Open or Closed

Talking about this subject reminds me of Ecclesiastes. But it is true, there is a time to be open and a time to be closed. What do I mean by that?

One of the greatest lessons in innovation is this: knowing when to be open to new ideas and knowing when to stop soft thinking and drive the idea into reality.

This is a very hard lesson. So many times we cannot distinguish between the creative time (soft thinking) and the implementation time (hard thinking). This means that we are either always in development or we never bother to brainstorm and rush right into roll out. Both leave our project missing so much of the innovation that it could have had.

Why does this happen?
1. We do not clearly set perameters and expectations when we start a project.
2. We are not confident in our innovation and leave it open for constant revision
3. We don't value input from others so we move straight into implementing our idea
4. We are behind schedule and cannot afford to build in the time to innovate

Do these sound familiar? They should. I can't think of a ministry that doesn't struggle with this. And if that weren't hard enough let me through in another twist. Sometimes after you have done your brainstorming, come up with a plan and are in rollout, you have to open up your mind again because something has changed.

So how do you decide when to open your mind to new possibilities and when to close it and get the job done?
1. Create an environment where innovation is celebrated and decisions are honored.
2. Always be willing to entertain new ideas but keep them insulated from items already being rolled out unless they are game changers.
3. Manage expectations daily so that people know what is open for innovation and what must be closed for implementation.
4. Even while you are rolling out today's idea, be promoting and developing people's ideas for tomorrow

As you can see, it isn't black and white. Things are in constant states of opening up for innovation or closing down for implementation. But your ability to facilitate those processes will determine your success.

You will know them by their tweets . . .

Part II of "What do green, twitter and innovation have in common?"

As we continue to explore how information is validated and affirmed in this brave new world, I stumbled across a powerful example as I was following www.twitter.com/persiankiwi. This person consistently shared the reality on the ground in a powerful and honest way. You felt their pain as they saw fellow countrymen beaten, their fear as they had to move locations to avoid detection, their anger as they shared about perceived injustice, and their joy as they imagined what might be. As I followed along with their feed, I saw that these people were for real. I wasn't the only one. On Tuesday of last week they had 8,000 followers and now they have over 30,000!

But then something strange happened, the Iranian secret police started infiltrating twitter and other social media sites to spread disinformation and catch this new generation of journalists. As this began to happen, @persiankiwi shared the following stream of tweets:

ok - tonight twitter is full of gov usernames. all users IGNORE all post
except from reliable sources - #Iranelection

IMPORTANT to all tweeters in iran - follow my next message carefuully -
#Iranelectionabout 2 hours ago
from mobile
web

do NOT follow any instructions on twitter except from the trusted sources -
cont...... #Iranelectionabout 1 hour ago
from mobile
web

ignore all instructions from new twitters or twitters with no history of
accurate posts - cont.... #Iranelectionsabout 1 hour ago
from mobile
web

i cannot name the reliable sources because we are now the main attention of
censors - but .. cont.... #Iranelection20 minutes ago from mobile
web

you will know them by looking at their past tweets -
cont.... - #Iranelection6 minutes ago from mobile
web

When I read this, I couldn't help but think about the profound statement that these simple little phrases had made. What they were saying was simple - look at what the person has said over time and if there is truth there follow them.

In other words, find those authentic voices around you and stick close to them. But what makes a voice authentic? What makes it true? Websters Dictionary defined authenticity as:
–conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features
–made or done the same way as an original

In our lives as Christians, authenticity means "conforming to" Jesus Christ in every aspect of our lives and representing that to others. Just like the Iranian twitterer who challenged us to look for those voices who were speaking truth about the situation in Tehran, we are challenged to be voices that represent Jesus.

In Acts 6:3 the disciples realized that they were not taking care of the needs of the believers adequately. So, in order for them to focus on preaching, they looked around for some authentic Jesus followers to take up this task. The result was the choosing of Stephen and his preparation for the ultimate sacrifice.

The apostles knew that only an authentic voice could carry out the mercy ministries in a loving and compassionate way. They looked for someone who was conformed to Jesus to "be Jesus" to others.

What a challenge. This isn't a challenge to do nice things or to look smart. This is a challenge to be the truth of the Gospel in our relationships with others. Just like Jesus represented God's love incarnate, He has now commissioned us to represent His love through our lives (although we are far from perfect as He is).

I love John 17:22-23 where Jesus prays, "I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

As I have been processing these ideas, I went to lunch with a new friend and a wonderful generous mind - Eric Foley. We talked about this idea of truth through relationship and how we can be Jesus to others and bring His truth to others in powerful ways. Eric definitely brought truth to me that day over an amazing lunch of asian cuisine.

