The Law of Subtraction

by: Matthew May

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The Problem: Excess Everything

Our organizations are more complicated and difficult to manage than ever. Our economy is more uncertain than ever. Our resources are scarcer than ever. There is endless choice and feature overkill in all but the best experiences. Everybody knows everything about us. The simple life is a thing of the past. Everywhere, there’s too much of the wrong stuff, and not enough of the right. The noise is deafening, the signal weak. Everything is too complicated and time-sucking.

Welcome to the age of excess everything.

Success in this new age looks different, and demands a new and singular skill: Subtraction.

Subtraction is defined simply as the art of removing anything excessive, confusing, wasteful, unnatural, hazardous, hard to use, or ugly—and the discipline to refrain from adding it in the first place.

The world’s most original innovators all know this: less is best. They know that by removing just the right things in just the right way, they can achieve the maximum effect through minimum means and deliver what everyone wants: a memorable and meaningful experience.

Subtraction is the scalpel of value—the method by which the simplest, most elegant solutions will be created, now and in the future. Subtraction is the creative skill needed to win in the age of excess everything, yet until now there was no simple, incisive guide for developing and deploying it.

Enter the “laws of subtraction,” six simple rules for winning in the age of excess everything, distilled from a six-year study of over 2000 ideas, and centering on a single yet powerful one:

When you remove just the right things in just the right way, something very good happens.

>>  Download The Laws of Subtraction here.

Tags: Leadership Engine, Matthew May, The Laws of Subtraction

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Facing Criticism as a Leader: 3 Responses

by: Mac Lake

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One of the things young leaders are often unprepared for is the amount of criticism they will face.  Their enthusiasm and optimism lead them to believe everyone will be just as excited and committed to their mission as they are.  Unfortunately it doesn’t take long until their idealism collides with criticism.  This can be a defining moment for a leaders character, confidence and ultimately their credibility.

There is nothing like a small dose of criticism to stir your emotions, disfigure your self-esteem and get you off track from pursuing the thing God has called you to do.  That’s why it’s essential we process and respond correctly when criticism comes our way.  There are basically three options we can choose from.

• Submissive leader – The submissive tends to be a people pleaser.  They have a mentality that “the customer is always right and I must please them to keep them.”  When faced with criticism they cower, wiggle and accommodate in order to keep everyone happy.  The submissive leader truly loves people but his love for people can cause him to put people’s preferences above what God’s called him to do. Some signs you might be a Submissive leader include: seeking unanimous agreement, shying away from conflict, suppress your feelings or opinion about a matter, and putting peace keeping above truth telling.  REMEMBER THIS- People pleasing creates a confusing culture where there’s no clarity or conviction around the mission.
• Aggressive leader –The aggressive leader tends to be very decisive and passionate.  They have a mentality that “I’m on a mission and my way is the right way.”  When faced with criticism they react without forethought, become defensive in order to prove they are right. The Aggressive leader truly loves the mission but his defensiveness can prevent him from hearing from wise counsel that God may be sending to bring greater depth to the mission.  Signs of an aggressive leader include:  they come out swinging when they’re opposed, push people out of the inner circle when they sense disagreement, failure to listen to others input, and they respond first and process later.  REMEMBER THIS – When you fight to win someone loses and ultimately the mission is the one that suffers.
• Assertive leader – The Assertive leader understands that criticism is a natural part of leadership.  They have disciplined themselves to process before responding so they can respond in way that honors God, others and the mission.  They possess a mentality that says, “People’s perception is their reality, so I can serve them and the mission better if I first listen, strive to understand and speak the truth in love.” Signs of an Assertive leader include:  Practice active listening, sees criticism as an opportunity, uses differing opinions to discover new insights, seeks to understand before seeking to be understood, stands boldly for what’s right while speaking the truth in love.  REMEMBER THIS – Assertive leadership requires spiritual maturity and patience and protects the integrity of the mission and the people who are carrying it out. 

What criticism are you facing?  In what way is it impacting your character?  Confidence?  Credibility?  What next steps do you need to take to process it correctly?

