Jun
29
2011

Leadership Reading List: Car Guys vs Bean Counters

An article by Matt

Last week I touched on my man crush on Bob Lutz, the former Vice Chairman of General Motors. Since that post I have been reading Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business, and have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Throughout the book Lutz looks at root issues behind GM’s bankruptcy, and explains how this once great company lost its’ way. I am convinced that there is a great deal for church leaders to learn from watching GM’s failure and reemergence: two large organizations used to having incredible amounts of influence, watching that influence wane as a result of a significant culture shift. In the case of GM this shift resulted in significantly reduced market share and eventual bankruptcy, in the case of the church this is resulting in reports like those from Ed Stetzer that show the decline of baptisms and membership in churches across the nation.

So, what can the church learn from GM’s failure? I think that this book points to three things:

Understanding the main thing is critical.
Failure to focus on the main thing ends poorly.
Arrogance kills.

Understanding the Main Thing

In the automotive world, the main this is making cars that people want to buy. Throughout the course of the book Lutz shares story after story of people forgetting that simple fact and instead focusing on meeting internal goals. Stories of cars that failed focus group comparison testing being pushed through to production in order to make deadlines and production bonuses leave no questions of why sales fell off through the years. Many in leadership at GM misunderstood what the purpose of the company was… instead of developing cars that people wanted to buy they began making sure that their time-lines were met, their costs were in order, and they received their personal bonuses. How many churches in this country have, like the church at Ephesus, forgotten their first love? How many churches have lost a desire to know and make known Jesus Christ?

Focusing on the Main Thing

Throughout the book Lutz shares stories of executives who become so focused on metrics that they do not realize that they are producing an ugly car. For years GM had been manufacturing cars with ugly, cheap looking, uncomfortable interiors. When asked about this those involved with developing the interior they were proud to announce that GM interiors had fewer defects than anyother other vehicle produced. Even though sales were in decline and people disliked the product, leadership was declaring the vehicle interiors a success.

After reading stories like this I had to conciously stop myself from shaking my head in disbelief… because I know how easy it is to get distracted. I believe that we have all been a part of board meetings and in conversations with church leaders where the focus is just a little bit off. Just so we are clear, the “right” music, appropriate dress, having the flashiest youth ministry, and the coolest building in town are not the main thing. Buildings, music, and programs are the tools that help us to achieve the main thing: seeing Christ change our lives, and the lives of those around us on a daily basis.

Arrogance

This has been on my mind a good bit of late, and I will be posting on it more in the near future, but GM was ultimately done in by its’ own arrogance. The idea that their systems and methodology were so far superior to other manufacturers, that their intellect and management structure were infallible that no one on the inside dared to question senior leadership. The church leader who believes that they have it all figured out, that they are above questioning, and that they do not need someone actively engaging them in discipleship is on course to significant leadership missteps (at best) or an ugly moral failure. Humility is key to leading well.

One last note. I realize that this book only gives one side of the story of what was going on at GM. I realize that Bob Lutz is highly invested in ensuring that Bob Lutz is viewed as the savior of GM. I do not see this book as the definitive volume on what went wrong at GM… BUT, the man gets leadership… and I think that there is plenty of application to the church world in this book.

That said, I would love to give you a copy of this book… free! Leave a comment below, make sure you leave some way for me to contact you, and I will pick a random commentor to send a copy to. To be eligible, you must leave your comment no later than Friday, July 1 at noon eastern.

How do YOU keep your focus on the main thing?

Bigfader

I enjoy reading about great leaders but I think I learn more when reading about bad ones. Many of the same thoughts and mistakes are outlined in a book that we got from a leadership conference at our church called “Derailed -Five Lessons Learned from catastrophic Failures of Leadership by Tim Irwin PHD. This book outlined the rise and fall of some fairly well known “leaders” including Bob Nardelli at Home Depot and Carly Fiorina at HP.
And a good point about church leaders who feel that they can’t be questioned about the things that are not working when tthey think things are going so well. Unfortunately, manny feel that they should be doing the discipling -”doesn’t everyone want to have as successful a program as we do?”
The church should be in the business of changing lives -Heaven celebrates when just onwe enters the kingdom and not just when a group of 100

http://www.churchthought.com Matt Steen

Hey Bruce, thanks for stopping by! I am going to have to check out Derailed… have you read Jim Collins’ When the Mighty Fall? Excellent book in a similar vein.

http://twitter.com/jessetink jessetink

How do I keep my focus on main thing? A few different ways:
1. A steady diet of the Gospels. I’ve found that I have to make them a part of my regular devotional rhythm, and never stray too far from them for too long. Jesus was laser focused on keeping the main thing the main thing, AND creatively highlighting the ways in which we in the church world tend to start focusing on the things that don’t really matter.

2. Get outside of the church, and really do life with people that God is trying to reach. Softball teams. Neighborhood associations. Arts venues. Causes. Friendships. They’re a great way to “beta test” whether all of those things that we think matter so much inside the church walls actually matter to the people that matter the most to God.

3. This is kind of a weird one, but bear with me. Get in touch with how fallen you are, and how ridiculously gracious God has to be with you every day. Small group, spiritual friendships, accountability, counseling… you name it. I’ve found that the more in touch you are with God’s story of redemption in your life, the more in tune you are with what matters the most to him in the world.

http://www.churchthought.com Matt Steen

Hey Jesse, thanks for the comment… I think you are on to something, especially the part about softball.

I also think that #3 is HUGE. It is sad to me how often church leaders forget just how fallen we are, and treating people like we have it all figured out… thanks for your insight!