No Room for Renegades

I need some push-back on this, some hope...

In my experience, I've found that the only way to pursue my ideas is in the off-hours, away from my job, often with my own money, apart from an employer's risk. I've had to work outside the system because employers are remarkably risk-averse. I loved Seth Godin's book Linchpin, but I have yet to meet a company or a church that actually tolerates linchpins.

Even a dreamer like Walt Disney had to pay for movie productions and real estate with his own money until the idea was far enough that his own company could believe in him.

There is no such thing as creative genius by committee.

I'd love to know how YOU avoid being a cog. What do you do to bring your ideas to life?

Comments

[Ben Arment]

(chirp, chirp, chirp)

[Kyle Reed]

Is it unavoidable.
I have a lot of ideas but no backing, therefore it seems that I have to fit into the system to move the ideas forward. But to be honest, if I move forward with these ideas in the system that is set-up then I have to play by their rules, so really I am just being a cog.

I think being a young 20 something you are forced into this role as well. You know, wait your turn and gain experience. I am all for learning and waiting and being patient, but sometimes I feel like it zaps your creative soul and turns you from a kid to a suit wearing adult.

[Phil Canarsky]

Yeah, that is a really good question :)

In my case, I am a self-employed IT consultant. God has blessed me with steady work.

I do my creative work (church planting, writing, etc) on my own time...

[david]

perhaps there is are lessons to be learned in being cogs? it keeps us humble, forces us to tolerate people we would otherwise avoid and/or shun, develops patience.

perhaps it's also easier for Calvinists to be cogs... :)

[Dave Langer]

Sometimes you have to be willing to look foolish or even risk dismissal in order to effect change. If you can't do that, maybe you're a cog in the wrong machine. If you won't do that, maybe your idea isn't that creative after all! I've found God provides opportunities both inside and outside the "system". For me, the trick is learning to recognize them and capitalize on them. But I have to agree, the companies and churches (and people in general) willing to take huge risks (even for huge payoffs) are few and far between.

[Dave Langer]

PS - Sometimes the most successful renegades are those who patiently build there support base - winning "converts to the cause" one by one until the balance of power shifts. Subversive cogs can eventually change the entire machine...

[Terrace Crawford]

Unfortunately I can't offer push-back because I agree with you on this one. I think the church needs to grow in this area.

--Terrace Crawford
www.terracecrawford.com
www.twitter.com/terracecrawford

[Imgard Berges]

Once (if) we get to heaven we`ll be asked what did we do with THE ideas and dreams put in our heart BY GOD.
We cannot depend on the system to make the first move, we MUST do it.

Difficult? of course, otherwise there will be no satisfaction.
Doable? Ony God knows, at least we gotta answer that we tried and not "I hid it because I was afraid..."

You guys should try to pull some ideas in our Latin American culture where new ideas are taken as rebellious.

[twitter.com/duregger]

it's a difficult proposition Ben, that is, the art of not being a cog.

i think in order to be a renegade, you have to be ready to take a renegade salary, which is to say, having a standard of living that is a bit above poverty... in the beginning at least. you cannot let the fear of losing a house, a car, or a particular lifestyle become larger than the fear of losing your dream.

so. i guess i'm the cog that breaks the machine, which is spit out rather than reformed.

and this is a good thing.

[Mike O]

Pushing your ideas forward

I personally divide my life into three paradigms.

One area is to provide enough money to live, while still leaving you enough free time to pursue your dream. The "serial method" is to work your butt off, and make a lot of money, but do it a few months at a time, leaving you a few months to pursue your idea. Contract and project work lend themselves to this model. The "parallel method" is to work part time, or barely full time, but leaving a lot of your week free to pursue your own idea. It helps having a job that you don't "take home with you". And it helps if you don't have to spend a lot of time keeping up with your field. And it helps if you don't have to be constantly looking for the next job, also eating up time. There are even "basic jobs", like bus driver or security guard. These often have breaks, where you can read, study or even work on your idea. Many of these do not pay huge salaries, but most have some form of extra board or substitute list, so, if you need a transmission or a new refrigerator, there's overtime to pay for it.

