I was really provoked by this short blog from Seth Godin regarding innovation in non-profits. Below is an excerpt (bolding mine):
The thing about most cause/welfare non-profits is that they haven’t figured out how to solve the problem they’re working on (yet). Yes, they often offer effective aid, or a palliative. But no, too many don’t have a method for getting at the root cause of the problem and creating permanent change. That’s because it’s hard (incredibly hard) to solve these problems.
The magic of their status is that no one is expecting a check back, or a quarterly dividend. They’re expecting a new, insightful method that will solve the problem once and for all.
Go fail. And then fail again. Non-profit failure is too rare, which means that non-profit innovation is too rare as well. Innovators understand that their job is to fail, repeatedly, until they don’t.
Your sports ministry may not be a non-profit but that’s not the point. All of this applies. In light of this, here are some questions for you:
1. What’s the problem that your sports ministry is addressing?
2. What’s the solution you are advocating?
3. Are you succeeding or failing?
If you’ve reached complete success, we want to hear from you! I don’t think anyone is there though. Until you do, Seth Godin is saying: “Be innovative (and I’ll add) for God’s sake!” Literally, for God’s sake be innovative. Failure is a part of the deal. Don’t just do what you’ve always done if it’s not working. Don’t be afraid to take some risks. You’re supposed to.