Tags: Leadership Development, Leadership Engine, Mac Lake

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Thriving Ministries Do Something Different Tomorrow than They Did Yesterday

by: Seth Godin

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Why is it so hard for organizations to understand what Tony Hsieh did with customer service at Zappo’s? Instead of measuring the call center on calls answered per minute, he insisted that the operators be trained and rewarded to take their time and actually be human, to connect and make a difference instead of merely processing the incoming.

People hear this, see the billion dollars in goodwill that was created, nod their heads and then go back to running an efficient call center. Why?

In the industrial era, the job of the chief operating officer revolved around two related functions:

• Decrease costs
• Increase productivity

The company knew what needed to be done, and operations was responsible for doing it. Cutting costs, increasing reliability of delivery, getting more done with less–From Taylor on, the job was pretty clear.

In the post-industrial age, when thriving organizations do something different tomorrow than they did yesterday, when the output is connection as much as stuff, the objectives are very different. In today’s environment, the related functions are:

• Increase alignment
• Decrease fear

Alignment to the mission, to the culture, to what we do around here–this is critical, because in changing times, we can’t rely on a static hierarchy to manage people. We have to lead them instead, we have to put decision making power as ‘low’ (not a good word, but it’s left over from the industrial model) in the organization as possible.

As the armed forces have discovered, it’s the enlisted man in the village that wins battles (and hearts and minds) now, not the general with his maps and charts. Giving your people the ability to make decisions and connections is impossible in a command and control environment.

And a decrease in fear, because this is the reason that we’re stuck, that we fail, that our best work is left unshipped. Your team might know what to do, might have an even better plan than the one on the table, but our innate fear of shipping shuts all of that down.

So we go to meetings and wait for someone else to take responsibility. We seek deniability before we seek impact. The four-letter word that every modern organization must fear is: hide.

Our fear of being wrong, of opening up, of creating the vulnerability that leads to connection–we embrace that fear when we go to work, in fact, that’s the main reason people take a job instead of going out on their own. The fear is someone else’s job.

Except now it’s not.

Read more from Seth here.

Tags: Alignment, Innovation, Leadership Engine, Seth Godin

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10 Differences Between Starting and Launching Ministry Initiatives

by: Rich Birch

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I’ve been involved in a lot of “new things” in my church leadership life over the years.  In fact, I’ve seem to have a track record of being on the front end of new projects all the time. New campuses, leadership development programs, outreach initiatives, digital engagement strategies, follow up systems … the list goes on!

When I approach something new I often try to think about whether this project needs be launched or simply started. Although I prefer to launch new things … sometimes just starting them is called for. Here is a list that I’ve used to help understand the nuanced difference between these two approaches. Knowing the difference between whether this ministry initiative needs to be started or launched makes a difference in the energy and focus you and your team will put into it.

Are you launching or starting a project right now? I’d love to hear about it!

Tags: Launching, Leadership Engine, Ministry Initiative, Rich Birch, Starting

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5 Questions to Help You Select Ministry Team Members

by: Thom Rainer

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Watching a leadership team come together can either be highly frustrating or highly energizing. Of course, all leaders prefer the latter. Leaders in companies, churches, and other organizations can witness their organization move to the next level if the right team comes together.

How then do you select those key persons for a leadership team? What questions do you need to direct at them? What questions do you need to ask yourself? Allow me to suggest five key questions.

1. Does the person have a strong character? Any doubt at this point should disqualify a person. His or her character is foundational to everything else. No matter how qualified a person may seem, if he or she has questionable character, problems will develop in short order.
2. Does the person have the competency and skills to do the work? This question is so obvious that it may seem silly to engage this issue. I, though, have admittedly brought people to different leadership teams without doing due diligence on their competency and skills for the job. Typically I like them personally and like their personalities. But hiring friends and fun people to do a job for which they are not qualified is a recipe for disaster.
3. Does the chemistry of the person match the team and the leadership? Many of you have undoubtedly served on teams with highly competent people. But sometimes that person acts like a self-serving jerk. Regardless of how competent and gifted he or she is, that type of toxic behavior can destroy a team.
4. Will the person align with the vision of the leadership? If you are on a leadership team and you disagree with the major direction of the leadership, get off the team. If you are a leader seeking to bring a person on the team, and you sense that he or she does not align with your vision, run from that choice immediately. A team with diverse visions is not a team at all.
5. Can you trust the person? Allow me to clarify the specific meaning of “trust” in this context. Ultimately the trust issue here is whether or not the person is looking after their own interests and preferences or the interests of the team, the leader, and the organization. If you have to wonder what the motivation is of a prospective team member, you really need to move on to the next choice.

