What doesn't fit in a Safety Deposit Box?

I have a confession to make. We have a safety deposit box . . . and we have never put a single thing in it. It's one of those things that has been a mental block for me. What do you put in a little box somewhere that is supposed to be secure?

I guess the reason it is such a challenge is that the things we value don't fit in it. The experiences that we have as we grow in our walk with God, the people that are generous with us and those we get to show generosity to. The ideas that we have as we live life on mission. All those things don't fit in that silly box.

I've noticed that many people who are focused on innovation do know what to put in that little box. They put their secret soup recipe or the outline for their next major book in the box and make sure to hide the key. Why do innovators do that? Well, part of it is that they have invested so much in an idea that they feel compelled to protect it.

They identify what they believe to be the key to that innovation and lock it up tight. But I would like to ask you innovators to reconsider whether what is in that small box is actually the key to your innovation. The key question to ask is, "How did God inspire you to create what is now stored in that little box?" I'm sure there were key people you interacted with, events you participated in, classes you attended, etc. Could your innovation have come about without those influences?

So next time you go to that small box and check on your ideas, remember where they really reside - in your relationships and experiences that God brings into your life!

Giving Your Innovation a Stress Test

So we have a new concept in our dictionary thanks to the recession and its challenges - "Stress Test." We have heard the government talking about giving the banks a stress test to see if they are able to recover and serve their customers. This phrase is part of a long line of phrases that enter our vocabulary through the media. Think about the concept of a "carbon footprint" as another example. We could go on and on.

Well, since we have this new phrase in our media stream, why don't we use it to talk about innovation in mission. What does stress testing have to do with innovation? I'm glad you asked.

When we come up with a new idea and prototype it, the environment we are testing in is very limited. It is limited by those who are testing it as well as the volume of people who are experiencing it. This means that your idea is going to be encountered first by people a lot like you and only a few of them.

But if your idea takes off, then it will run into people very different than you and in large numbers. Here is where we usually make our mistake. When we do our prototypes and tests, we assume that if we received positive results we should expect these when we launch our idea to the wider world. That is an assumption that can ruin a good innovation.

So I am recommending that we stress test our innovations to see if they will hold up to the success we are praying for. Here are a few thoughts on how to do that:

1. Test your idea with those in your circle, but then do another test with part of your audience that is very different than you are. For example, if you are creating a small group material for churches, test it with those in your church but then find a church that is very different from yours to do another test.

2. Do some role playing to consider how you would handle bandwidth. When you do your tests, figure how many hours you spent providing service for your idea. Now multiply that by several hundred or thousands (taking into account automated systems and familiarity) and imagine how you will support your innovation. If you can't imagine doing it, then you need to build in some automated systems or get some more people involved.

3. Consider how you will handle both praise and criticism for your idea. Can you effectively take advantage of endorsements and fans and build on them? Can you provide interaction and explanations for those who will complain?

4. Define how you will judge success with your innovation. How will your service, tool, resource transform lives and engage people with Jesus? Are there elements of your process, product, delivery that will keep you from reaching that ultimate goal?

I could write many more stress test items, but you get the idea. The better you do at vetting your idea before you go live, the more effective you will be in serving those who God has called you to. So as you develop your idea, make sure you stress test it!

Take 24 hours . . . create a movement

In Seth Godin's latest TED Talk, he challenges us about the way that leadership happens. Seth shares three phases of how leadership has manifested itself. First it came through factories and industrial efficiency. Then it came through television and mass media. Now he says that leadership is exhibited through ideas. And the groups that form around ideas are called Tribes (the name of his new book).

"That what we do for a living now, all of us, I think, is find something worth changing, and then assemble tribes that assemble tribes that spread the idea and spread the idea. And it becomes something far bigger than ourselves. It becomes a movement. So when Al Gore set out to change the world again, he didn't do it by himself. And he didn't do it by buying a lot of ads. He did it by creating a movement. Thousands of people around the country who could give his presentation for him. Because he can't be in 100 or 200 or 500 cities in each night." Seth Godin

This talk highlights a significant change from industrial power to media savvy and finally to the harnessing of information. It is so important for any missional innovator to understand this trending. This trending looks overwhelming but it is very good news for nonprofits. Why is that?

It is simple. In our nonprofit reality, we don't have huge factories that push out our services. We also don't have the money to take advantage of the mass media the way that the large companies do. But we do have ideas. We have ideas that can be honed, harnessed and delivered to those who will be passionate about them. We are probably more suited to create powerful ideas that move people's hearts than anyone else.