So what does this have to do with innovation - besides the reference to twitter? Well, plenty. What is innovation? It is bringing a new idea - a new reality - into the world. If you are not an authentic voice with a long history of truth-telling in your life, then no one will be interested in your ideas. Only authentic voices have the opportunity to help bring innovations into this world.

What is your track record like? If your life was posted on twitter, would your tweets show a life that represents Jesus? What would people say about that long stream of thoughts, feelings and actions? Would they say, "Wow, I want to know that Jesus!" or would they say "What is this person all about - I don't get it?"

An authentic trail leads to many new opportunities . . . an innovator's dream. But a trail of lies, double-talk and selfishness leads to more of the same - a focus on self and little chance to bring new ideas into the world or impact the world in any useful way.

So are you an authentic voice?

What do green, twitter and innovation have in common?

The world is a-twitter about http://www.twitter.com/. And as with any hype, this is all we are hearing about. Twitter has eclipsed facebook as the tool of the moment. But we know that in 6 months there will be another tool that is getting all the attention.

But this week there is a convergence that represents a new innovation that has great potential for ministry. As many of you have been following along with the turmoil in Iran, you have undoubtedly heard about the opposition's use of twitter, facebook and other tools. In a wired world, this is one of the most dramatic examples to date of a people using social media to take their cause to the world.

I followed along captivated to www.twitter.com/persiankiwi (one of the more reliable feeds) as they shared about speeches, beatings, moving to new hideouts and finding new cracks in the blanket Iranian police were trying to put over the Internet. I also watched as they went from 8000 followers on Tuesday to almost 30,000 on Saturday.

As @persiankiwi along with many others began sharing what was going on people started to put #iranelections at the end or beginning of their twitter or facebook posts. This tag allowed all the feeds that included it to be searched and streamed together. You can go to: http://search.twitter.com/search?lang=en&q=iranelections to see the constantly growing list of messages with this phrase.

What this did was unite thousands of people - some in Iran getting out messages and others in various parts of the world sharing those messages or responding with their encouragment.

This feature has become a key part of mobilizing people around events and ideas. So I gave it a try early this week. On Tuesday morning I started using #iranprayers and encouraging others to do the same. You can now go to http://search.twitter.com/search?q=iranprayers and see over 6 pages of messages with that tag.

One of the innovations in technologies like twitter is the ability to have countless people anywhere in the world engage in one discussion. This is a powerful tool for ministry. Where before we tried to beam messages about missions to people we had to push them out and hope that someone listened. Now we can launch a message and then watch as the world jumps in. For instance, you can connect with countless people talking about missions by searching http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23missions.

Now think about your cause - whatever it is. How could you harness the power of these tools to begin a global conversation about your cause and to raise awareness just as people are doing about the protests in Iran? How could you build your tribe of people with a passion for your cause using tools like this?

Give it a try and let us know how it goes.

Reimagining Reality

In my last post, I threw out the Innovation Challenge: What did the top 10 most creative people (according to Fast Company) do to change their industries.

Here is the answer: Reimagine Reality.

Dan Elliott, from Tyndale House Publishers, is our winner with this answer, "each of these innovative leaders did something unexpected, combining multiple disciplines to create a product that is remarkable, worth talking about."

This lesson is so critical for us as innovators. An innovative leader has to do two things to change the rules and think in new ways:

1. Accurately Define Reality:
First an innovator has to define reality accurately. So many times we see people flounder because they do not correctly define reality. What does this mean? This means that we have to be brutally honest about the circumstances in which we find ourselves. If your church is shrinking each month, you have to look at the reasons. If your ministry project is stuck in the mud, you have to ask the tough questions. Only when we define reality accurately can we think creatively about solutions.

2. Reimagine Reality:
What each of the 10 people that I shared with you did was to clearly understand reality and then turn it on it's head. Whether they redesigned how we listen to music, rethought the infrastructure to power electric cars or reimagined comedy, each of them took that clear view of reality and then got creative with it.

Ministry Application
In ministry we are afraid to look at reality clearly because of the many challenges we face. And so, when we try to brainstorm and think creatively we are usually doing it from a faulty understanding of our surroundings. It is only when we take the time to really understand the forces at work and the dynamics of our situation that we can truly be innovative.

This means that you have to take time before the brainstorming sessions and they consultants to understand your world with it's blessings and it's challenges. Once you understand it and accept what God has given you to work with, then you are in a position to reimagine it.

The Innovation Challenge

Today's post has an assignment . . . with a prize! Many of you have joined me on a journey to imagine with missional innovation looks like. We have highlighted people, talked about new ministry/outreach and shared about the challenges and blessings of innovation.