What do you think of these five questions? What would you add? What would you change?

Read more from Thom here.

Tags: Leadership Engine, Staff, Staff Development, Thom Rainer

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The Science Behind Effective Ministry Leadership: 3 Tips to Help You Navigate the Crossroads of Results & Relationships

by: Judith Glaser

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Effective leaders shoulder a lot of responsibility. They are responsible to shareholders for financial results. They are responsible to clients for quality and service. And they are responsible to employees for guidance, support and recognition. Mangers are presented with a leadership crossroads when asked to balance external expectations with anticipated results. It can be stressful; even the best of us sometimes shift from coaching and supporting to anger, judgment and blaming.

But there’s a better way for leaders to deliver results and strengthen relationships than exerting tighter control, conveying disappointment, or taking over projects that have failed to meet targets. How?

Get closer to your team, engage it in problem solving, be transparent, and share your concerns.

The Science Behind Effective Leadership

Anger activates our fear networks and releases the hormone and neurotransmitter cortisol, which blocks access to areas of the brain that govern advanced thought processes like strategic thinking. Fear engages the amygdala, the primitive part of our brain responsible for memory and emotional reactions, which triggers a “fight or flight” response. A leader whose actions provoke fear in others may unwittingly shut down team members’ creative and strategic capacities.

Healthy relationships serve to release oxytocin, another hormone and neurotransmitter. Unlike cortisol, which closes neural pathways, oxytocin opens up the networks in our executive brain, or prefrontal cortex. Cortisol enables leaders to successfully manage the expectations, motivations and efforts of all stakeholders and to co-create optimal solutions. That allows teams to experiment with new ways of doing business—and to grow together.

So, the next time you find yourself having to decide between results at all costs or aligning your energies with others on the road to mutual success, consider these leadership tips:

• Manage disappointment by seeking to understand shortcomings without judgment and by enlisting your team in collaborative problem solving.
• Set goals and expectations with your team. Discover where they want to go and make sure they have an opportunity to weigh in on the plans and commitments they are going to be held responsible for. Make it safe for people to be honest—to freely share their thoughts, concerns and perspectives.
• Allow others to shine. Hang back, listen up, and let others jump in to take the lead. You might be pleasantly surprised!

Leaders that are guided by both their heads and their hearts—and the energy and aspirations of their team—are more likely to optimize outcomes, even in the face of tough challenges and underperformance. It’s not rocket science, it’s neuroscience.

Choose the constructive response the next time you find yourself at a leadership crossroad between results and relationships.

Tags: Judith Glaser, Leadership Engine, Results, Staff Leadership Roles

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Top Ten “Old School” Checklists for Church Leaders

by: Dan Reiland

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I still love to hold a book in my hands, mark it up and get it a little dog-eared. I like to hold a pen in my hand and write, that tactile experience helps my creative juices flow. And I’d rather talk to a person than book something online. That makes me a little “Old School” in some ways.

Sometimes the term Old School is used in a positive way, even endearing or desired. Like when something is considered vintage or classic. I own some really nice guitars, none are vintage but several are replicas of the old classics. That’s how strong the market is. Brand new guitars are made to look just like some of the cool guitars that came out in the 50’s and 60’s.

Sometimes the phrase Old School is used in a more derogatory way. As if to imply it is out of date, irrelevant or passé. For example, someone recently told me about a church that still ran a bus ministry commenting that it was “old school.” My reply was that if it’s working, I’m not so sure it’s old school, but maybe it is.

However you use the phrase, whether cool and endearing, or a little derogatory, I’m going to submit that there are a number of “Old School” leadership characteristics that are never out of date, irrelevant or lame. In fact, they are timeless and we’d all be wise to keep them fresh and alive in our lives.

