Greg Darley:

So our good friends at Apple revealed the new iphone yesterday. The slogan is “twice the speed for half the price“. For $200 less, you can have a faster, sleeker, better version. That is good news for us that have held out this long.

It really got me thinking though about our culture and tendencies with stuff in general. When the latest and greatest comes out, how quick are you to jump on it? This could be the latest gadget, newest designer jeans, book, church, church philosophy, sports teams, whatever. I’m not saying that being an early adapter is bad. I’m thankful for everyone who bought an iphone before me and now, they’ve made it better and cheaper. I’m just thinking out loud here that there are major tendencies to jump to the “next thing” in hopes of more connection, hope, fulfillment, etc. Sometimes we need to keep the “older” version, stay focused, stay disciplined and not be distracted. Because this has got to be one of (if not the) greatest downfall of leaders is getting off course. Staying focused on the vision and goal is a must do for success. When the latest and greatest comes around, it is easy to think “I must do this” and go flailing off course. But the reality a lot of times is, you already know the vision, don’t get distracted. Stay focused. Listen for new ideas, but make sure they are vision-centric.

July 11th is just around the corner.

Clarify the Win means to figure out what is most important for your organization. This is what you are shooting for. At the end of the day (week, month, year, campaign) this is what you look at to determine if what you did mattered. It also helps you determine where you spend your time and your money. If something is not going to help you get to your win, then its an easy decision to make.

Just as important as clarifying the win, is celebrating the win. More to come on this…

How do we Clarify the Win?

For World Causes, a win happens when we: (1) Raise true awareness to the issues of Poverty, Injustice, or Epidemic Diseases. (2) Have creative and simple ways for people to respond to those needs. (3) Help people commit to being a part of the long term solution.

Those are some of the larger Wins for World Causes. We have specific wins like, “To find the best price for environmentally and socially conscious goods that we buy”, “to get 24 local churches to join the Free Chains Campaign during the first 12 months”

For each person, initiative, or project that we start, Clarifying the Win will be crucial. Before we invest time, money and other resources into something, we have to make sure that we know what we’re shooting for.

Another great lesson I learned today while reviewing this was the ability to use this principle with other relationships, especially the family. Clarifying the Win with my relationship with my wife helps me determine where I spend my time and money. A win for that relationship is when she feels loved. Flowers, a great investment. Cotton Candy, another great investment. Talking without my cell phone off…fantastic investment. Gold watch, poor decision. New tv…nope.

Next principle :Think Steps not programs.