So this group should be pretty qualified to do some analysis and synthesis about innovation. In our test, the subjects we will study are the top 10 creative people as selected by Fast Company Magazine. They actually named 100 top most creative people, but we are going to focus on what FC believes are the cream of the crop.

Here is our test: Can you look at this list, read each bio and see the common thing that each of them did which enabled them to change their industries? There are many things, but one stands out - at least to me :).

Here is the prize: I will send two copies of our book "Innovation in Mission" to the first person to submit the right answer as a comment to this blog posting. Why two? One for you and one for you to share with a fellow innovator that you are connected with.

Click on this link to visit the list of the 100 Most Creative People


Here is the top 10 list with links to the individuals:
Jonathan Ive: Apple Designer
"There's an applied style of being minimal and simple, and then there's real simplicity. This looks simple, because it really is."- Design According to Ive, Wired

Melinda Gates: Co-Founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
"We literally go down the chart of the greatest inequities and give where we can effect the greatest change."- Melinda Gates goes public , Source

Shai Agassi: CEO of Better Place

Reed Hastings: CEO of Netflix
"There is a revolution happening, and within two years I think that Wi-Fi and Netflix will be built into all the televisions." - On the possibility of Netflix being built into televisions, New York Times Blog Jan 2009

Rich Ross: President, Disney Channels Worldwide
“Kids on the street can tell you what my priorities are,” Mr. Ross said. “I’m a wild optimist. You see that thread through anything we do. There are hard times, and there are not-so-hard times, but at the end it is an O.K. world.”- Oh, Grow Up, Mr. Ross, NY Times

Sandy Bodecker: VP of global design, Nike
"Like Nike, I believe in the power of human potential to do amazing things whether it's on the playing field of life or sport."Fast Company interview, Fast Company

Tero Ojanpera: Executive VP at Nokia
"What was formerly known as the cell phone is democratizing innovation,"

Michelle Ganeless: President, Comedy Central
The goal is "to make sure our content is everywhere our viewers are. We want everything to be accessible, sortable, and sharable."

Jon Rubinstein: Executive chairman, Palm

James Schamus: CEO, Focus Features

A Crossroads of Crisis and Opportunity

As ministries, we have come to a crossroads of crisis and opportunity. The economy and the culture have changed the rules and we have the great privilege of asking God how He would have us respond. What we do at this crossroad will dictate our future and our very survival in many cases. Our instinct as conservative, low-risk organizations will be to pull back, cut our losses and hunker down.

I believe that it would be a mistake to fall into that frame of mind. I believe that the only ones that will survive this troubled time will be those that:
1. Know what they are best at
2. Are engaging their advocates/recipients in transformational ways
3. Have a vision for what the world will look like when we rebound from the crisis

If we can engage our advocates and recipients with what we are best at with a vision for our place in a world recovering from crisis, then we can use that momentum to create action plans.

As I have been processing this, I went to Fast Company’s “Fast 50”. This is an interactive list of the 50 most innovative companies. I studied the top 20 of these companies, here is what I learned:

• The most innovative organizations are, at their highest levels, defined by innovation in technology – whether they sell shoes (Zappos), megawatts of electricity (NextEra Energy) or computers (HP).
  
• The reality that products and services require mobility oriented around the consumer drive these companies. (i.e. Pure Digital Technologies’ Flip Camera)
  
• Social responsibility is evident throughout these organizations and it manifests itself in authentic ways based on what these organizations care about. (i.e. Gilead Sciences’ Access program to provide key drugs to poor countries)
  
• These companies have perfected the art of knowing the needs of their customer/audience and meeting it in creative, practical, stylish ways. (i.e. Ideo’s pursuit of a “human centered methodology”)
  
• At their core, the most innovative organizations have a “participatory DNA”. This means that they have created their organizations so that innovation will bubble up. Staff and customers will be a part of their process/products, and decisions are made dynamically and in a distributed way. (i.e. Team Obama, Google, Facebook, Cisco Systems and Hulu)

Challenging Implications for Ministries:

• Technology: In the early days missions were extremely technology driven as they used every tool to overcome huge obstacles. But we have given this distinctive up and now most of our core processes/services/products are not driven by innovative technology.
  
• Mobility: We have fared better with mobility. Because our work and the geopolitical situations are always changing we have become effective at making our solutions mobile. With more technology we could be even more mobile.
  
• Green (Social Responsibility): Because we have a Kingdom focus that has traditionally centered on Eternal things rather than bettering life in this world, we are very weak here. That in itself is not bad because we have set our sites on bringing people into God's Kingdom. However, in order to speak to the coming “green” generation we must put our Kingdom work into language understood by a generation of people that will be redefined by social/environmental responsibility.
  