Top Ten “Old School” Check-lists for leaders:

• Courteous

At no time is it appropriate for a leader to be rude. Misused power and authority is at least in poor taste and may at times be an indication of a leader’s character. Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit and a courteous nature is deeply interwoven within kindness. Courteous doesn’t mean lacking in strength or unable to make tough decisions. It reflects more an attitude of consideration for the disposition of other human beings. That is never Old School.

• Industrious 

Most of the leaders I know are hardworking people. They are committed to the mission and take their responsibilities seriously. They treat the meaning of their paycheck with honor rather than entitlement. I will admit, however, that I have met a growing number of pastors and ministry leaders who don’t possess a strong worth ethic. They actually work far less hours and still complain that they are overworked. I think the answer is in calling, passion and being in the right seat. I don’t think Old School means working hard and others don’t. I really believe it’s about finding your sweet spot – the place God calls you to be.

• Determined

I love a leader who is determined. I don’t mean a naïve leader who can’t see or face reality, but one who looks reality square in the eye and says “I won’t give up.” I think it takes that spirit to be successful in the local church. Kevin Myers, founding pastor of 12Stone® Church planted the church in 1987. For the first seven years the church struggled. He never gave up. Yes, he came close, we all do, but he stayed true and determined, and the results of that determination speak for themselves.

• Generous

Don’t you just love being around generous people? I don’t mean just about money, like your friends who will pick up the tab in a restaurant. I mean people who have a generous nature at their core, from their time, to kind words and encouragement, to investing in you and sometimes even financially. Those leaders truly breathe life into the people they lead.

• Courageous 

Risks are part of every leader’s life. If you won’t risk you can’t lead. The art is in knowing how far to risk. How far do you push a conversation? How much debt to you acquire? Do you hire the candidate or not? There is a risk to reward ratio for every decision. When you are pushing forward, it takes courage to make the tough call. The answer is not in a textbook. It’s all about prayer, experience and wise counsel. The lack of courage results in comfort and coasting and both are death to a healthy church.

• Disciplined

I either jog or ride a stationary bike every day. I’m not fast or impressive. My typical jog is three miles and I do about five miles on the bike. It’s slow and not pretty. But, I do it every day. Don’t underestimate the power of every day. Whether it’s prayer, exercise, or saying “I love you” to your spouse, “daily” is a life changer. This same idea is true for your leadership practices. Discipline matters.

• Loving

The foundation of New Testament spiritual leadership is love. Jesus made this abundantly clear. I John 4:8 &16 says God is love. I Corinthians 13:13 says that the greatest of these (faith, hope and love) is love. The Epistles are loaded with admonitions to love. It is interesting that this is the most widely known, and least written about characteristic of our leadership. It’s simple to understand but not easy to live. Personally I think this is the core of Christian leadership and if it’s “Old School” then we’d all be wise to get a little vintage in our leadership.

• Judicious 

There is a verse in the New Testament that has made me uncomfortable as a leader. I can’t deny its presence so I seek to understand it. It’s part of the parable of the shrewd manager. Luke 16:8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” We are called to be wise, prudent, thoughtful, and sometimes shrewd. Even when shrewd seems to have an edge to it. When it’s about the Kingdom, God calls us to be judicious.

• Humble

From Genesis chapter three to James chapter four, we know the lessons of pride. God is clear on the subject. Like cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in America today, pride is the number one killer of church leaders. Pride may not rob you of your physical life, but it can essentially rob you of God’s favor in your spiritual life. Humility is the exercise and good diet for the soul of a leader.

• Truthful 

From speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) to facing the truth of reality, leaders who are trustworthy are truthful. I find that most church leaders are honest people. Really, very few are liars. But many are prone to exaggerate. From stories in sermons to the attendance of the church, let’s all be careful out there to tell it the way it really is.

Perhaps you can think of some others, but for now, which one would you want to strengthen for the next thirty days? Maybe you could make one a month a leadership devotional bible study for yourself. I encourage you to jump in, take advantage of these thoughts, and even get a little Old School if needed.

