27 years ago, I was sitting in the balcony and I heard Bill talk and I was ruined. I was holy dissatisfied.
Our church is almost 22 years ago. We’ve been evaluating. If we had to do it all over again, what would we do all over again?
Often we don’t do an autopsy on our successes; we often just autopsy on our failures.
Lessons from the first 20 years on the Andy Stanley Podcast.
Why did our organization grow so fast? We’re not growing that fast any more. We had a uniquely better product.
Finding or creating a uniquely better product is difficult.
If you have the only hot dog stand in town, your hot dogs don’t have to be that good. We weren’t the best, but we had a uniquely better product.
Segway is not unique; it’s a one-of-a-kind thing.
You are doing something so unique in your category that it gets people’s attention.
By better, we mean it does what it is suppose to do better than the competition.
It can’t just be unique; it can be better; when it’s uniquely better, people show up.
We created an engaging church experience for the entire family, especially for men.
We are not unique any more. We are constantly trying to get better. We are no longer uniquely better.
Somebody in your industry is messing with the rules to the prevailing model. Every industry has a prevailing model. Every industry has shared assumptions. Shared assumptions get you into trouble. Every industry is stuck.
Discovering uniquely better is virtually impossible. Odds are you won’t discover uniquely better. Recognizing uniquely better is possible.
Uniquely better is often the byproduct of circumstances that successful organizations are trying to avoid.
Multisite church was an example. It began as a solution to a problem. Now it’s a church planting strategy.
Willow Creek was so unique that other churches couldn’t believe that it was better.
Our best hope, since we’re probably not going to manufacture the next big thing, is to create organizations that recognize rather than resist uniquely better.
You have to be a student, not a critic.
I remember when we started, there were pastors standing in the back of the auditorium with their arms crossed saying, “This can’t be of God. Look at all these people.”
I will never criticize something I do not understand. When I feel my emotions going that way, I’m just going to stop.
We need naturally resist things we don’t understand or we can’t control.
The moment you start criticizing, you stop learning. When you stop learning, you quit leading. When you quit leading, all the other leaders under you will go somewhere else.
“The next generation product and idea almost never comes from the previous generation. ” – Al Reis
Keep your eyes and mind wide open.
Listen to outsiders. Listen to outsiders. Listen to outsiders.
Listen to people who are not in our industry. Listen to people who don’t understand what we do.
Outsiders aren’t bound by our assumptions. “That won’t work because… (ASSUMPTION) …”
Close-minded leaders close minds.
The reason you’re looking for a new job or new house is because you work for a close-minded leader.
You will close the eyes and the minds of those around you.
If you do this, you’re next generation will leave and take their ideas with them. Your status quo leaders will stay and defend the status quo until its too late.
How do you respond to staff who make suggestions based on what they’ve seen at other organizations, especially when its a competitor?
When is the last time your organization embraced a big idea that wasn’t your idea?
When is the last time you weren’t sure about an initiative but gave the go ahead any way?
“We must pay attention to the frontiers of our ignorance.” – Sam Harris
Being the leader and leading are two different things.
Replace How? with Wow!
The moment someone says the “h” word all creative forces die.
If someone has an idea, how much does it cost you to say “wow.” You lose nothing by saying wow. You may lose the next generation idea by asking how.
Wow ideas to life, don’t how them to death. You can “how” an idea right out the door.
Nothing is in gained if you don’t know what your people are dreaming about.
Married women in the room: this how/wow idea, your husband comes home with a new idea. Somehow you think God has put you in our lives to “how” our ideas to death. Don’t worry. We almost never follow through with anything.
Parents: be careful with our kids. The world will put enough hows in front of them; they don’t need that. Let’s just be wow parents. Your greatest contribution to the world may not be something you do, but someone you raise.
Ask the uniquely better questions.
Is this unique?
What would make it unique?
Is it better?
Is it better…really?
Someone out there is working on it. Will we positioned to recognize it?