Win Every Day: A Review

“What are the implications of settling for less than the best?” This the question that corporate CEO Blake Brown must ask of himself and his company in Mark Miller’s latest book on organizational leadership. The theme of this volume is execution, with the author arguing that “greatness hinges on execution.”

There is a lot of good information in this book. The mantra throughout is, “What does it take to win every day?” The key actions are identified as pursue mastery, own the numbers, and help others win. These are illustrated both in the strategy followed by Tom, the coach of the football team of which Blake’s son is a player, and their application to Blake’s company.

There are some observations here that challenge any enterprise to become better in execution, but several can be applied to the church.

First, “Improvement is possible, but progress requires change.” Many church members will affirm the need for their congregation to grow and reach new people, but they resist the changes that are necessary for this to happen. If execution of the mission of the church depends on trying new approaches to worship, formation, and ministry, something has to change in members’ perspectives.

Second, “Communication is the oxygen of execution.” How many times do we fail to properly communicate among ourselves in the congregation? If our internal message is unclear, how can we expect the unaffiliated to hear us?

Third, “Our competition is arrogance and complacency.” Miller clearly identifies the greatest challenge to execution of our mission--we have become “at east in Zion.” We think we have what people need, and they will come to us whether we do it with excellence or not. Think again! In the post-Christendom era, people are not highly motivated to seek out what we offer, especially when we fail to execute with passion and clarity.

I love Miller’s organizational parables, but this is the ninth volume about the growth and development of Blake Brown, number five in his performance series. Perhaps Miller has gone to this well too often and should think about new ways to engage his readers in pursuing excellence. This is not the best book in the series, but it does provide valuable insights.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,Part 255.

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