21 Rules of Innovation… numbers 15-21
Posted on July 1, 2009
Filed Under Design Thinking, Uncategorized, change, leadership | Leave a Comment
15. A good team is always an active learning team.
.
16. Be aware of the balance and flow of polarities that exist for your team. Remember that too much team can be just as bad as not enough. Allow for individual self-expression within the team. Teams are not problems to solve, they are a mass of polarities to manage (see Bruce Johnson’s “Polarity Management”)
.
17. Your team is a strong as its weakest link. A good team makes efforts to cover, improve, or strengthen its deficiencies. Read “The Goal” by Eli Goldratt to understand more about the “theory of constraints.”
.
18. Effective teams engage in constructive disagreement around content with a ‘yes and not a ‘yes but’ attitude.
.
19. Listening is key.
.
20. Know thyself – what you can contribute to the team and what others can contribute that doesn’t come naturally to you.
.
21. In teams, seek to ‘pull in’ the outliers, the mavericks, those who we tend to exclude. Everyone has something important to offer the team – find it.
21 Rules of Innovation…numbers 8-14
Posted on June 30, 2009
Filed Under change, leadership, marketing | Leave a Comment
8. Trust is not blind. The more you seek to understand the motives of your team members, the better.
.
9. All teams go through rough patches. As Dean Kamen says, if you don’t encounter big problems or surprises, you’re not innovating. When it “hits the fan”, be an example in keeping the faith and remaining positive.
.
10. Vince Lombardi won a lot of championships by focusing on, and repeating endlessly, the most basic plays and fundamentals. Basic fitness and clarity of jobs and roles were the rock he built his teams on. So, when in doubt, return to the basics.
.
11. Sometimes a person simply shouldn’t be on a team. Be very careful in making this judgment, because sometimes the mavericks are exactly who you need. Still, sometimes people can’t be brought into the fold and focused on the goal at hand. If you are dead sure, cut out the “cancer”. It’s a very tough call, but when you make it you are often thanked for doing it by other team members.
.
12. Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate. Celebrate victories, even the small ones, and celebrate learning even in failures or setbacks. Edison was of the philosophy there is no failure; be like Edison.
.
13.Kick-off’s are important. Do them with energy and style.
.
14.Communicate unselfishly, share your knowledge, and share honestly in a way that the person can hear.
21 Rules for Innovation..1-7
Posted on June 24, 2009
Filed Under Design Thinking, Uncategorized, change, leadership | Leave a Comment
Greg Fraley wrote this list, with the assistance of Kim Greene, for the 2009 CPSI Team Building participants. They had made the request for a bit of “real world” content (imagine!).
.
1. A strong bold initiative and vision inspires teams. It has the right people wanting to be involved.
.
2. If you are the organizer/leader know that Who is on the team may have more impact then any other choice you make. As they say in golf, all bets are made on the first tee.
.
3. If you can’t choose who is on your team, clarity of roles and task fit, are very important choices.
.
4. When a team member leaves or a new member comes on board, don’t forget you have work to do in reforming the team. Really, it’s a whole new team.
.
5. Don’t forget the fun element… “if it’s not fun, you’re not doing it right” (JFK). Try to integrate an element of fun in all the team does.
.
6. Regardless of who is on your team, overt appreciation of strengths and diversity is a good place to start. Starting with positives is always a good idea.
.
7. Build trust all the time. Make deposits to the “savings account” you have with each team member. You can, and will need to, “withdraw” from that account in difficult times (thanks Stephen Covey). A key to building trust is rigorous integrity around your word. Do what you say you will do. If you don’t, or have a problem, come clean on it ASAP.
Blogging vs Tweeting
Posted on June 17, 2009
Filed Under future, leadership | Leave a Comment
For the past month or so I have been on the Twitter bandwagon. By the way - this came about a week after I told a good friend that Twitter was not worth using, and I would never spend my time on it. Oh well.
It has been an interesting experience to see how people are using Twitter. Some people (very well known) give you updates on details of their lives. Others give great quotes or insights. Still others are doing what always happens - spamming. Only 2 of the above are of any interest to me personally. Reading all of that has shaped how I plan to use my Twitter account.
