Most managers with any management training know the concept of setting SMART goals for their organization.  Though apparently having unknown origins, the strategy of SMART goals has been widely written about and used to help make organizations better.

I work with lots of church plants and young ministry ventures.  I also have numerous occasions to speak with entrepreneurs in our church.  I love the enthusiasm and momentum an organization has early in its life.  I hope to always be a part of starting something.  As I’ve gotten older, however, I’m equally as concerned about sustainability.   The right energy and vision will create growth fast, but building an organization that lasts requires having a plan for maintaining viability.

Think about the goals you are setting for your organization and consider applying the SMART goals strategy to them.  You will most likely find your goals have a better chance of becoming reality.

SMART Goals

• S – Specific- Clearly define what, who and how the goals will be achieved.
• M – Measurable – You must have built in the ability to measure a win. What will it mean if you accomplish your goals?  An old saying goes, “You can’t manage what you cannot measure.”
• A – Attainable – I believe in and have big dreams.  Goals should stretch the organization.  Having unattainable goals, however, can kill momentum and eventually destroy an organization’s momentum.
• R – Reliable/Relevant- If you accomplish these goals will they be helping your organization reach its overall mission? Energy spent in achieving irrelevant goals wastes an organization’s resources.
• T – Timely – To be sustainable, goals need to have timeframe for completion.

What goals do you currently have for yourself or your organization?  After reading this, do you need to reevaluate some of those goals?

I went running in Philadelphia this past weekend.   I love the Fairmount Park System, because I can run for miles in new territory. This day I set out to explore a several mile loop around a portion of the park.  Shortly into my run I entered the park in front of a young college girl running at the same pace with me. (I’m assuming her identity based on her age and the college sweatshirt she was wearing.)  We had been running together for about a half-mile when she apparently became impatient with my pace and decided to run faster.  She gave me a look that seemed to speak “get out of my way old man” and quickly disappeared from my sight.  I continued my steady pace through the park and encountered her again a couple miles later.  She had looped around the park and was heading back, still continuing at her faster pace.  We smiled at one another as we passed.

Thankfully for my ego the story took a change in my favor.  After 3 or 4 miles I returned to the place we had originally met and what did I see?  My college “friend” was walking, out of breath, holding her stomach and in obvious pain.  She couldn’t finish the track.  Not that I would wish her ill will, but I couldn’t help myself from giving her a look that said, “I may be old, but I’m still running.”  (I also threw in a look that said, “Hope you get to feeling better.”)

In addition to boosting my adrenaline, it was a good reminder to me of a leadership principle.  There are certainly times an organization needs to sprint. Organizations need times of stretching to take leaps forward. Momentum is built with energy and excitement and every organization should continually have periods of sprinting.  Some decisions require immediate answers and there are times when we run at full pace to accomplish immediate goals.  Healthy organizations continue to grow and there will be times of fast growth, but the key to long-term, sustainable health of an organization is establishing systems and strategies that guarantee a consistent and reliable pace of growth.  The organization that continues to do well even in difficult days is the one that builds itself to survive the highs and the lows of time.

Companies such as Twitter and Facebook, for example, have grown at sprint pace.  Most likely they will not be able to continue at their current growth rate long term.  To be successful in the future and be companies that last they must find ways to convert their growth rate to a steadier pace.  The employees of those companies are most likely stretched at this point.  They are probably having fun sprinting right now, but their longevity and avoiding burnout will require they achieve healthy pace sometime in the near future.

This is true also for church plants, such as Grace Community Church, which has sprinted for our first three and half years.  I hope we sprint at this pace for our first 10 years, but it is more important that we continue to grow for many years to come.  (I pray we are still a healthy church when Jesus returns!)  One of my consuming thoughts lately, therefore, is how to transition from a fast-paced plant, to a steadily growing, viable church.  We may have years of 50% increases again in the future, and I hope we do, but the overriding goal should be that we continue to be a vibrant, growing church.   For that I can learn principles from the tortoise.

Consider these questions:

• Are you positioning your company, church or organization for long-term success?
• Have you seen cycles and seasons of fast-paced growth and steady growth?
• What is stretching your organization right now?  Are you healthy enough to maintain your health during the stretch?
• What suggestions do you have for our church at this point in our life?
• What companies or churches do you look to as examples of this principle, of positioning themselves for long-term growth and sustainability?

I was reminded of an important principle in life this morning:

Proverbs 29:1 says, “He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.”

I have observed this principle at work in so many different ways over my life.

