Today’s post is a quiz.
Which business guru wrote this?
[Answer posted below. No peeking or Internet searches. . . . Just read and guess!]
“Productivity is vital to your success and that of your organization. The minute your organization ceases to progress, it will start to fall back. . . .
“How is your people’s productivity? Do they move from one task to the next in an efficient manner, or are they doing a lot of churning without producing much butter? If your people’s productivity level could use a little boost, remember these simple keys to help them effectively get things done and become valuable players on your team:
“1. WHAT GETS PICTURED GETS DONE.
Experts cite that 89% of what people learn comes by way of their visual sense. In other words, the first step toward completing a task is picturing it completed. When you delegate a task to your people, make a point to help them capture your vision for what the completed task will look like.
“2. WHAT GETS MODELED GETS DONE.
The number one motivational principle is that people do what people see. Whitley David said, “A good supervisor is a catalyst, not a drill sergeant. He creates an atmosphere where intelligent people are willing to follow him. He doesn’t command; he convinces.” . . .
“3. WHAT GETS REWARDED GETS DONE.
. . . People learn quickly what gets applauded and what does not in your organization. Create an environment for your people that openly rewards personal achievement. Take time to pass the praise around on a regular basis.
“4. WHAT GETS MEASURED GETS DONE.
. . . Hold your people accountable to a measurable standard of excellence, and make consequences a part of enforcing the standard. When the standard is met and exceeded, reward them for their work.
“5. WHAT GETS OWNED GETS DONE.
One of the best ways to increase the performance of your people is by giving them ownership of projects. . . . In other words, ownership means giving your people full responsibility for the completion of specific tasks and the prospect of sharing in the rewards that result.
.” . . Before you hand out your next project, make sure you’ve done your best to set your people up to succeed by empowering them to maximize their productivity. “
The Answer:
John Maxwell, “Increasing Your People’s Productivity,” March 21, 2006, posted at http://tinyurl.com/s99k2. John Maxwell is a highly influential evangelical leader who wears many hats with his many organizations. He is associated with Rick Warren and Bruce Wilkinson in the Africa “transformation” movement, particularly the “change agent” leadership training.
What was this gobbledegook posted above all about? This is an example of the new mindset of CHURCH and MISSION work. Were you able to wrap your brain around this one? Or did you get bogged down after the first few sentences?
Were you exhausted just thinking about trying to conform to the demands and expectations of this list? How much work it all is! How manipulative it all is!
The Business Worldview has taken hold of the leaders and pastors of the neo-evangelical church. This is a completely different mindset that reads like another language. This list above represents a formula for “productivity” but it is not about the Gospel.
This Business Worldview is founded upon a new Pragmatic Worldview, which includes an unhealthy dose of eastern mysticism (see point 1 above — “vision”).
What is wrong with pragmatism? An excellent two-part article analyzing Bill Hybels’ Willow Creek model is posted at http://tinyurl.com/l3va3 and http://tinyurl.com/gshep. In this article, Dr. Martin Erdmann, writing for a European audience, explains the rise in pragmatism in the American evangelical church:
“The philosophy of pragmatism rules Western society. If it works, we are told, it must be right. But let us remember that the Bible warns us against accepting too readily things that may be only temporary.
“Of the stony-ground hearer, Jesus said: ‘Yet he has no [firm] root in himself, but is [only] temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away’ (Matthew 13:21).
“. . . Pragmatism is the notion that ideas may be judged by their practical consequences. A pragmatist concludes that a course of action or concept is right if it brings good results, wrong if it does not seem to work.
“The late Chinese statesman, Deng Xiao Ping, defined pragmatism in an original way: ‘It makes no difference whether a cat is black or white. If it catches mice, it is a good cat!’. . .
“Pragmatism, therefore, does not judge things according to overarching principles, but solely according to their functionality. Pragmatism operates in terms of fulfilling a purpose.” [emphasis added]
The Truth:
“Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)