• Consumer Focus: This item is the greatest single threat to the survival of many ministries. At the core of our Christian beliefs is that we should be God-centered and focused on a life of service and sacrifice. In an increasingly post-Christian / self-centered world, we will find ourselves increasingly at odds with what the marketing, fundraising, promotions experts tell us to do. We will be forced to make very difficult choices between transactional success and transformational focus. What I mean by this is that the realities of an overcrowded nonprofit marketplace will force us to either try and compete for consumers by appealing to their needs (whether we agree with them or not) or we will try to engage consumers and help to raise their sites beyond themselves and to the needs of others based on our beliefs and convictions.
  
• Participatory DNA: Currently many ministries do not have a participatory DNA as organizations. Because of hierarchical structures, low tolerance for ambiguity, and a “limited good” mentality internally, we are not able to give our staff, donors, partners or ministry recipients the ability to participate significantly in who we are and what we will become.

These are very quick commentaries on issues that have many facets, reasons and potential solutions. The purpose of this blog posting is not to lay them out in the greatest detail or to provide extensive ideas on how to fix them. My main purpose is to show some of the key factors that are helping secular organizations lead the way in innovation and then contrast them with the realities we face in Christian nonprofits. Our survival depends on us looking at reality and then asking God how He might allow us to make a difference.

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.

Effective Ministry in the Face of a Pandemic

Awhile ago, we tried something crazy. Mindy and I pulled together a missionary who lived through SARS in Asia, a psychologist, a missiologist and a doctor for a conversation. We call it a Generous Mind Conversation. What did we talk about? We talked about the dynamics of a pandemic and what ministry would look like in that situation.

Out of the conference call and each of their thoughts, we created one concise article that took all of their ideas and wove them together. The result was a dynamic presentation of how to prepare for a pandemic and then how to shine for Jesus during such a catastrophe.

As we face the Swine Flu and see what a pandemic might look like, it is a good time to ask yourself, "Am I prepared to reach out even in a pandemic?" After all, God has put us here to be a beckon of hope no matter what the situation around us. Will you have the courage to be innovative in a pandemic?

Read our article published by Momentum Magazine.

Shining Your Star

The analogy of a "shining star" or a "rising star" is very common in our success vocabulary. We hear it used in sports, business and education. Usually it refers to a person that is standing out or on the rise. Today I would like to apply the analogy to your innovation.

When we come up with an idea and begin to bring it into the world, we immediately run into one of the greatest tensions any innovator will ever face. Each day you are faced with the decision to either build/enhance/resource your innovation further or promote and market your idea. Usually you can't do both at the same time. So daily you make decisions about which is more important to your idea's success.

The strategic innovator knows when to focus on the details of the star and when to polish it. If you star is all polish and no mass, then you will disappoint people very quickly after their initial interest. If you have the best designed and smoothest running star in the galaxy but no polish, there won't be anyone to enjoy it.

Like anything else, we are looking for a wise balance. But first lets consider the folly of to much focus on either side.

No Polish:
I have sat with many presidents and ministry leaders who had an idea, saw a need and built something. They innovated in their area of ministry and there it sat. Sometimes that meant that there were 10,000 of them sitting in their warehouse. Other times it meant that a web site went unvisited. In many of these cases the product/service/outreach was strong. The philosophy was there and the back office support was there. But they had failed to think through how they would share it with the world and if the world even wanted it.

Too Much Polish:
I have also spent time with many innovators in ministry who have the best PowerPoint presentation, a great smile, powerful stories and examples, but no product . . . no service. When you push them, they are always in the process but there is nothing to back up what is on their heart. They go from meeting to meeting and from conference to conference selling their hopes and dreams.

In both cases the motivations are usually very good. What happens is that some innovators are introverts and others are extroverts. When God puts an idea on your heart and you hit the go button, you usually default to what comes naturally. That means that you approach your task with the skills you have.

If you love people and conferences, you take your idea on the road. If you love to tinker and work in silence then you start developing and you work till it is perfect. Both approaches if extreme will lead to failure.

The key is to know how you are wired and how you will want to spend each day and compensate. If you want to hit the road with your idea, you either have to plan it between idea development or have others helping you with the details. If you are in the back room tinkering all day, you need to force yourself to get out there or have people who come alongside you and help with this.

The innovators who learn to balance building and shining their stars are the ones positioned to impact lives. Are you one of them?

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.

Success Redefined

Whenever we think about innovation, our minds immediately turn to success. We imagine the moment when our idea sees the light of day and the world is changed - or at least something is changed. That is what drives innovation.