So this latest movement of leadership into the hands of those who formulate and present ideas gives us all some exciting opportunities. This means that you don't have to have the infrastructure to produce product or the money to fund advertising to make a difference.

So listen to Seth's talk above, and begin thinking more about your big idea. How will you lead out? How will you present your idea to the world and use it to change the world for the better? How will your innovation bring glory to the Kingdom? That's our task as mission innovators.

A Snowman on a Grassy Lawn

This weekend was a strange one is Southern Colorado. It is mid-April and we had a huge snow storm sweep through. However, it was that odd mix of warm weather and snow that produces a gigantic slushy the size of several counties.

We really enjoyed watching the snow fall and seemingly melt right into the layer of ice on the ground. After a while it started to accumulated. We got about 3-4 inches of the sloppy stuff. So when the snow stopped and the clouds began to clear, our family went out and made a snowman.

This was the most perfect snow for snowman making. Every role of that snow pulled up everything under it. In no time we had the four piece and began to assemble it.

Later that day as it got warmer, I looked out and saw something I had never seen before. Our snow man was standing on a lawn of green grass - like an ice sculpture at a party. That was a first for me and as I looked at it and thought about the hilarious contradiction, I had some thoughts about innovation.

The snow is a lot like ideas. There are times when the snow is falling and it seems like everyone has a winning idea. I have lived through a time like this in the late 90's. As those ideas fall and seem so plentiful, it is tempting to let they lie there knowing you can simply come back for one later.

But as many discovered during the dot com boom and then bust, most of those ideas and the opportunity to make them a reality did not stick around too long. The ideas that made it were ones that got built up, crafted and designed in the good years - like our snowman. The only reason he hadn't melted is because of the packed snow and the concentration of cold. The crafting helped him live on an entire day longer than the rest of the snow that had been laying on the ground.

Have you been paying attention to your ideas? Have you been crafting them and defining them when there is plenty of raw material around? Take the time to do so, because if you don't you will wake up and find your ideas have melted away.

Beyond Timing

One of our readers (Samuel) made a great comment and asked a very good question. He commented that sometimes innovation isn't a matter of timing as much as it is cycles. I believe what he was getting at is that sometimes innovations come for a time and then cycle out - maybe to come back again later.

As I have thought about this, I think that we should consider the cycles of innovation as well as the timing for it. It is possible that an innovation is developed, goes through a time of growth and usefullness and then disappears.

Is it bad if an idea has a lifespan? No, I don't think so. Since the world's situation and people's needs change, ideas are bound to die. But the exciting thing is that idea never really dies. In fact, it lies in wait for the next opportunity to be useful.

Mindy and I talk all the time about what it means to be generous with what you know. I think that this concept of cycles is a prime example. If you are generous with your ideas and share them, then they may provide innovation to generations in various cycles long after you are no longer around to instigate them.

So lets think not only of the timing of ideas but also about how those ideas cycle in and out of our lives.

Clutterless Innovation

We live in a world where one more of anything is too much!!

We are overloaded, overcommitted, saturated, innundated . . .

So what is an innovator to do in a world that is crying for people to stop creating new things that they will have to pay attention to?

Here are some thoughts on how to innovate in a full world:

1. Even though people's lives are full, they want solutions to very specific challenges that they feel are a need. If you can identify a true need out there and speak to those people about your solution it will not be seen as more clutter.

2. Gone are the days when one tool works for all. Instead of broadcasting your innovation out generically, you will see better results by finding a smaller niche market.

3. Tie your innovation to something people are already using. If your innovation helps make another established resource more valueable, people will be more willing to add it into their lives.

4. Tell personal stories of impact with your invention. People don't want marketing hype. They want to see that a new idea/product/vision can help them with their daily challenges.

Finally, don't assume that anyone cares. Don't take anyone who you excite for granted. Each person who adopts your innovation is a huge milestone and it takes this one-by-one approach to really grow a new idea.

Innovation is a Discussion

We just launched a facebook group about the book Innovation in Mission and it has reminded me of one important lesson. Innovation is understood and celebrated through discussion. As I talk with the people signing up on the group, I am finding that they have so many great ideas and creative solutions.

It is exciting to see how God is using people to innovate. The other side to the discussion is the discouragement. Many times people get stuck in a rut or have a challenge so big they can't get their hands around it. These situations need discussions as well.

I think one of the most vital elements of innovation has to be the discussions where we share our ideas and our challenges and get others involved in helping us to find solutions.