Good to Great

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Good to Great

• The Essence of

By Jim Collins
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Testing the Assumptions
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Assumptions

• That you have been praying regularly for this
  retreat time and all of its participants.
• That you have come prepared with an alert mind,
  and an open heart.
• That you have read carefully all of the chapters
  of Good To Great by Jim Collins.

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Assumptions

• That you understand that I have chosen this book
  because of its timeless, universal principles
  that can be applied to any organization.
• That we are more than an organization, we are the
  Body of Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit.
• That our product is Christian disciples.

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Assumptions

• That you want our Conference to be the best
  conference it can possibly be.
• That good is the enemy of great.
• That you want to be the best leader you can
  possibly be.
• That you are resolved to do whatever it takes to
  help God make this a Christ-like world, no matter
  how big or how hard the tasks.

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Assumptions

• That you want to contribute to producing visible,
  tangible results.
• That all of us will be polite but openly honest
  about our genuine feelings and thoughts.
• That the Common Table is better than separate
  groups working independently of one another as it
  relates to our work and ministry in advancing the
  cause of Christ.

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Assumptions

• That we understand this retreat will not get us
  to the finish line, but can definitely start (or
  accelerate) the Fly Wheel turning.

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LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP

• Our Biblical calling is Level 5 leadership John
  2021 Matthew 2026 28 Hebrews 121-2 I
  Corinthians 924

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Level 5 Leaders
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LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP

• Greatness is not a function of circumstance.
  Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of
  conscious choice. p. 11
• In your heart of hearts, are you satisfied with
  good or for the sake of Christ and His Church,
  are you determined to become a Level 5 leader?

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LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP

• Abraham Lincoln as an example p.22
• Speaking of Coleman Mockler His placid persona
  hid an inner intensity, a dedication to making
  anything he touched the best it could possibly be
  not just because of what he would get, but
  because he simply could not imagine doing it any
  other way. p.25

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LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP

• They never aspired to be put on a pedestal or
  become unreachable icons. They were seemingly
  ordinary people quietly producing extra-ordinary
  results. p. 28
• It is equally about ferocious resolve infected
  with an incurable need to produce results.
  Humble and fearlesswere incredibly ambitious.
  P.30

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LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP

• Can you evolve, or continue to evolve, into a
  Level 5 leader? Under the right circumstances
  self-reflection, conscious personal development,
  a mentor, a great teacher, a significant life
  experience, a Level 5 boss p.37
• What else would you add? What specifically needs
  to be on your list?

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The 2 Sides of Level 5 Leadership

• Professional Will
• Creates superb results, a clear catalyst in the
  transition from good to great.
• Demonstrates an unwavering resolve to do whatever
  must be done to produce the best long-term
  results, no matter how difficult.
• Sets the standard of building an enduring great
  company will settle for nothing less.
• Looks in the mirror, not out the window, to
  apportion responsibility for poor results, never
  blaming other people, external factors, or bad
  luck.

• Personal Humility
• Demonstrates a compelling modesty, shunning
  public adulation never boastful.
• Acts with quiet, calm determination relies
  principally on inspired standards, not inspiring
  charisma, to motivate.
• Channels ambition into the company, not the self
  sets up successors for even greater success in
  the next generation.
• Looks out the window, not in the mirror, to
  apportion credit for the success of the
  companyto other people, external factors, and
  good luck.

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First Who, Then What

• Biblical truth Matt. 7 15 21 Rev. 3 1516
  Luke 9 57-62
• If we get the right people on the bus, the right
  people in the right seats and the wrong people
  off the bus, p.41

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First Who, Then What

• if you have the wrong people, it doesnt matter
  whether you discover the right direction you
  still wont have a great company. Great vision
  without great people is irrelevant. P. 42

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First Who, Then What

• The right people dont need to be tightly managed
  or fired up. P.42

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First Who, Then What

• the who questions come before the what
  questions before vision, before strategy,
  before tactics, before organizational structure,
  before technology. P. 45

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First Who, Then What

• In a good to great transformation, people are not
  your most important asset. The right people are.
  P.51

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First Who, Then What

• To be rigorous means consistently applying
  exacting standards at all times and at all
  levels, especially upper management. P.52

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First Who, Then What

• The only way to deliver to the people who are
  achieving is to not burden them with the people
  who are not achieving. P.53

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First Who, Then What

• Alan Wurtzel of Circuit City in reply to the
  question, At what point do I compromise?
  Without hesitation said, You dont compromise.
  We find another way to get through until we find
  the right person. P. 55

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First Who, Then What

• Practical principles
• 1. When in doubt dont hire, keep looking.
• 2. When you know you need to make a people
  change, act.
• 3. Put your best people on your biggest
  opportunities, not on your biggest problems.

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First Who, Then What

• What does this principle say to us?
• How does this principle inform your work with
  certain ministries?

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First Who, Then What

• How do these statements inform the work of
  the BOM, the Cabinet, New Church Development,
  Treasurer, DCM, etc.?
• How does this principle inform nominations in the
  future?
• How might you tell if someone is the right person
  on the bus?

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Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet never lose faith)

• The Biblical Record Matt. 231-7, 24-33
  Parable of the Sheep and Goats, Matt.25 or
  Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10 John 4
  15-16 (Woman at the well) Matt. 18 8-9 (Hand
  and eye offend you) Matt. 21 28-31 I John 1
  6-10

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Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet never lose faith)

• You absolutely cannot make a series of good
  decisions without first confronting the brutal
  facts. P. 70

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Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet never lose faith)

• Fred Purdue of Pitney Bowes said, When you turn
  over rocks and look at all the squiggly things
  underneath, you can either put the rock down, or
  you can say, My job is to turn over rocks and
  look at the squiggly things, even if what you
  see can scare the (stuffens) out of you. P. 72

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Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet never lose faith)

• Yes, leadership is about vision. But leadership
  is equally about creating a climate where the
  truth is heard and the brutal facts confronted.
  Theres a huge difference between the opportunity
  to have your say and the opportunity to be
  heard. P.74

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Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet never lose faith)

• Creating a climate where truth is heard
• 1. Lead with questions, not answers.
• 2. Engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion.
• 3. Conduct autopsies, without blame.
• 4. Build red flag mechanisms.