But how is success defined? In our individualistic culture, we define success very much as a person's perseverance against the odds to engage a problem and find a solution. In Malcom Gladwell's most recent book, Outliers, he helps dispel this idea of success and instead paints a picture that is much more real. He shows how opportunities, culture, tradition and community make success possible. This is a huge lesson for us as missional innovators.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

1. Key Opportunities Make a Difference: Gladwell shows how Bill Gates, hockey players born in January and Italian immigrants in a specific Pennsylvania town had opportunities and surroundings that made success possible. Think about your world. What are the key opportunities that God has given you specifically? How will God use those to advance His kingdom?

2. 10,000 Hours: Gladwell shows that anyone who has broken down the barriers and succeeded has practiced for at least 10,000 hours. Whether they were a programmer, a musician or an athlete, there is something that happens when a person spends enough time on a certain activity. That proficiency is key. What are you good at? Are you spending enough time working at it? Or are you getting caught up in TV or other distractions?

3. Culture: Gladwell talks about how your Southern states view honor, how some countries view power and how Asians farm can impact success. Do you understand the culture that you live in? Are you aware of other cultures and observant about how you interact? Your heritage plays into your reality and impacts success.

4. Genius: Gladwell dispels the notion that genius alone equals success. He shows how other factors play into whether a genius will be successful. How are you using the skills and intelligence that God has given you?

Now one of the major factors that Gladwell doesn't address in success is the will and actions of our God as He works through us to accomplish His will. That doesn't mean that each of the things that Gladwell talks about aren't true. But it does mean that there is another factor out there for us to consider. When we are broken and surrendered to Jesus, He can use us in ways that go beyond our culture, our intellect, our opportunity and our investment in our skills.

As I read this book, I realized how complicated success is and why so few people achieve it. I also rejoiced knowing that the success in God's eyes is very different. Success in His world is judged based on sacrifice, surrender, humility, faith, hope and love.

So read this book. It is a powerful tool to help you see how earthly success happens. And then be thankful that beyond these real world rules is a God who works through us to innovate and birth new ideas.

Please no corn or green beans!

I was reading a list of outreach opportunities at our church and there I saw it. Nestled into the announcement about the needs in our food bank was this curious little line "Please no corn or green beans."

If you have never been a part of a food bank or donated to one, you might say, "How ungrateful! It is food after all." You might think that those receiving this food only wanted the brand name items or the processed food.

But if you have ever seen a food bank, you can be sure the shelves have more than their share of core and green beans. Why is this?
1. These are canned items that don't go bad.
2. These are some of the cheapest canned items you can buy
3. These are natural choices because they can be used in many recipes.

I have to admit, when I have gone into the store to buy food for the food bank or if I am picking things out of my cupboard, there probably hasn't been a time where either corn or green beans weren't in the line-up.

Put yourselves in the shoes of those receiving this aid. In some of the families it's probably a running joke - "Did you bring home any corn today?"

I find it interesting that we fall into this rut when giving to those who need food. Whatever the reason, it is a reality. It is almost a ritual or a programmed activity. In our busy lives, we try to travel on auto pilot as much as possible. So we go into the memory and redo the actions of the last time and save that energy/decision making for an unexpected event.

The same is true in our ministry lives. The reason that innovation is so difficult is that we are on auto pilot much of the time. If we encounter a situation that we have faced in the past, the easiest way to navigate through it and move on is to do what we did before.

At HCJB Global, where I work as Director of Strategic Communication, one of my areas of service is writing direct mail letters. There is a rhythm and process that I have learned. I find so many times that I move into auto pilot when I write these letters. I go through the steps and form the paragraphs in a certain way and then move on. Sometimes, I fail to stop and ask, "What can I do this month that will engage our donors in a new and unique way?"

I'm sure that each of you can think of examples in your ministry life. Innovation cannot exist on auto pilot. It's not possible. Instead auto pilot will thrust you full-throttle forward without any thought to what direction you should be headed.

Many of us have been on auto pilot through the beginnings of this major recession. We try the things we have always done but they don't seem to work the same and we wonder why.

Here are some ideas to help you get off auto pilot and rethink your
corn and green beans:

1. Take the first regular task that you do tomorrow morning and ask yourself, "Why do we do it this way? Is it working? Is it meeting the need the way it used to? How could we do this task in a more strategic way given the realities/technologies/resources of today?"

2. Block out 15 minutes in your calendar every day to read a blog, article, book that challenges the way you are used to doing things. Force yourself to read something new and different.

3. Identify 10 of your donors, customers, constituents, parishioners and pull them together. Ask questions about how they are seeing a particular service or ministry and get another perspective.

4. Pray specifically that God will bring new ideas and other perspectives into your life.

5. Be curious . . . when you meet a person at a party, at church or any event ask them how they are dealing with a particular issue in their field of work.