This article is used by permission from Dr. Dan Reiland’s free monthly e-newsletter, “The Pastor’s Coach,” available at INJOY.com

Tags: Dan Reiland, Leadership Engine, Staff, Staff Development

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Less is More: Dealing with Sideways Energy in Your Ministry

by: Brad Lomenick

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I’ve posted about SIDEWAYS ENERGY before, but I wanted to bring this topic back up.

Are you busy but not intentional? Do you feel like you are just spinning your wheels and not getting any traction? Does there seem to be a lack of any kind of momentum in your organization? Could be you are dealing with way too much “sideways energy.” There is good energy and bad energy- and bad energy usually shows up as sideways… not because it is necessarily bad, but because it is usually a distraction.

We need to avoid sideways energy. It drives me crazy!

So what is Sideways Energy?

– Sideways energy is showing up to work but spending two hours talking about what you should have done an hour and a half ago.

– Sideways energy is gossiping about your boss or co-workers.

– Sideways energy is procrastinating.

– Sideways energy is the same meeting eight times in a row regarding the same idea that still has yet to be implemented.

– Sideways energy is having three sales to close and not calling them back because you are asked to help clean up the office for the Christmas party .

– Sideways energy is a staff handbook that collects dust but took hours to create.

– Sideways energy is an organizational system that takes 4 weeks to move a sale through the process because there is too much bureaucracy.

– Sideways energy is a meeting with no follow up, action plan, next steps or implementation that everyone knew would be a waste of time but no one was willing to say so.

– Sideways energy is cleaning your office or cube instead of finishing the project that was due yesterday.

– Paper shuffling is sideways energy.

– Dealing with the same problem multiple times is sideways energy.

– Too many cc’ed emails is sideways energy.

– Creating new policies for the company that everyone knows will never be implemented is sideways energy.

– Micromanaging is sideways energy. Lack of trust is sideways energy.

– Brown-nosing is sideways energy.

– Office politics is sideways energy.

And many times, the reason sideways energy becomes such a regular happening is because there is pressure coming from all sides within and around an organization- the very top, your boss, and those who you are leading. And the side seems to be the only place to find some relief and maybe focus on something, even if it is not the right thing to be focused on at the time. And growth can cause pressure that facilitates MORE sideways energy. Ultimately, this all leads to a lack of focus, which causes pressure because you choose not to deal with reality and instead want to focus on things that ultimately don’t matter.

How to combat sideways energy? 

• First, realize it exists and will paralyze an organization.
• Second, identity it and deal with it.
• Third, measure your productivity and create a system that will help you determine how much sideways energy you are creating, both for yourself as well as for your team.
• And finally, be clear on your goals and what the right kind of energy looks like for your team- if you model the right kind of energy, your team will follow in the same direction. Ultimately, use common sense.

Most of us can identify sideways energy in others, so being self aware and making sure we don’t allow ourselves to get caught up in sideways energy personally is really important.

Read more from Brad here.

Tags: Brad Lomenick, Leadership Engine, Less is More, Sideways energy, Staff

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Developing Leadership

by: Will Mancini

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Spiritual leaders are the carriers of God ’s DNA in the church, the shapers of a church ’s vision and core values. They are influencers of what the church embodies. The key to radical discipleship is the development of trainer – coaches that carry the DNA to the edges of the movement.

—   Michael Slaughter

The first of the five circles in the Integration Model is leadership. How will you use vision to recruit leaders, develop leaders, structure people, and divide your attention among the right leaders? Take leaders out of the equation and the visionary is a daydreamer.

The implications of these questions are so huge for leadership development, we want the Vision Room content to focus beyond the good leadership books, principles and “Maxwellisms” out there. All too often the topic of leadership development is disconnected from your church’s unique vision.

As a starting point with leadership development, I encourage pastors to consider three basic principles:

First, when it comes to hiring, get people who get the vision.

Are you doing everything you can up front to ensure the chemistry and culture fit with potential staff?

Second, let strategy determine structure.

Once you have the strategy articulated and pictured, you must go back and revise your organizational structure.  If you don’t strategy becomes impotent. Why? Because no leader wakes up with a specific responsibility (and accountability) connected to your church’s strategy component.

