Dave Bowman

How The Mighty Fall

Anyone who knows me very well knows that I’m a huge Jim Collins fan. His two classic leadership books, Good To Great and Built To Last, should be required reading for any leader in any kind of organization. So when I heard that he had a new book out, I was on board to read it ASAP, which I was able to do during my summer break.

My opinion of Collins hasn’t changed a bit after reading How The Mighty Fall. This should be required reading for every leader. It’s a brilliant, compact view of the five stages of decline that an organization goes through as it fails:

Stage 1: Hubris born of success
Stage 2: Undisciplined pursuit of more
Stage 3: Denial of risk and peril
Stage 4: Grasping for salvation
Stage 5: Capitulation to irrelevance or death

Whenever I read Jim Collins I’m always struck with his dedication to staying true to your core values and principles. Again, that’s probably my biggest take away from this new book. It’s the abandonment of core values because of pride, lack of discipline or some last ditch, desperate attempt at salvation that most often leads to failure.

At the end of the book Collins says, “Be willing to change tactics, but never give up your core purpose. Be willing to kill failed business ideas, even to shutter big operations you’ve been in for a long time, but never give up on the idea of building a great company. Be willing to evolve into an entirely different portfolio of activities, even to the point of zero overlap with what you do today, but never give up on the principles that define your culture. Be willing to embrace the inevitability of creative destruction, but never give up on the discipline to create your own future. Be willing to embrace loss, to endure pain, to temporarily lose freedoms, but never give up faith in the ability to prevail. Be willing to form alliances with former adversaries, to accept necessary compromise, but never—ever—give up your core values.”

Vacation Reading

Reading “church” books on vacation usually doesn’t happen for me. When I take time off it’s usually a time for me to decompress and get away from anything related to “church stuff.” But I needed something to read on the plane last week so I picked up a copy of Pop Goes The Church.

It didn’t really tell me anything new, but it did reinforce why we do the things we do at NHC. Here are some of my favorite thoughts…

• “Church people wrongly assume that those who don’t go to church are not spiritual.”

• “The multiplex is the modern market for ideas and values. It is shaping us, whether we like it or not.”

• “60% of Americans who do not attend churches get their theology from movies and music.”

• “Every church makes a choice in how to respond to the pop culture, and the choice it makes determines how much of an impact it will have on it community.”

• Possible responses: Condemn the culture. Separate from the culture. Embrace the culture. Ignore the culture. Leverage the culture.

• “I think much of what is available in the Christian market is cheesy and lacks authenticity.”

• “The reason people do not come to church is that they don’t think there is anything you are going to offer that will help them.”

• “Teaching on a topic that meets the needs of your people is not only biblical; it is following the example of Jesus.”

• There are three components for planning effective services that have the potential to impact lives: relevant topic…cultural theme…biblical truth.

• “We do not care whether what we do is original or not – we just care if it works.”

Like I said, I didn't walk away from the book with anything new. BUT...it did reaffirm what we are doing and just solidified my commitment to remaining culturally relevant in all we do. So, if you'd like a good primer on culturally relevant ministry or just need a good refresher course, I would recommend the book!

How To Get Energy Without Drinking Red Bull

Just finished another summer reading project - The Energy Bus.

Author Jon Gordon lists 10 rules that fuel your life, work and team with positive energy. Honestly, the book felt a little campy at times. It's written as a fable, much in the vein of a Ken Blanchard or Patrick Lencioni book, just not as well executed. However, the overall message is great. The 10 rules lead to a more positive, forward-thinking optimism that will be a boost to any leader or team.

The 10 rules are:

1.   You’re the Driver of the Bus.
2.   Desire, Vision and Focus move your bus in the
      right direction.
3.   Fuel your Ride with Positive Energy.
4.   Invite People on Your Bus and Share your Vision
      for the Road Ahead.
5.   Don’t Waste Your Energy on those who don’t get
      on your Bus.
6.   Post a Sign that says “No Energy Vampires               
      Allowed” on your Bus.
7.   Enthusiasm attracts more Passengers and            
      energizes them during the Ride.
8.   Love your Passengers.
9.   Drive with Purpose.
10. Have Fun and Enjoy the Ride.

It's worth a read. You can also check out the supporting website here.

Don't Want To Be Invisible

the dip, written by Seth Godin, continues to rock my world! I blogged about this little book last week, but it's influence continues in my life and thinking this week.

The quote that just keeps coming back to me over and over is: "Average feels safe, but it's not. It's invisible." In other words, when you settle for average in your personal performance...when an organization settles for average...or in my world, when a church settles for "good enough"...you become invisible. You just kind of fade into the scenery along with everyone else who is settling for average.

Increasingly in our culture the church is becoming "invisible." There are a number of reasons for that, but one of them certainly is a lack of excellence...an acceptance of average as our benchmark.

That's one of the reasons we've always pushed for excellence at NHC. We want our music, our kid's program, our student ministry, our facilities, our communication and teaching - everything we do - to be excellent. Why? First of all because everything we do is for the glory of God. He deserves our best. (For more on this idea, read the book of Malachi!) But second, so we won't become invisible! Excellence stands out. It gets the attention of our culture.

Seth goes on to say, "You're busy defending the mediocre work your organization does because it's the best you can do under the circumstances (it's not)." One thing I will not allow us to do at NHC is defend mediocre!! We're going to give our best for God, and to God or we just won't do it.

In Seth's words, "Be exceptional or quit. Average is for losers."

P. S.  Block Party this Saturday - Woohoo!! Bring the kids, bring your friends and especially bring your wall people. If you've been inviting someone to come on Sunday morning and they haven't accepted yet, this is a great bridge to getting them into a Sunday service. There'll be tons of fun - music, food, tailgating, and we'll be watching A Night At The Museum, a great family flick. Don't miss it!!

the dip

Just finished reading the dip by Seth Godin. It's a short book, but it packs a whallop in a few pages. Here's some highlights:

• Success is about being the best at something.
• In order to be the best at something you may have to quit something else - practice strategic quitting!
• The dip is the long slog between starting something and mastering it.
• If it doesn't cost you your life, it isn't a quest.
• Real success goes to those who obsess - Simplify!!
• Average feels safe but it isn't. It's invisible. It's the path of least resistance.
• When the pain gets so bad that you're ready to quit, you have nothing to lose. That's a very powerful position to be in.
• Don't defend the mediocre work of your organization because it's the best you can do under the circumstances. It isn't! Don't settle for being average.
• The problem with coping is it never leads to exceptional performance.
• Never quit something that has long-term potential because of the stress of the moment.
• We fail when we get distracted by tasks we don't have the guts to quit.
• If you've got as much as you've got, use it. Use it to become the best in the world, to change the game,to set the agenda for everyone else. If it's not going to put a dent in the world, quit. Right now.
• Go ahead, make something happen. We're waiting!