I will work hard to offer content that makes you think, or gives you something you can act upon. I will retweet information that I think is meaningful. I will never tell you what I am planing to have for dinner, or what my child is doing on stage. At times, I may drop a small personal tidbit (Just caught a huge fish!) because that shows God is still doing miracles! Like any tool, the value of Twitter is really determined by the hands that use it.
One downside that I have noticed is that the time I used to put into blogging and writing articles has decreased as my Twitter time has increased. That concerns me because some of my favorite bloggers have done the same thing. It seems that it is hard to do both on a consistent basis. There is a real difference in the 140 character Tweet and a well thought out blog post or article. If I were Tweeting this blog, it would probably read “Twitter is great for some things, but i cant find time to really write anymore. I wonder if it is worth it.” (that’s only 107 characters, so I might add to it!)
Is Twitter just a fad, or a sign of things to come. I don’t know…but I remember when I was told that Facebook would never amount to anything. Facebook has a huge user base, and is a primary communication tool for many of its users. It is amazing to see how that is changing the way people connect and communicate. Each step leads to another, and Twitter is based on the single line from the Facebook page that says..”what are you doing?”
You can follow us on Twitter….@218Consulting
Church Planting vs Church Growing
Posted on May 26, 2009
Filed Under leadership, marketing | Leave a Comment
I had the opportunity today to be a part of a Church Planters “Boot Camp”. Planting is a very different process from growing a church. Most of the work that 218Consulting does is with churches that have been around for a while, and are looking to accelerate the effectiveness of their ministries. It has been great to rethink a few issues from the planters needs vs the established churches needs.
One of the topics today was on the importance of having a connection to a denomination. While I have said before that denomination means less to people than ever before, there is a time that it has great value.
As the new church starts, it is important to have credibility that you are providing a safe place. The denominitional tag gives that assurance. Over time, the church builds credibility on its own merits - and the denominational “brand” can be reconsidered. This is usually a 5- 7 year process. In some cases, you may decide to keep it - or you may find that it is a hindrance. Either way, you need to really take time in making that decision. Start by asking those people who are joining your church about the issue- they will give you great insights.
Avoiding Burnout
Posted on May 14, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Elizabeth Gilbert gives a very insightful commentary on the “dangers” of feeling personally responsible for the creative process. For pastors, writers, and others in the church who must create on a schedule, these thoughts are highly valuable. Although she is not coming from a Christian perspective - the concepts of “genius” and job are well suited for anyone who feels the responsibility to communicate what the Holy Spirit inspires.
Design Thinking in the Church
Posted on April 30, 2009
Filed Under Design Thinking, change, future, leadership | Leave a Comment
If you are a student of “innovation” you’re probably familiar with the term Design Thinking. If you’re not familiar with the term here’s a link that can give you broad overview.
The actual process of design thinking is often attributed to IDEO, a product design company located in California. To make the story short, IDEO was doing a lot of business in designing products they were getting a lot of attention (the mouse for the first Mac computer among others). Nightline the news program did a very cool story on them and the unique process by which they designed their products. Many people we interested, and looked for ways to adapt IDEO’s product design process to tackling other non-design problems.
Over time, Tom Kelley and IDEO began to refer to it as Design Thinking instead of simply “design”. They realized that it has more to do with the way that you think about the problem and its solution than about the actual product. They also began to consult with many different companies on how to integrate this thought process into the common challenge of being innovative.
There are several books worth reading on the topic including The Art of Innovation, Ten Faces of Innovation, The Rise of the Creative Class, and A Whole New Mind.
In general the concept is that our society has moved to very left brain thinking. Left brain thinking is characterized by analysis, logical, and linear thought processes. Right brain thinking is more creative, adaptable, and innovative. The goal is to use both the right and left brain thinking abilities.
For the church, this makes great sense. For hundreds of years the message of the gospel and the story of Christianity was represented through art, creativity and the narrative. It is a recent trend that we have focused so much on the logical and scientific aspects of the faith. In denying our creativity we have denied a large part of who God created us to be. At the same time - simply being creative, without understanding the rational and logical truths of the faith- is also denying a large part of who we are. It is when those two parts are brought together that we can most resemble the functioning body of Christ.
Over the next few posts I’ll be going into more detail about Design Thinking as a process and how it can benefit the church. It is one of the core processes that we use at 218Consulting when we help churches overcome the obstacles they face.