The second area is to create a live-work space so that you can pursue your dream, while having a place to live. It doesn't have to be an artist's loft, most suburban housing adapts to projects and passions. Owning usually beats renting, and detached housing avoids conflicts with neighbors on the other side of the wall. If you are truly passionate, you will sometimes wake up at 3 AM and start working. Sound carries far during the wee hours.

The third area is the company you keep. Creative and positive people in your life will be an inspiration, while critical and negative people will be an emotional drain. Find out who you are (Myers-Briggs, Learning Style, etc.) and create a critical mass of four or five of your own kind. If you are a member of one of the smaller MBTI categories, you will have to work hard to find similar people, and may have more luck in a larger metro area. Creativity and optimism are linked to spiritual strength and mental healthiness. Be careful in your ministry involvement; if your church is focused on recovery programs, you may find it a hard stretch to shift gears from being a "psychiatric nurse" to a creative imagineer. If you stay with that church, you might be better off as a staff leader, supporting those directly in ministry. Or, you may want to find a new church. Similarly, your "day job" may have toxic people, which is quite common at the entry points. Seek around, and maximize your environment, and the environment created by your co-workers.

[Ben]

Wow great responses. Thanks for all the wisdom. Ains and I decided to leave ATL after just one year because the financial rewards were becoming so great that staying longer would have made us risk intolerant. It was a conscientious decision to remain as dreamers

[Daniel Decker]

I think your assessment is spot on. Hard to be an innovator in a institutionalized environment (institution where procedures and risk mitigation cause people to say no more than yes). Only way to overcome that, from my experience is to be persistent, state a compelling case, learn how to cast vision in a way that gets others to buy in, prove yourself so others will listen, and if all else fails... breakout.

The life-cycle of risk is so interesting to me. Usually goes from risk (to gain something) to risk avoidance (because of the fear of losing what was gained) to preservation (just trying to maintain). People often start an organization because of their frustration with the system or its inability to embrace their ideas but then 15-20 years later as their venture grows... they end up often becoming the very same thing they were trying to break free of originally. It happens.

In the case of a church... many church plants take risks but as they build overhead those risks become more calculated. When a building gets purchased and it goes from paying rent at a school to having a massive monthly mortgage payment... things change. Perspectives change. Rules and procedures get put into place to minimize risk but often as that risk decreases so does the potential for reward. It’s a balancing act.

Those who understand risk and embrace it win.

[Daniel Decker]

BTW... my wife and I recently set an income ceiling for ourselves because we don't want STUFF to dictate our risk. We don't want the fear of losing to stop us from pursuing the things that we feel called to pursue.

This means anything about X that we earn either goes into savings or into serving the needs of others.

This helps us stay grounded and focused (we hope). :)

[Anne Jackson]

Lemme see...I quit real job in August and the hubs quits in May! We are in this thing together, knowing we aren't supposed to be in a "cog" system (and some are very well supposed to be in those systems!)

We are scared but so excited because God is already meeting our needs...it just looks really different than we would have imagined!

[Katie]

I have to fight my fear. I have to learn to give up control and trust something beyond myself, that being my God who happens to be pretty good at working things out and taking care of me yet I still let fear get in the way of taking a risk on my dreams or the dreams of others.

Timely post, Ben. This is a conversation I've been having with myself the last couple of weeks. Thanks for the push.

[Mike O]

> People often start an organization because of their frustration with the system or its inability to embrace their ideas but then 15-20 years later as their venture grows... they end up often becoming the very same thing they were trying to break free of originally.

Daniel, how true. Most entrepreneurships become bureaucracies in ten years, then spend the next 30 in preservation mode. Few companies survive past 40. Those that do usually are both innovative in products and excellent and progressive in how they treat employees.

[kendra]

I may have your push-back, Ben.