Just as those who depend on food pantries around the world get sick of the same corn and green bean cans, you can get sick of the way things run on auto pilot. But only you can turn that auto switch off and engage.

Political Will

A few weeks ago on 60 Minutes, the show did a rare interview with the Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke. It was a good interview with some helpful insights. But the most telling insight of all was this comment that is taken from MSNBC's reporting of the interview, "Asked about the biggest potential dangers now, Bernanke suggested a lack of "political will" to solve the financial crisis."

This word is very popular these days and so I thought it would be worth taking a look at it. The more I have worked in nonprofit leadership circles and on partnership efforts, I have realized that this issue of political will is crucial to success.

In a paper submitted to the 2008 Annual Meeting of the National Communication Association, political will is defined as follows:

"Our ideal-type definition of political will requires that a sufficient set of political actors with a common understanding of a particular problem on the public agenda genuinely intends to support a commonly perceived, potentially effective policy solution. This definition includes four different components, which we deem necessary conditions:

(1) A sufficient set of political actors

(2) With a common understanding of a particular problem on the public agenda

(3) Genuinely intends to support

(4) A commonly perceived, potentially effective policy solution."

Just as the government is struggling with a "lack of political will," I think that many partnership efforts among ministries are dealing with a similar challenge. This definition takes a very abstract concept and really helps us to look at our associations, partnerships and organizations and consider whether we have garnered the political will to make the changes necessary to innovate and survive in these challenging times. Lets take each one and apply it to the nonprofit arena:

(1) A sufficient set of political actors
These words imply that the right people are at the table in order to process the challenge ahead. It also implies that there are enough people at the table to affect change. When you face some of your great challenges in your settings, are the right people at the table? The right people will be those who are influencers, who have a significant stake in the problem and those who represent your internal constituencies.

(2) With a common understanding of a particular problem on the public agenda
Do those gathering to process and consider your challenge have a common and solid base of information on which to begin discussions? So many times these discussions are punctuated with a lack of basic understanding. But that is the fault of the convener of the meeting as well as the participant. Think about what you can do to bring people to the table with a common understanding of the problem you are wanting to solve.

(3) Genuinely intends to support
One of our greatest mistakes is that so many times we sit down at the table to work out a solution when a group present does not support the basic premise or issue at hand. Now we should not take this line of the definition to mean that we need a group of "yes-people" bobbing their heads in a meeting. The way I read this is that those who gather must all agree that the problem is real and that a solution is needed through this effort. If all parties agree to that, then the compromise and planning will take place to come up with a direction. But if there are groups of people who attend without any expectation of supporting the initiative, then political will cannot be achieved.

(4) A commonly perceived, potentially effective policy solution."
This is the toughest part. As I read this definition, for political will to be exerted there has to be an understood solution presented ahead of your deliberations which can bring understanding and general support to your discussions. This last piece involves a lot of homework by the sponsor or champion of the process. Before a group can be brought together to discuss options and build political will, the homework to define in broad strokes what the possible solutions are must take place. This seems backwards. So many times we bring people together with some basic facts and challenges and ask the group to design the solution. But what I have found every time is that a group does not have the time, knowledge or skills to define solutions in a meeting. This must be done ahead of time (with interaction with others) and presented for crafting, modifying and compromise. In this instance, the pre-meeting homework is critical. Unless you have defined the potential solutions and given your participants the chance to interact, they will not be ready to coalesce behind a solution.

Conclusion
So many times in our nonprofits we ask the wrong people to come to the table, without the key information that would inform their participation, unclear of their support for the general direction and withholding the potential solution that we are considering. This is a recipe for disaster in our innovation efforts.

So lets turn this around positively. What should we do when faced with a major initiative that requires significant political will within our organization or cooperative partnership?

1. We should get those with influence, decision making ability and representative authority at the table.

2. We should make sure that everyone at the table has the background and resources to be knowledgeable about the issue at hand.

3. We should do our footwork and make sure that everyone at the table has a vested interest in a solution and is genuine in their participation.

4. We should bring a proposal to those negotiations based on all the above so that the group can get to work on creating a viable way forward.

Inspiring Innovation Visually

There are many resources that inspire innovation. Each of us have tools that help us see the world differently and think in new/creative ways.

One cateogry of tools that I have found to be very helpful are visual ones. It is amazing the difference that it makes when you look at a problem from a different perspective. Sometimes if you have been reading articles about a specific issue and the you see a good chart, it can make it come clear.

As we strive to look at our world in innovative ways as we work in missions, there are several vrey good tools that are a big help in our Great Commission Work.

Here are a few:

World Mapper: This site creates maps that change the proportions to represent the statistic they are focused on. This means that a map of the world representing HIV/AIDS prevalence shows Africa as very large while Russia is shrunk significantly. These maps help you look at statistics in a new way and have the opportunity to provide new insights.

