Here is another extract from my new book that I am working on enjoy and please feel free to comment.
Generating
those small victories.
Large, significant changes take time, sometimes a
lot of time. Those people that are working through these changes can become
despondent if they do not see progress or results within the strategic vision
plan that has been presented to them. Therefore it is vital to set up short
term wins.
A number of years ago when I took over
the running of a Bible College, it had lost 55% of its government funding. It
could no longer afford the rental for the property it was in, the Principal had
resigned and the new Principal was only contracted for one day a week, the rest
of his time he dedicated to his pastorate. The finances were not in a good
place and many of its stakeholders had stopped giving their financial support.
The student numbers were very low with only three being accepted for the new
college year. Because of my business background I was asked if I would take
over as Executive Officer and see if I could turn the situation around. With
the help of the Principal and a supportive Board of Governors a five year
business plan and change strategy was put in place, culminating in the desire
for the introduction of a degree program.
However little progress was visible even
though I knew from the results things were happening, both the principal and
the board of governors were becoming a little unsure and began to talk about
changing tack. I was not sure on what to do until I read the Saturday morning
newspaper one weekend. In the business section there was an article on the
success of a particular company, it listed ten things that resulted in a
turnaround of its fortunes. One thing caught my eye and I decided to implement
it in my particular situation,-that was the celebration of every small short
term win. This resulted in the success and staying on track of the five year
plan.
Over
that five year period, new programmes and courses were put in place, when they
were ready to launch the programmes were advertised and presented to the
denomination at their annual general conference with great fanfare and celebration.
Those involved in its successful development were honoured and publicly
thanked. The result of this- that encouraged the principal and governors, was
the immediate increase in student applications, this was another win that was
reported in the local denominational magazine. The old Bible College premises
were reacquired, being completely renovated and modernised, the win in this
case was not only a modernised college premises but that it was acquired on a
three year lease at the previous rental. The result of all of this was that
pastors in the surrounding areas increased their financial giving to the
college, another win that was presented to the governors.
More money was released to allow marketing
and advertising strategies to be put in place. Each year, new improvements were
made and there was a general feeling of accomplishment and progress. At every
opportunity every short term win was celebrated. Another win was that the
college was brought out of the red into the black within eighteen months,
another win that was celebrated with a great staff party.
No
window dressing.
For every goal set in the above story
there was a corresponding result that was celebrated, with things ranging from
a small thank you to a great party for
all those involved in the strategic vision plan. What must be made clear was
that there was no window dressing. A win was a win, not an almost reached, nor
statements of "we are on track but are not quite there yet" or
"all we needed is one final push and we would have achieved what we wanted"
Wins cannot be window dressing. Wins are visible results that can be seen by
people who can see through such things that are just window dressing. Wins are not
fussy they can be small things like a successful telephone call that resulted
in a financial donor coming on board with a small monthly donation, in regard
to the big picture and in real terms it may make little or no difference, it is
still a win, a goal has been achieved. Wins move and encourage the teams
involved in the strategic vision plan to the next step in the change process,
it gives them the feeling that they can accomplish great things. When I was
growing up we would often hear a pastor or evangelist make claims- such as
hundreds making decisions for Jesus at their meetings or many miraculous
healings, the reality was very different, a dozen people giving their life to
Jesus and maybe one or two people being healed, we called this 'being
evangelastic in their claims' it was window dressing in an endeavour to inflate
their ministry and to try and give momentum to their evangelism campaign, it
was lying. Small victories are real results and outcomes not fluffy pie in the
sky almost outcomes.
All of these small victories can have
some very beneficial results: They provide evidence that there is movement and
will answer some of those lingering questions that members of the vision team
and their volunteers may still be harbouring. It does much for moral when
people see that even the very minor players amongst the volunteers are
honoured. The small victories will allow the vision team to look at the results
and then refine and if necessary refocus the strategic vision plan. The saint
and the snake will be silenced by the results and the senior leader will be
greatly encouraged that those things they had envisioned are coming to pass and
are possible. Small victories will foster results and increase momentum for the
next win in the strategic vision plan.
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