• The girl who everyone says is dating the wrong guy, but she’s “in love” and won’t listen. (She often finds out others were right the hard way. )
• The difficult boss with a reputation for being a tyrant and wonders why he can’t keep employees.
• The pastor who has staff turn over like a revolving door, but blames the issue on everything except his leadership.
• The mother or father who can’t seem to get their kids to obey but refuse to see the value of consistent discipline for their children.
• The young person who ignores all practical suggestions in search of their dream, but after numerous set-backs wishes he or she had followed a parent’s advice.
• The one who reads and even tries every diet plan available, yet never consistently follows through on any of them.
• The person who doesn’t bother to save for the future or spends recklessly, but wonders why they can never get ahead financially.

Granted, we learn best by experience, and many of the mistakes above I have made and learned valuable life lessons from them. We also learn, however, by the wisdom of others and humbling ourselves enough to accept the correction or criticism others offer can often help us avoid costly mistakes. The verse ends with a warning of such, “will suddenly be broken beyond healing”. That part of the principle doesn’t ignore grace or the ability to recover, but it does point out that some mistakes can leave lasting consequences.

So consider this question:

If you keep hearing the same criticism over and over from various sources, could it be time to listen, before it is too late?

What examples have you seen, or lived personally, that illustrates this Biblical principle?

President Obama and I probably disagree on many issues, but one thing I like about him is one part of his leadership style.  He is not afraid to admit a mistake.  That will serve him well and keep his approval rating high, even among people who may disagree with his policies.

Vice-President Biden called the President’s CIA appointment a mistake. Read it HERE. The President admitted a mistake (Read it HERE ) with the Tom Daschle appointment. He did it again this week admitting that the plane photo opportunity in New York was a mistake. Read about it HERE.   I realize my conservative friends (who I mostly side with) will not like this statement, but speaking as someone who would be more likely to support the policies of a Bush Administration, I think President Bush could have used more of this trait during his term.  Had he been more willingly to accept responsibility I believe his credibility would have risen among the people.

One of the things that is most attractive about a leader, especially in today’s culture of mistrust, is an honest admittal of a mistake made.  Even when one doesn’t agree with that type leader’s decision, he or she is more likely to respect their leadership.

Leaders, how real are you in front of the people you hope will follow you?  Pastors, are you real with your people, or do you try to make them believe you are someone you are not?  Something tells me they know the truth.

One of the keys to a successful organization is also one of the riskiest things for a leader to do.  Leaders, if you want your organization to thrive, you have to be willing to give your vision away to those you lead.

Leaders talk a lot about the importance of sticking with a vision. We know we have to repeat a vision often. The vision is referred to for its value to an organization.  Without a vision, the people perish. Right?

I agree with all the truths about vision.  I am actually referring to another principle though that leaders sometimes overlook.  The best leaders allow others to own the vision besides them.  Actually they encourage it. They give their vision away.   The key is in surrounding yourself with people you trust enough to take your vision and implement it with their own personal touch.

When we planted our church I had a vision. It was actually a ten-year old vision.  It was a specific vision, but it was broad.   I felt God wanted to have a church that reached people where they were, not with rules to perform to for approval, but with unconditional love and grace.  I recruited a co-pastor who shared that vision.  I recruited a core team who could own that vision as their own.  My co-pastor and I recruited a worship leader who believed the vision.  Then step-by-step we began to give away our vision.

Taking the existing vision, which has never changed, we had core members who researched and shaped our children’s ministry.  Others started our greeting ministry.  Still other formed the structure of our preschool.  In this process they developed these ministries with their own individual perspectives and desires.  The ministries, while accomplishing the overall vision for the church, may or may not have looked like I would have personally planned them.  In the end, however, they were far better than I could have ever produced on my own.

Leaders often operate out of fear and hold too tightly to their vision, afraid others will ruin their “dream”, but this never allows people to develop, stifles growth, and doesn’t allow the body (or the organization) to perform at its best.  Ultimately it keeps the leader’s vision from achieving maximum potential.  My encouragement to these leaders would be to hire people you trust enough to own your vision and place their own personal touch on it.  Your organization will be the benefactor of this approach.

To whom do you need to give ownership of your vision in order that your organization may see its best growth?

I almost fired my wife one time.

Let me explain.  Years ago before ministry we owned a business together. The business had a substantial payroll for over 30 full-time employees.  As with many small businesses, we often struggled with cash flow.  She was the one managing finances and many weeks we were left wondering if we would have the funds to pay employees, not to mention keep the doors open. There were many sleepless nights for both of us and the stress was almost more than my wife and I could handle, but it was especially hard for her.  I learned that some people are just not suited for the stress that comes from being self-employed and it probably wasn’t a good fit for Cheryl from the start. To make matters worse, she had given up a good job as an accountant to pursue my dream when we bought the business.  Even though she never complained, it was obvious to me she was miserable.

