In a
recent blog, Matthew May tells the story of Clarence “Kelly” Johnson who was
given the job of creating the first United States jet plane in 180 days. When Germany’s first jet fighter planes
appeared in the skies over Europe in 1943, the U.S. War Department hired
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, Johnson’s company, to do the job. Lockheed’s chief engineer, Johnson ran the
company’s Lockheed’s innovative Advanced Development Programs for nearly 45
years, from its inception in 1943 to 1975. This division became known as the “skunk
works” and operated under its own rules.
The
blog post is based on May’s book, The Laws of Subtraction, in which he defines
subtraction as “removing anything excessive, confusing, wasteful, unnatural,
hazardous, hard to use or ugly . . . or the discipline to refrain from adding
it in the first place.” The result is a more creative and productive
workplace.
Every
church needs a “skunk works,” its own research and development department that
can work quickly and effectively, unfettered by bureaucratic controls or permission-giving
gatekeepers. Kelly had fourteen
guidelines for his operation. Let me
suggest just a few for a church “skunk works” team.
First,
the team should involve one professional staff member who serves as liaison to
the church leadership rather than reporting to a committee or board. This minimizes outside interference. This staff person is also key to helping the
team find the necessary funding for activities.
Second,
the number of team members should be limited to no more than seven people. Recruit those who are creative, “out of the
box” thinkers with a passion for God and a love for the church.
Third,
the team should be open to evaluating and adopting “not invented here” ideas,
training, and materials. In order to do
this, they should be open to forming lineages both inside and outside the
congregation. This may mean crossing
denominational lines.
Fourth,
someone on the team should keep good notes of discussion and decisions as a
learning tool. Any activity or program
carried out by the team should be thoroughly evaluated even if it will never be
attempted again.
Fifth,
the team must give itself permission to dream big and think about doing things
that the church has never done before.
Sound
impossible? No, it can be done, but not
every church has the desire or the will to provide the freedom for it to happen.
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