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Remember The Stockdale Paradox

• AND at the same time confront the most brutal
  facts of your current reality, whatever they
  might be.

• Retain faith that you will prevail in the end,
  regardless of the difficulties.

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Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet never lose faith)

• There is a sense of exhilaration that comes in
  facing head-on the hard truths and saying, We
  will never give up. We will never capitulate.
  It might take a long time, but we will find a way
  to prevail. P.81

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Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet never lose faith)

• What are some of the brutal facts that we must
  face?
• Using The Stockdale Paradox phrase a statement
  about one of these brutal facts?
• What mills might we need to sell?
• What restaurants might we need to close?
• What corporate raiders need to be fought off?

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The Hedgehog Concept

• The Biblical foundation Matt. 2819-20, Matt.
  22 36-40 The Great Commission and The Great
  Commandment.

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The Hedgehog Concept

• Precisely, the Hedgehog concept is a simple,
  crystalline concept that flows from deep
  understanding about the intersection of the three
  circles. P.95

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What are your three circles?

• What are you the best in the world at?
• What drives your economic engine?
• What are you deeply passionate about?

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The Hedgehog Concept

• A Hedge Hog concept is not a goal to be the best,
  a strategy to be the best, an intention to be the
  best, a plan to be the best. It is an
  understanding of what you can be the best at. P.
  98

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The Hedgehog Concept

• The only way to remain great is to keep applying
  the fundamental principles that made you great.
  P.108

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The Hedgehog Concept

• We should only do those things that we can get
  passionate about. P.109

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The Hedgehog Concept

• The essence of the process is to get the right
  people engaged in vigorous dialogue and debate,
  in fused with the brutal facts and guided by
  questions formed by the three circles. P.114

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The Hedgehog Concept

• Know one big thing and stick to it. P. 119

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The Hedgehog Concept

• Which is more important the goal to be the best
  at something, or realistic understanding of what
  you can (and cannot) be the best at?

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The Hedgehog Concept

• Can each sub-unit and each person have a hedgehog
  concept?

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The Hedgehog Concept

• How is the Hedgehog Concept different for a
  church?

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The Hedgehog Concept

• What are we deeply passionate about? (love to
  do)
• What can we become the best in the world at?
  (genetic or God-given talent)
• What drives our economic engine?
• How are we going to finance what we are going to
  do?
• What is our single denominator?
• Cash flow per local church offerings.
• We create healthy churches, we create healthy
  cash flow.
• People and money flow to VISION!

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A Culture of Discipline

• The Biblical Call Matt. 713-14 Heb. 121-2
  Phil. 313-16 John 94

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A Culture of Discipline

• The purpose of bureaucracy is to compensate for
  incompetence and lack of discipline. P.121

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A Culture of Discipline

• Most companies build their bureaucratic rules to
  manage the small percentage of wrong people on
  the bus, which in turn drives away the right
  people on the bus, which then increases the
  percentage of wrong people on the bus, which
  increases the need for more bureaucracy to
  compensate for incompetence and lack of
  discipline, which then further drives the right
  people away, and so forth. P. 121
• Avoid bureaucracy and hierarchy and instead
  create a culture of discipline. P. 121

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A Culture of Discipline

• Set your objectives for the year, you record
  them in concrete. You can change your plans
  through the year, but you never change what you
  measure yourself against. P.122

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A Culture of Discipline

• You focus on what youve accomplished
  relative to exactly what you said you were going
  to accomplish no matter how tough the measure.
  P.122

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A Culture of Discipline

• The point is to first get self-disciplined
  people who engage in very rigorous thinking, who
  then take disciplined action within the framework
  of a consistent system designed around the
  Hedgehog Concept. P. 126

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A Culture of Discipline

• They displayed a remarkable discipline to unplug
  all sorts of extraneous junk. P.139

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A Culture of Discipline

• They displayed a remarkable discipline to unplug
  all sorts of extraneous junk. P.139

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A Culture of Discipline

• Should we have a stop doing list?
• What should be on the list?

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A Culture of Discipline

• If class distinctions are deeply divisive,
  then why do organizations persist in creating an
  executive class that separates itself from those
  who do the real work? If you ran the whole show,
  what would you remove to reduce class
  distinctions?

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THE FLYWHEEL AND THE DOOM LOOP

• The Biblical Truth Parable of the Mustard
  Seed (Matt. 1331) Parable of the Leaven (Matt.
  1333) - Matt. 1720 (faith as mustard seed)
  Jesus beginning with the disciples.

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THE FLYWHEEL AND THE DOOM LOOP

• Step by step, action by action, decision by
  decision, turn by turn of the flywheel that
  adds up to sustained and spectacular results.
  p.165

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THE FLYWHEEL AND THE DOOM LOOP

• There will be build up and break through. P.165

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THE FLYWHEEL AND THE DOOM LOOP

• Tremendous power exists in the fact of
  continued improvement and the delivery of
  results. Point to tangible accomplishments
  people see and feel the buildup of momentum, they
  will line up with enthusiasm. P.174

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The Doom Loop
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The Flywheel Effect
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Building Vision

• Do we know what is core and what is not?
• What is our vision?
• Do we have a good BHAG?
• What should be some of our base camps?