Below is another great post from Bobby Gruenewald. Incremental improvements matter.
Google hit the scene just over 10 years ago in a business environment that was highly competitive. There were already very strong and well-funded search competitors like Yahoo, Lycos, and Alta Vista. Contrary to modern-day perception, Google did not invent the search engine; instead they perfected it. But, have they actually perfected search? The answer: they are constantly perfecting it and it’s never been complete.
Even though they have the largest search engine market share (more than three times their nearest competitor)… even though they are highly profitable… even though many people would argue that Google’s search results are the best… Google doesn’t think they have it right yet. They consistently try incremental improvements, measure how people respond, make changes, and then try to improve it again. They are evaluating every detail: color, font size, spacing, click rates, etc. People change and so Google will need to continue changing if they want to continue to be the best at search.
Though there are definitely exceptions within the church, I’ve found that many leaders are content with the mindset of, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Why go through the effort to improve something that no one is complaining about? Because, by the time someone complains… it’s too late. This doesn’t mean you should change just for the sake of change, but it does mean you should change.
I believe that we, as leaders, should adopt an attitude that acknowledges that the methods (not the message) we use to connect with people must be incrementally improved if we desire to continue connecting with this ever-changing world.
What are some practical ways that you have be able to make incremental improvements at your church? If you haven’t made any improvements in a while, what is the next improvement that you need to try?