This difficult period of time began to affect our relationship. Working together everyday, we couldn’t talk about our work when we got home and so our communication was hindered greatly.  Besides the personal strain though, as the one responsible for leading the business, I often hesitated asking her to do something at work or to assume a new role, because I knew the stress she was under already.  Frankly we both avoided discussing the stress of the business, even at work.  She jokingly accused me of running past her office.  She and I both became scarcer around the office and would readily admit we were not giving the job our normal work ethic.  (I wasn’t either most of the time and towards the end of our ownership I was the one who needed firing.  I wrote about the need to fire myself HERE.)

If we had not sold the business I was going to face a difficult decision regarding Cheryl staying with the company. Cheryl is extremely loyal to me and any organization she is involved with. She would not have left on her own.  I would have been forced to consider if it would be best for my wife and the company for her to leave. (Now please understand.  I am not stupid.  This would have been a joint decision. We were both owners of the company. ) Thankfully it never got to that point and we sold the business, but it does serve as an exaggerated example of one of the many often-difficult decisions leaders have to make.   If a situation occurred like this today I would handle it sooner and more definitively.

There are times when an employee is no longer a good fit for the position and sometimes for the organization.  At times like this a fine line exists between what is fair for the organization and what is fair for the employee.  The bottom line is that doing the best thing for the organization often involves making hard decisions. Leaders who succeed are not held back because of the level of difficulty.

Have you been putting off a difficult decision you need to make?

Grace Community Church had an amazing day Easter Sunday. I wrote about that day HERE. It’s important after a big day like Easter to recast the vision for the church. A lot of times people can get complacent with where they are after a successful day. It is wonderful to celebrate success, and we absolutely should do so, but there should never be a “day off” from completing the vision. There’s a difference in a period of rest and a time of chill. We had numerous first-time visitors the Sunday after Easter and they deserve just as much energy put into a day as first-time visitors receive any other day of the year.

With that being said, this past Sunday we recast our own vision to our people, reminding them of who we are and what God has called us to do as a church. You can watch that video here:
 

 

I have heard this organizational story many times.  Sadly it’s been true too many times with some of the organizations where I have worked (or led).  Often leaders give up trying to make the team concept work and take on the projects themselves, because of this scenario:

This is a story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.   Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it.   It ended that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

(From a poem by Charles Osgood)

Has that ever been the case in your organization?  Do you have a great team that can brainstorm ideas that sound great when you talk about them, but no progress is ever made completing them?  How can we be sure that projects get completed working in a team environment?  As our staff size has increased and with our team concept, I observed some things that are necessary in order to make a project successful.  Once the team reaches consensus on the project:

Define clearly what the project is and what will make it successful.This is a huge principle I am still learning, but a win is not defined equally.  Make sure people understand what is expected of them.

Make sure everyone understands who is responsible for each task.
You can have the best people in the world, but the project will fall through the cracks if no one takes responsibility.

Provide accountability and feedback and monitor progress.
It is important, for some people more than others, that you ask questions along the way to make sure progress is being made. Some people will get stuck and not ask for help and the project stalls.   Check in with the team or individual periodically.

Evaluate during and after the project and reassign responsibilities as necessary.
Sometimes a specific task is bigger than expected. Sometimes the assignment was not a good fit.  Sometimes people drop the ball.  If completing the project is important, don’t be afraid to shake up the team.

Learn from each project.
The more projects your team does together, the better they will get at completing them if you keep learning and implementing the needed changes for the next project.

What tips do you have to make sure a project is completed successfully?

There are signs of encouragement and life returning to the economy.  The unemployment rate is a factor that usually lags behind other indicators, so that’s still very discouraging, but there are hints of better days to come.  How should we react during the waiting times like this?  Let me offer a few suggestions:

• Now is time to dream.
• Now is the time to plan next steps.
• Now may be the time to start adding strategic staff.
• Now is certainly the time to be preparing for the economies return to strength.

As discouraged and stretched as your organization may have been in the last 12 months or so, the economy will recover and your organization needs to be prepared when it does. When people start spending money again they will want some new and exciting ideas to of where to spend it. They will be cautious and want value for their dollar, probably more than in recent years, but let’s not forget, most of our consumers will still be Americans, so they will want it NOW.

Will you be ready? What steps are you taking now to prepare for the recovery period?

(Also, this post sounds like it’s geared strictly for the business world, and I’m sometimes guilty of living in my past, but this principle works for churches and non-profits also.)

The Wall Street Journal and a non-profit workplace improvement company organized a contest to look for the best places to work in small organizations.  They received almost 800 applicants and they recently reported their top 15 winners.

The list of top small workplaces for 2008 is challenging and inspiring, even convicting at times.  Some of the practices of these companies address issues our organization is experiencing and that was reflected in the staff’s evaluation of my leadership.

I’m most interested in the examples in employee motivation, incentive rewards, review process and the sense of community among these companies.  Read through the list and see what most grabs your attention.

Here’s a tough question: Would your (my) organization even consider applying?  Could you win?