Summit Reflections (Part 8)

Poke holes above the waterline.

This is what Gore-Tex employees are encouraged to do. Innovate and create but don't poke holes below the waterline and sink the ship. What's below the line? Their core values as a company. Lots and lots of freedom as long as the core values are followed. 

The interview with the Gore-Tex CEO was fascinating as she described an organizational structure that is highly collaborative company-wide, peer-based (the CEO is basically elected, as are other leaders, and everyone understand that their job is to make everyone else successful) and places a high value on the individual. One of the most unusual aspects of this company is that they don't allow any manufacturing plant or other facility to grow beyond 250 people. 

Declaration: I've been talking about innovation in ministry over the past year or so. I'd love to see more of our members launch new ministries to targeted groups of people in the church and outside the church. But we have not taken steps to clearly outline how that can happen at Five Oaks (how we can support people's innovations, the boundaries, the core values that can't be violated, etc.). I'm hoping this will happen as we develop a more intentional mobilization ministry over the next couple of years.