Executing strategy successfully requires tough, often uncomfortable, choices based on simple logic and clear principles, according to Harvard Business School Professor Robert Simons in his book Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution. To read my full review of the book, please visit my business blog. Although the book and my review concentrate on the questions as applied to businesses, a similar set of questions would provide excellent strategic insight into a church:
- Who is your primary customer? (Attenders, the unchurched, staff members, people who complain loudest?)
- How do your core values prioritize church members, staff and the unchurched?
- What critical performance variables are you tracking? (Attendance, baptisms, small group participation, time spent on mission?)
- What strategic boundaries have you set? Does everyone know what actions are off-limits?
- How are you generating creative tension? Is that tension moving people out of their comfort zones into mission?
- How committed are your members to helping each other? Are they sharing responsibility for your church’s success?
- What strategic uncertainties keep you awake at night?