Permanent solutions to temporary problems

One of the blogs I read is Tony Morgan Live. Today he quoted Todd Henry on the dangers of implementing permanent solutions to temporary problems. Both Tony's post and Todd's quote are brilliant.

First Todd's quote:

“The more structures we have to navigate in order to do our work, the more difficult it is to do our best work. When we are required to resolve the dissonance of complex systems, reporting relationships and accountability structures just in order to get our objectives and check off our direction we will begin to lose our drive to do brilliant work. Over time, this complexity only pulls entire organizations toward systematic mediocrity.”

In other words, the most complicated you make it for me to do my job, the less I want to do it and the more likely I am just to dial it in without giving any real effort. I'm running just to keep up and don't have energy for anything great.

Does that sound familiar to anyone? It does to me sometimes.

Tony applies it to the church. One attribute of churches in decline is

...complex structure. The natural tendency of organizations is to add complexity to their structure and systems. The longer an organization exists, the more complex it typically gets. (Think government, big business, denominations…and older churches.)
 If there’s a problem, our natural tendency is never to do less — we always try something new.

If there’s a problem, our natural tendency is to increase controls — we think people are the problem and we implement rules and policies to make sure they get it right.

What if the solution to the problem is fewer controls? What if the fix is less complexity?

Are you willing to get focused and lean again?

These questions are great for any church to ask, not just those in decline. I know my tendency is exactly what he says. When there is a problem, add something to fix it. Regulate it. Perhaps the best thing we can do in a lot of cases is remove controls, always strive to stay lean, and renew focus. Great lesson.