Third, lead leaders.

Every church I know has people who do ministry. Some of the better churches I know grow leaders. But the best churches actually lead leaders; that is, they have a leadership pipeline that is continually filling and developing people.  They have a leadership culture.

May God bless your leadership development efforts.

Tags: Integration Model, Leadership Engine, Staff, Structure, Will Mancini

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Why New Pastors Meet Resistance to Change, Part 2

by: Sam Rainer III

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In a previous post, I discussed why people in the church resist change. If you lead well, then resistance to change will eventually shift to an acceptance of the necessity of change. Even when people accept the idea of change, however, the actual implementation of the change effort can be painful. For example, most Americans agree something needs to change at the IRS. I doubt we’ll see any lawmaker defend the current state of the agency on cable news stations. Does this general acceptance mean enduring change will now happen quickly? I have my doubts.

New pastors often encounter a strong contingent within their congregations who accept the need for change, even the enduring cultural change I mentioned in the previous post. The size of this group depends upon the church, but they are inevitably there. As your tenure lengthens, this group should grow as more people begin to trust your discernment. Conversely, if this group is shrinking, then stop reading and start building better relationships. Leading change while your reputation diminishes is a suicide mission. Assuming you have done the legwork to get most people accepting the need for change, why might this change effort still meet resistance?

Most organizations are too complex for one person to lead a change effort. The median church size is approximately 75 people. Any organization of 75—church or not—is a complex system of relationships, opinions, maturity (or immaturity), and attitudes. Is it feasible that one person can lead a change effort at the IRS? No way. And it’s just as feasible that you alone are going to be the cause and effect at your church. Lone rangers are just that—they work alone. And you don’t wear a mask. Your church knows where you live. Enduring cultural change only happens if it is led (not just accepted) by a coalition of those with positional power, expertise, experience, and credibility. In short, if key members are not on board, then it’s unlikely your change effort lasts in the culture of the church.

Change efforts come with a cost. While we often refer to the cliché synergy of change efforts, the reality is many changes are zero-sum: You must sacrifice one area to gain in another area. For example, if you change a church to be more flexible, then it often leads to a decrease in efficiency. Flexibility adds options, and more options mean more decisions, which reduces efficiency. For instance, if you allow for multiple types of small groups in your church (i.e. open and closed), then you are more flexible. However, managing multiple types of small groups takes more time and is less efficient. Enduring cultural change occurs when a coalition of leaders agree on what is to be sacrificed in order to enact the change.

The pace of change is just as important as the change itself. Do you create a crisis to ramrod sudden change? If so, then you must be willing to intimidate and act forcibly. Do you allow for gradualism? Some changes can happen over time, but these changes may also slowly evolve in a way unintended. Let me give you a few examples to help answer these questions.

• Move quickly through change with doctrine and discipline issues. These issues have little middle ground. A person either believes in a specific doctrine or not. A person is either repentant or he is not. For example, you should not slowly remove a group leader if she outright denies a primary tenet of the church. Such change must happen quickly.
• Move through change in stages with structural, staff, and non-biblical issues. It’s unwise (if not sheer stupidity) to restructure the staff in your first month before you even have a grasp everyone’s job descriptions and callings. Learn the current system—and more importantly the people within the system—before radicalizing it.
• Move slowly through change if it’s your first church. You may be right about many things that need to change, but you are likely wrong about how to change them. If you don’t think you need leadership experience to change a church, then you need more experience. Don’t learn the hard way.

Lastly, change is not the most important role for church leaders. Don’t attempt change if you haven’t learned to love the people of the church and the community. If you haven’t had supper with a dozen members, you’re not ready to lead change. If you don’t know the name of the deacon chairman’s spouse, you’re not ready to lead change. If you can’t succinctly describe your group structure, you’re not ready to lead change. Pastors, you cannot lead a church forward unless you love your church where it is now, not where you hope it will be in the future. Change is important. But true change does not happen without love.

Read Part 1 here.

Read more from Sam here.

Tags: Change, Leadership Engine, Sam Rainer, Staff

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