the pack keeps getting bigger and louder (and better) every year?  How do you forge a relationship with customers that can withstand the competition's barrage of lower prices, loftier claims, and snazzier features - a relationship that leaves customers confident that they've made the right choice and eager to keep making the same choice?

In other words, how do you move the members of our church from consumers of spiritual programming to persons committed to the achievement of the church's mission in this time and place? Clearly, you can no longer sell people the church. I learned early on that you can sell strategic plans. You can only enroll people in the implicit plan that they are already living.  Here are Taylor and LaBarre's suggestions.

1. There is always a demand for something distinctive. It really doesn't matter what other churches are doing. It only matters what you are doing, and doing it in such a way that it is a genuine reflection of the culture and value of your church.  If you do this, then you will be distinctive.

2.  Not all customers are created equal. Be realistic about who is the ideal person for your church.  Of course, whomever comes may be led by the Spirit of God to be there. But in reality, every church fits a certain demographic profile.  Focus on connecting with that person and they will find you as well.

3.  Brand is culture, culture is brand. Your brand is your identity in the marketplace of churches.  What makes you distinctive becomes your brand. This can be good - "They are the small group church!" or bad - "They are the church were they fight with each other."  Your church has an identity whether clear or vague, good or bad, and that identity is a brand that you either must change or build upon.  So, when Taylor and LaBarre say brand is culture, what they are saying is that how your church relates to one another, how they connect is what becomes known about your church.  Culture can be understood as the values and beliefs that are lived out in the relationships of the people.  It is a deeper thing than worship style.  So, work at strengthening the connection that people have with one another, and remember my rule of thumb: People want their experience in the church to be personally meaningful and socially fulfilling.  That experience becomes your culture and that is what becomes the brand that is talked about when your church's name comes up in conversation.  So, be intentional about how you want your congregation's personal and social connection to function, and let that become the identity that draws other people to you.

4. Advertising to customers is not the same as connecting with customers. Instead of advertising think "communicating by newsletter to members is not the same as members connecting with members sharing their excitement for the ministry of the church."  The kind of connection that is needed in the church is not more information distribution tools.  Instead it is more social interaction that allows for greater use of word-of-mouth to spread.

5.  When it comes to creating brand value, dollars-and-cents thinking doesn't always make sense. In other words, they are not talking about throwing money at "connection" programs. Rather, it is thinking about the nature of making connections with people and support it. 

#4 - Why would great people want to work here?
Taylor and LaBarre offer this reflection on their experience of writing the Mavericks book and working at FastCompany over the years.

It is the most ubiquitous platitude of corporate life: "People are our most important asset."  The undeniable reality, of course, is that the human side of enterprise remains the ultimate backwater.  It's the last item on most CEOs' list of strategic priorities.  It's where mediocre executives go when they can't cut it in the "real" parts of the organization. Be honest: how many companies do you know  that are as creative, as disciplined, as businesslike about the people factor in business as they are about finance, engineering, and marketing?

Over the years, as we've traveled the world to evaluate the changing state of business leadership, we've searched for those companies. We haven't found many. In fact, we haven't met all that many CEOs who could provide a compelling response to a simple question we like to ask when we visit an organization for the first time: why would great people want to work here? (The answer, we add, can't be about salaries, bonuses, or stock options.)  What is it about the ideas your company stands for, its point of view in the marketplace, the ways in which employees interact with customers or collaborate with each other, that becomes irresistible to the best people in your industry?  How does your company's standing in the talent market enhance its position in the product market?

These are not trick questions. They are the building blocks of long-term prosperity.  For one thing, you cannot have happy, satisfied customers if your organization is filled with unhappy, dissatisfied people.

Read those paragraphs again and ask if this is a description of the church.  Do we give lip service to the people side of the church.  Ask the homebound members about the care they experience. Ask new church members six months after they have completed the membership class and joined. 

Is it arrogant and egotistical to ask why great people would want to join your church? Or is a question that reveals a weakness that the congregation is unwilling to address.  We automatically think elite people when we think great people.  But if you had read Mavericks at Work up to this point - page 197 of the review copy that I have - then you'd understand that they are not talking about great people that appear on the cover of People magazine, but great people who receive recognition like FastCompany's Social Capitalist awards . 

