In the 70’s Toyota was struggling to keep up with the massive production increases of their US competitors, and were failing; so instead of trying to compete on volume, they decided to compete on quality. They did so by developing cars in smaller batches and giving every person on the assembly line the opportunity to stop production if they suspected a quality issue. The literally had a pull line the length of the assembly line that anyone could pull to stop the conveyor belts. Moreover, they were expected and encouraged to stop it if they suspected an issue. Could you imagine this happening on a large batch assembly line, it would literally shut the plant down. But with the smaller batch, they could correct the problem and make sure that all of the other vehicles in the batch were checked, and then carry on their learning to the next batch. This is essentially why Japanese automakers where able to produce higher quality vehicles.
Halting the Assembly Line
This story underlays a truth that churches should be aware of: Large institutional structures that produce cookie cutter churches are bound to suffer in quality, and lack the innovate drive to improve themselves.
Here’s another example that may be more familiar. Imagine your church is stuffing envelopes for a letter writing campaign, and somebody suggests, “We should do this assembly line style.” Everyone agrees because on the surface that makes sense. But imagine that the person folding the letters is folding the letters too big for the envelope, and that they are 10 ahead of the letter stuffer. All the sudden the entire process is thrown off until all the letters can be refolded. Imagine instead that one person was doing everything for one letter, and that they too folded the insert too large. They will notice it right away when they go to stuff the envelope and will be more careful the next time.
Toyota understood the connection between personal involvement, quality, and innovation, and proceeded to build the world’s largest car manufacturer, we would be wise to take notice.
In 2011, Internet Entrepreneur Eric Riess decided to take these movements from Toyota through modern day internet start-up companies and come up with a unifying theory of entrepreneurship. He did so the hard way. He was developing his theories and practicing them live with his startup venture where he was the chief developer: IMVU. If you are not a tween or digital native, you’ve probably never heard of IMVU, but in short, it’s a 3D chat client where users get to build their own avatar and meet and interact with other users in a virtual world, a bit like second life, but with a younger target audience and for-profit. IMVU was very successful, but since that success, Riess has spent his time creating a community of Lean Startup entrepreneurs and carrying on a broader conversation about the application of these ideas.
The first time I heard of Lean Startup was when I was creating my own venture ministry. I have a dream to revolutionize Church Management Software (ChMS). I want to shift the interaction from the administrator to the end user – the congregant – by more tightly integrating the ChMS and the church website. What’s more, I want your average church to have access to this technology for free! I’ve dubbed this project: “Aboundant: God’s Abundant Love Unbound.” In doing the research for the ministry plan I decided to research what entrepreneurs were doing differently than the existing church management software offerings. That’s when I came across “The Lean Startup” book.
There are three things that instantly drew me to Lean Startup. First, I saw that it was being applied in just about every industry, including non-profits, but no mention of Churches. Surely if this system was so versatile, it would have value to churches. Second, instead of addressing profit, Lean Startup address how bring your creative vision to life. This impression has stuck with me, with each Lean event I’ve attended or Lean book I’ve read. In general, the people involved care more about ideas than capitalist greed. This has set this community apart and makes them more compatible with Christian teachings. Third, was that social justice ventures like Kiva are thriving with Lean Startup. Kiva, is a micro lending organization who helps small business owners in the third world get their business off the ground. They boast an astounding 97% repayment rate while empowering individuals to improve their lives and communities. Have no doubt, this is a ministry. They have “missionaries,” boots on the ground working with the people they are helping, and they are having a huge impact with very little overhead and no need for donations. They do get grants and they do have overhead, but it’s a fraction of what their church counterparts spend on global ministries and is potentially more effective. This makes me wonder if we’re “doing it wrong?”
Lean Statup entrepreneurs have learned how to innovate in the information age, and churches can learn from their approach.