The problem with creativity within the confines of an employer, is not that it isn’t welcome, it’s that our creativity has to be within the confines of a “brand”. When an organization is new and establishing a brand, we have the ability to freefall, to take big chances and try out new things until something sticks (this is where entrepreneurs shine). Once something sticks, once it’s a money-maker, it’s pretty much a part of the DNA of a company. When something is a part of our DNA, we lose our freedom to make organic decisions. There are certain things we have to do because that is the way we’ve always done it. Straying from the core values of a brand can be a really bad idea, because it dilutes trust with the consumer and it is not (usually) profitable (this is where we need dreamers, and need them badly).

Let’s take multi-site churches, for example. Multi-site churches do not have the freedom to be renegade church planters. Multi-site churches have to remain identifiable to the institution from which they came. They don’t have the freedom to make the organic decisions of their church infancy. Campus pastors are comfortable with this (they’re dreamers). Church planters are not (they’re entrepreneurs).

Walt Disney – clear entrepreneur. He was creating a world no one else could even imagine… until he did it himself. Seth Godin – clear dreamer. Godin is good, but he’s not edgy or toeing the boundaries we’re comfortable with. He’s an idealist dreaming within the context of what he already knows.

I’d be willing to bet that the ennui and frustration you feel is because you’re not just a dreamer, per se…. you’re an entrepreneur. You, my friend, are more like the Walts of this world than the Godins.

And what of the cogs? I say – Thank God for cogs, because I am certainly not one of them, and they make sure the phone calls get answered and the emails get returned.

[kendra]

Dreamers are ESSENTIAL to an organization. We need dreamers to push and push and push within the confines of the brand. Dreamers are what keep the organization fresh & alive. Thank God for Dreamers who have the ability to dream within certain parameters! Good management is comfortable with being uncomfortable and EMPOWER THEIR DREAMERS to take risks within the brand. Organizations will lose profit if they don’t evolve with their core audience (Cadillac is a good example of how to do this right*). Dreamers are essential to the longevity & success of a corporation. True leaders recognize and empower their dreamers. If you’re a dreamer at an organization that doesn’t empower you, get out, and get out fast.

Entrepreneurs are essential to Industry and Creativity. Entrepreneurs are inventors with the ability to articulate and socialize. :) Entrepreneurs are not comfortable dreaming within the confines of a brand – they need a blank sheet of paper. Entrepreneurs who stay on with an organization long after that organization is profitable stand to (eventually) wither and lose creativity, turning into bad managers and poor leaders – and, in certain cases, begin to impede their own success and profitability. Mature entrepreneurs learn how to keep moving and inventing and dreaming. They’re comfortable with a bohemian existence.

[kendra]

totally didn't mean to post that second one. funny.

[Ben Arment]

Kendra, i think you've got a cover article for Fast Company in you

[Sam Mahlstadt]

I quit a promising job at an established church to join a church plant 1200 miles from home. Waited tables and trusted God to provide. My wife and I left out jobs to help plant because we 1. Felt God directing 2. Knew if we stayed we would become cogs. Couldn't stomach the thought of that. Now a year later, we are moving again, eagerly awaiting what's next.
I am 23 my wife is 24. Waiting your turn is justification of fear more often than anything else. That is however, my naive opinion.

[Sam Mahlstadt]

Andy Stanley talked about the difference between managers and leaders at Catalyst One Day. "managers manage toward sameness, leaders lead in chaos" or at least something like that. Same thing as entrepreneur vs. dreamer, as previously mentioned. Managers thrive on maintaining the status quo, which eventually kills an organization. Entrepreneurs get frustrated by the status quo, making necessary changes to bury the business that doesn't adapt.
To translate to churches, had a great conversation with a church planter about this today. We have both experienced holy discontent in ministry roles because of a need to persue a vision that is unique to the individual. These people often struggle in churches, because they are designed to build and lead, rather than maintain.

[Aaron Niequist]

"It is common history of enterprises to begin in a state of naive groping, stumble onto success, milk that success with a vengence and, in the process, generate systems that arrogantly turn away from the source of their original success: groping." MacKenzie, Hairball

[Ben]

That's powerful