There is much to say about this, but I want to conclude this long review of Mavericks by addressing what I see is one of the keys to being able to attract great people.

In the Mavericks book, Taylor and LaBarre address what Marc Andreessen, developer of the Netscape browser, calls the Rule of Crappy People.

"There are good people and there are great people. Great people tend to hire other great people, because that's who they want to work with.  But good people tend to hire people who aren't so good. They don't want to manage people who are smarter than they are. So over time, unless you're tough and disciplined, the talent level in the company declines to the lowest common denominator, and you wind up with lots of crappy people.  It's a disaster. But it takes tremendous willpower not to compromise."

Some churches are filled with crappy people as described here.  We aren't talking about whether their sin is afflicted upon the church. That is true in every church. No, we are talking about people whose presence is toxic and corrupting to the mission and program of the church.  And what I find is a great hesitancy to deal with these people.  As a result, we end up with churches where the most minimal agreement is what holds the church together. There is no hope or enthusiasm of mission, unless is it personally connected to some member who is doing something uniquely their own.  And we now call consensus what we used to understand as the lowest standard rules.

So what do we do as the church to turn a congregation from a bunch of nice, good, essentially passive people who are intimidated by crappy people into a church that appeals to great people?

First and foremost, we define the boundaries of appropriate social interaction. Be a realistic believer in the biblical doctrine of sin that is it a corrupting influence upon people and their social settings.  Just as biblical law provides a way to identify us as sinners separated from God, it also shows us what it means to live in harmony with God.  I'm saying that the same needs to happen in churches, and it is the responsibility of the Session to make sure this happens.

Second, we need to defend those social boundaries against those crappy people who refuse to live within the structure of spiritual accountability that is the domain of the church. So, how does this happen.  If people are unwilling to submit to the limitations that social boundaries imply, and they continually violate both the spirit and the definition of those boundaries, then they should be removed.  There is much more to say to this, and that for another time. However, as leaders of the church we need to remember that the structure of the church should both protect and guide the church in social matters.  And when we do so, it gives people confidence that God is there for them.

Are you a Maverick?
As can be seen, I really like this book.  I recommend it to everyone because it is such a engaging picture of the future of our organizations.  Recently, Bob Sutton of the design school at Stanford University raised the question as to whether Mavericks did its readers a disservice by not talking about the risks of being a Maverick.  It is an important question for business people as well as pastors so churches.

From my perspective, everything is a risk. You risk trying new things. You risk doing the same things over and over again expecting different results.  Risk is inherent in life. From a spiritual perspective, risk forces us to deal with the question of "Where is God in my risk taking?" 

In the church we address risk by faith and by sharing it with one another.  It is the spiritual side to a business mindset of trying to learn to do new things.  I hope you'll read the book. If you have, please leave a comment; tell us a story; or ask a question.  It is part of the conversation that helps us all better understand how to become great people of faith and mission through the church.

Comments

[Ed Brenegar]

Great comment Dave.
What have you tried to do in your church?

[David Gaddy]

The Mavericks at Work, book kicked my rear and then gave it back ot me. I am applying these principles at work, church and any where else I can. If we are to be culturally relevent as believers our message must be compelling, engaging and memorable. I challenge anyone to read the book and try to do business as usual.

I also recommend two other books, one is; The Speed of Trust, by Stephen M.R.Covey, and Re-Imagine by Tom Peters. This is an older book but no less revolutionary.
I am not encouraging a church without His spirit but one filled with a relational people that are holy disrupters.
Thanks for this website.

[DennisS]

"...Every pastor should read FastCompany magazine"

I'm taking your advice, and subscribed to it. I was pleasantly surprised that the cost is quite reasonable. I also picked up an INC. magazine subcription.

In regards to innovation...We entered a float in the local Christmas parade on Saturday (out of 50 entries, we were the only church represented), and we handed out candy canes with a message and church information. Attendance was up 20 (that's a 40% increase for us) on Sunday. The atmosphere was very positive, and the perception is that it was a great worship service.