Dynamic Data: Justin Long from Strategicnetwork.org has taken the data about world religions between 1800 and projections through 2050 and created a dynamic graph that allows you to see the growth of religions, and compare specific ones to each other.

Globe Trotting: The Joshua Project team has taken their people group data and repurposed it into Google Earth. This lets you navigate the world using Google Earth and see where the people groups of the world live. It brings a very different perspective to the information.

Mission InfoBank: Global Mapping International is an organization that helps to take mission data and represent it visually. One example is this map of the Bible translation need around the world. When you look at the world in this way, it helps you understand the reality of ministry in these parts of the world. It will change your perspective on church planting, leadership training, evangelism, and on and on.

As you look at your specific efforts in innovation, consider how visual data can help you find breakthroughs.

What makes a place innovative?

Innovation isn't spread through pixy dust or mojo - oh how we wish it was. Wouldn't it be great if you could buy a can of innovation powder and spread it around your study or your office? Alas, innovation is a more complex brew that takes some dissecting.

Steve Knight is a member of our facebook innovation group and an amazing kingdom journalist/innovator. He shared with me a map that McKinsey created to show hot spots of innovation (more on that further down). And as I thought about this issue, I began to ask myself about the characteristics that make a place innovative.

Fast Company Magazine (one of my favorites) has what they call the Fast 50. These are the 50 most innovative companies. They just released the 2009 results and you will be fascinated. The five most innovative were: 1) Team Obama 2) Google 3) Hulu 4) Apple 5) Cisco Systems. They have identified those companies that are changing the rules and leading the pack. As I have watched this list, it seems to be based upon which companies are taking new ideas and turning them into strategic advantages within specific arenas. Google in search, Apple in music, Obama in fundraising/mobilization, etc.

McKinsey has created a map of the most innovative cities around the globe. They used two key criteria on their graph:

• momentum: average growth of US patents
• diversity: number of separate companies

This criteria for innovation focuses on the number of new ideas are created by companies. In essence they are saying that if you or your organization is creating new ideas and taking the time to own them, you are in a position to innovate.

They go on to break up the cities into these categories:

• hot springs: small fast growing hubs (Brisbane)
• dynamic oceans: large vibrant ecosystems (Taipei)
• silent lakes: older slower-growing hubs (Tel Aviv)
• shrinking pools: unable, so far, to expand beyond their start-up core (Indianapolis)

In another article, I found another interesting twist on innovation. Forbes shared that 7 of the top 10 innovative countries are in Europe. The article talked about how many times we view Europe as old and slow - the opposite of innovative. However, it talks about the key things that make Europe innovative. Many companies in these countries have long-standing innovation task forces. They have a high level of research and a value for quality. The article also talked about the number of patents in these countries that give their companies an innovative edge.

It really helps to see the companies, cities and countries that are innovative. It gives us ideas on how we as ministries and how we personally can create cultures of innovation. I encourage you to read some of the articles in this posting and study these examples. Look for things that you can incorporate.

But I also want to share some of the characteristics that they have not mentioned which I believe create an environment of innovation in ministry:

1. Trust: When trust is high, then organizations can move quickly, adopt new ideas and think strategically. When trust is low, the atmosphere is full of confusion, in-fighting and second guessing. A great book on this is "Speed of Trust"

2. Risk Tolerance: Every person and every organization has a tolerance for risk. Those organizations that know their risk tolerance and then allow ideas to develop with that level of risk as a guide can be innovative. If level of risk is an unknown, then organizations always find themselves with various opinions about whether an idea is worth pursuing but have no language to describe it.

3. Defined Standards: When a person or organization has defined standards for quality, missiology, strategy and so on, then innovation has a place to grow. When no standards exist, then ideas tend to fly out uncontrolled and can't get a foothold. But when there are parameters that help define direction and success then innovation has a place to develop.

4. Interdependence: When people find themselves in a place that fosters learning and collaboration, innovation will not be far behind. When it is ok to take time and learn new things and share them with others, then those ideas have a chance of finding practical purposes.

We could go on and on, but I will leave it with this question: Based on some of the input above, is your ministry environment innovative? If so . . . what have you created? If not . . . what are you going to do to begin creating a place where new ideas can thrive?

Processing New Ideas - Play it Forward and Philanthropic Investing

One of our facebook group members turned me on to a new service that I found very interesting. http://akoha.com/ is a online social reality game where you set up a list of things you want to do to for others, the planet, etc. It has combined the new trends in social justice with reality games in an interesting way.

This site is not Christian, but it does highlight a trend that we as Christians need to understand and leverage. In our post-christian culture, many people are looking for community and for purpose. A site like this provides both. They can connect with others while they fulfill social responsibility.

