8 Practices Churches Can Learn From The Most Innovative Companies In The World
February 22, 2012 
1 Comment
In the March edition of Fast Company magazine, the world’s 50 most innovative companies are profiled. Editor Robert Safian has identified eight central behaviors that can be identified as common threads running between these organizations.
Pastors and church leaders, read the list below and see what you can begin to implement into your leadership today:
- Growth should be a tactic, not a strategy. As Howard Schultz of Starbucks says, “Profit as a singular goal is a fairly shallow aspiration, and it’s not enduring.”
- Big companies (churches) need to be as nimble as start-ups. Fast growing churches are largely staff led. The ability to make quick decisions and implement them allows already successful churches to continue to advance.
- Tech is disruptive in unexpected places. How are you using technology to advance ministry?
- Design is a competitive advantage. We are a visual society. Does your facilities and services have the “wow factor”?
- Social media makes products and services better. There are four types of leaders in every church – Positional, Non-Positional, Financial, and Social Media. Social Media leaders have the ability to multiply vision to an audience you are currently not reaching.
- Data is power. Understanding the right numbers in your church will make you a more effective leader. One the greatest problems a leader faces is to properly identify the real problem. The solutions become obvious.
- Money is flowing. Do you have online giving, recurring giving, and kiosks in your lobby?
- Copycats are history. Do you foster and celebrate entrepreneurialism in your staff and volunteers?
What are you doing as a church to stay innovative and better connect people to the heart of God?
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C, D, and E resonate with me.
C: Churches need to invest wisely in technology. Sometimes open-source can get you what you need, but sometimes a substantial investment must be made. The key is to talk to other churches (!) and see what’s worked for them and what hasn’t. I have an article coming out next month in Technologies for Worship Magazine that talks about “Planning Beyond the Curve of the Cloud,” i.e. what can a church do in light of cloud-based services becoming de rigeur in our lives?
D: Another yet-to-be published TFWM article of mine asks the question, “Should your church join Pinterest?” Mars Hill already has, and they’re heavy on design as a church. What if every church hired a graphic designer, or at least made use of talented design students? Wouldn’t that only assist the church in being more accessible to a culture saturated in visual stimuli?
E: I work for a social media company, so I’m obviously biased, but I’d like to assume that most churches get that social media, if used wisely, can be an immense help, both to their church members as well as to their community.