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A Dozen Ways to Kill a Great Idea

Brandon Cox morefrom this author

BrandonaCox.com

From preaching topics to outreach programs, how many great ideas have fallen into these potholes?

Ever watched a really good idea crash and burn? Me too.

Heres some brutal honesty: Entire movements have gone down in flames because of boneheaded approaches to good ideas. This isnt to say we cant

afford to make mistakes. In fact, the only way to know were taking risks is to make mistakes. We cant afford not to make them. But we also cant

afford to ignore timeless principles of leadership effectiveness.

In honor of our most fatal leadership mistakes, here are my from the hip ways to kill great ideas. (Warning: sarcasm ahead)

1. Form a committee .In this way, youll be able to devote more time to keeping minutes and electing officers and less time to solving problems. Also,

well be able to prevent a single great leader from running with the idea without feeling the need to check with several people with different opinions

before proceeding.

2. Be sure to control it.Before you even start executing a good idea, be sure to write plenty of rules and parameters so that no one feels the freedom

to run too fast with it. Freedom is the enemy when were trying to kill good ideas.

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3. Devote a lot of time to calculating the costs. Be sure that everyone understands just how much failing can cost us so that we inch along,

paralyzed by fear.

4. Assume its everyones responsibility.If were able to say, Our church should really be doing this, it takes the pressure off anyone in particular

who might actually take ownership. In this way, no one gets blamed for the death of the idea ... at least not individually.

5. Assume its your responsibility alone. If we get help, well just saddle people with the burden of investing their time into meaningful pursuits rathe

than having more free time to not develop their gifts for kingdom influence.

6. Vote on it.This will give everyone a sense of power and let them decide that theyre against the idea even if it isnt something they understand.

After all, majorities of people are usually smart, right? Besides, in the end, its really about keeping as many people as possible happy.

7. Avoid learning from others who have acted on similar ideas. Never ask people who have succeeded or failed before. Its better to re-invent th

wheel, take full credit (or blame) in the end and brag on how much weve been able to do (or not do) all on our own.

8. Keep young people out of it.Theyre all too inexperienced and unwise to lead anything. Besides, do the voices of the young really matter? I

thought they were meant to be seen and not heard ... or valued.

9. Keep old ... advanced ... experienced people out of it. After all, theyre just all grumpy, afraid of change and set in their old-fashioned ways.

Their years of wisdom and experience will just complicate matters.

10. Keep women out of it. In all honesty, even in sarcasm, Im too afraid to touch this one. I can just testify its boneheaded.

11. Execute the idea purely in our natural power. Gods power is just too much. The Holy Spirit cant even be seen visibly, especially at committee

meetings. Besides, we need to be busy executing, not wasting time in prayer.

12. Take a little more time to talk about your intentions for the good idea. As long as youre intending to do something good, its as good as

doing it, except that it never gets done. But you will have meant well when its all said and not done.

Im guilty of at least a majority of these at one time or another in my own leadership, so Im not writing out of arrogance but in confession.

Brandon Cox

BrandonaCox.com

Brandon Cox is Lead Pastor of Grace Hills Church, a new church plant in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for

Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox and was formerly a Pastor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. In his spare time, he

offers consultation to church leaders about communication, branding, and social media. He and his wife, Angie, live with their two awesome kids in

Bentonville, Arkansas.

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