As we look for the new models in mission to recruit and fund our efforts, it is key to understand trends like this. People around us are looking for community and purpose. However, the tools they will use to find it are different than they used to be.

So the question becomes, how can we connect with people's desire for community and purpose in a way that energizes people for Great Commission work? That's where innovation comes in.

Another great site that leverages new trends is http://www.kiva.org/. This site allows an average investor to help fund part of a micro loan for someone around the world. Lets say that Rita in Peru wants to start a sewing business. You, sitting in your living room, can lend her 50 dollars and Kiva will work with the micro enterprise organization on the ground to get them the money and to repay you when the loan is up.

This site is combining the eBay approach to shopping with the angel capital efforts of so many. People are saying, "I want to use my money to benefit others but I want to do it through business."

How do you use that for mission purposes?

Here are some thoughts on how to take new ideas and trends and process them innovatively for your efforts:
1. When you see an innovative idea, ask what need it is meeting and who it is serving.
2. If an idea seems to have application to your efforts, define the application clearly and then list out the pieces of their idea that can be brought to bear on your project.
3. When the next huge fad hits, ask why people are jumping on board and list out the keys to its success.
4. Understand the DNA of your project. When you see another innovative idea, compare it to that DNA to see if there is a connection.
5. After you have done your comparison and analysis be willing to let the idea go if it is not a fit with your audience, your goals and your DNA.

Collaborative Innovation

We innovators are a mixed up lot. We hold two very different beliefs strongly:
1. We believe that the person in their garage can create something truly unique.
2. We believe that ideas are sharpened as we collaborate.

But as I have watched the debate around the Stimulus package for the US economy, I have seen these two beliefs hit head on. Each politician has cooked up what they think are the key elements. They throw them into the pot and try to make them better. But as happens many times, the ideas that get thrown in don't always come out better. Sometimes they just get convoluted and watered down.

So how do we bridge these two truths - because there is no doubt that they are both valid.

I think that it has mostly to do with how you go about your innovation. Here's what I mean. If you let an idea develop too long on it's own, collaboration is unlikely. Conversely, if you don't seed a concept into a group, they may not do anything productive.

Timing is critical. You have to give each member enough time to understand the challenge and process, but bring them together before the ideas are no longer pliable. What that suggests to me is that there is a window where ideas are developed enough to be good raw material but not so developed that people can't collaborate.

So what might it look like to define this window. You might ask some of the following questions:
1. What do people need to know/process in order to be valuable collaborators?
2. Do those I am engaging have long-standing opinions and ideas about the topic?
3. Is the idea too far along or the deadline too close to have authentic collaboration?
4. Is collaboration a benefit to this innovation or is the speed of a single innovator more valuable?

As you ask these things, look for that window between individual innovation and collaborative innovation. See what can happen when you are proactive about these two truths.

The List is Live!

Friends,

We have been on a journey to share 30 ways to be a generous mind in 30 days. The results of the effort are on our generous mind blog. Click here to read all 30!

We hope they bless you,

Jon and Mindy

Innovation in Short Term Missions

A lot has been written about Short Term Missions for sure. We have heard the good and the bad. Whatever your experience has been, the movement has impacted global missions in a significant way. Lately it has all seemed to be the same old . . . but a member of our facebook group connected me to a new innovation in short term missions.

The site is called www.onlinemissionstrip.com. Their tag line is "Sharing Christ through social media." Here is the amazing thing about this site. They are organizing a global mission trip where youth groups can sign up to do missions on facebook and other social media.

The experience is completely virtual but has all the components of a typical trip. You get training through January 31. Then the trip goes from February 1-14. After that the group is organizing online follow-up events to disciple new believers.

They are signing up youth groups who are going to take this on as a project. One youth pastor named Brad Cooper wrote:

"God didn’t allow the internet to be created so the whole world could be addicted to pornography…

He has much bigger plans….

Im hoping we wont miss the opportunity He’s giving us!

Innovative… I think so…"

Usually the Internet evangelism efforts have been spread out and ongoing. The innovative elements of this are:

1. They are giving it a beginning and end to build it as an event.

2. They are signing up youth groups to do online evangelism together

3. They are offering training and follow-up materials to help people engage those they reach.

4. They are using all of the new tools strategically. They have YouTube videos, twitter feeds, facebook apps, and on it goes. So many times we try to use old school tools in new environments.

One of the most innovative pieces is the accountability. As I mentioned above, because it is being done in youth groups, there will be local/live interaction about the ministry effort. Instead of being isolated by technology, this group is using it to give youth groups a plan and an strategy for their outreach.

Take a look, what can missions learn from an effort like this?