Strengths Based Leadership
Posted on April 27, 2009
Filed Under leadership | Leave a Comment
Here is the answer to the question we should have asked in the beginning. The newest book in the “StrengthsFinder” genre gives the “How do I lead with this?” answer to all the information that the other books have provided.
I was an early adopter of the StrenghtsFinder concept and have worked hard with my clients over the years to apply the information to the reality of everyday work. For a while it was a challenge just getting them to buy into the Strengths Based model. Now, they just want to know how to really benefit from it.
Strengths Based Leadership gives you (the Leader) the tools you need to see how to develop effective teams to move your church forward. The insight is in the grouping of the various strengths and how they relate to one another. It gives a great, clear and applicable approach to making the most of the Strengths knowledge base.
On the downside, you still have to purchase a book with a code to access this new info. On the upside, if you took the StrengthsFinders 2.0 recently - you can skip taking the test and just enter the code.
Changing the Church
Posted on April 17, 2009
Filed Under change, leadership | Leave a Comment
I will never understand why people don’t understand why it’s hard to change a church. Think about it. The church has been in in existence for 1500 years. During that time it has changed very little. In some cases the changes are so minor that they shouldn’t really count as change. They would more appropriately be called a “tweak”.
Our current society values rapid change. Look how quickly your iPod becomes out of date. While the church is made up of visible people, it is driven by principles and dynamics that are invisible. The truth is that most people who are in leadership positions in the church choose that role because it fulfills their personal issues. Psychological studies of those who answered a call to Ministry show that many of those men and women come from a place of brokenness and/or insecurity. Within the walls of the church they find a place where they are loved and accepted and secure. Asking these men and women to risk all of that to bring change to their local church is more than many of them are able to do…
The irony is that the same deep-seated issues are often what drives them to be successful leaders and pastors in our churches. If you’ve ever spent time working in the church you have seen what I’m talking about. On the other hand, if you’ve ever spent time working in a church - you may be one of the broken ones and not be aware of the same deep issues within you.
There are somethings in the church that should never change such as the basic teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, the methods in which we teach that message need to constantly change. I imagine everyone would agree that we do a better job teaching in our education system now than we did 50 years ago. It is foolish to think that the methods of teaching should always stay the same.
The church itself expects people’s actions to change quickly once they embrace the teachings of the church. But at the same time the church itself refuses to change its actions. Either you believe in change or you don’t.
Change can come to the church. The challenge is finding healthy leaders who are willing to take a stand, and make the needed changes (and get good counseling!)
Post Christian America
Posted on April 9, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
In a recent article in Newsweek it is reported that the percentage self identified Christians has dropped by 10 points in the last 20 years. Throughout this article the implication is given that the Christian influence in United States is headed towards and end. The article is entitled The End of Christian America.
I don’t want to get into the semantics of whether or not this was ever a Christian country, but it doesn’t take much research to see that this nation was founded on Christian principles. The core of our laws are based in the Scriptures. That issue is not one of personal interpretation that rather historical fact. That being said I’m not sure how you can view our country as becoming “unchristian”. What may be changing is the general assumption that our laws and morals line up with general “Christian” thinking. The evidence is there that the influence that the church is having on this country is greatly declining. Many others have written on whether this is a good thing or bad thing whether faith and politics can or should really mix.
The part of the article that I take issues with is the implication that this decline in numbers is actually a bad thing. What I believe the numbers represent is the fact that people are beginning to understand that there is a difference between being a follower of Christ and calling yourself a Christian. In our “Christian” nation, everyone easily identify themselves as a part of that faith. It really did not matter whether or not you attended church or follow the teachings of Christ, your status as a Christian was based on the fact that you live in a Christian nation. this diluted the meaning of the title “Christian. With all the attention that has been given to other religions and how those people live out their religious lives, it seems that those who call themselves Christians have had to take a hard look at whether or not they follow the teachings of Jesus.
This article is an indication that people are beginning to recognize that there is a intentional choice that must be made to be a Christian. It is not something you’re born into, it is not part of being an American, it is not simply a regional title. I believe the future the church will actually be stronger as fewer and fewer people claim the title “Christian” without understanding the relationship that exists between the title and the life.
