Preventing Dry Rot

2 Corinthians 4

Not everybody gets “turned on” over management concepts, but most of us can profit from such information at home or church or school. Even as individuals we may find some of these principles coming in handy.

If organizations are not to become stagnant, they must renew themselves—stay continually fresh. Some years back I found some excellent guidelines for this shared by John W. Gardner in a Harper’s article entitled “How to Prevent Organizational Dry Rot.” I’ve condensed some of his thoughts here.

  1. No Number 1 provided!
  2. Don’t kill the spark of individuality.
  3. Cultivate a climate where comfortable questions can be asked.
  4. Don’t carve the internal structure in stone. Most organizations have a structure that was designed to solve problems that no longer exist.
  5. Have an adequate system of internal communication.
  6. Don’t become prisoners of procedures. The rule book grows fatter as the ideas grow fewer.
  7. Combat the tendency toward the vested interest of a few. In the long run, everyone’s vested interest is in the continuing vitality of the organization.
  8. The organization must be more interested in what it is going to become than in what it has been.
  9. An organization runs on motivation, conviction, and morale. Each person has to believe that his or her efforts as an individual will mean something for the whole and will be recognized by the whole.
  10. The profit-and-loss statement is not a clear measure of present performance.

Any of this sound familiar? Any of it sound helpful? Any of this reminiscent of those familiar words of the apostle Paul? “But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner” (1 Cor. 14:40).

And what about your personal renewal? To paraphrase my earlier statement: If individuals are not to become stagnant, they must renew themselves—stay continually fresh.

You think it over. Go back and look at those ten statements in that light . . . then try them on for size.

We should be more interested in what we are going to become than in what we have been.

Taken from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

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Pastor Charles R. Swindoll has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of God’s Word. He is the founding pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, but Chuck’s listening audience extends far beyond a local church body. As a leading programme in Christian broadcasting since 1979, Insight for Living airs around the world. Chuck’s leadership as president and now chancellor emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary has helped prepare and equip a new generation of men and women for ministry.

పాస్టర్ చార్లెస్ ఆర్. స్విండాల్ దేవుని వాక్యాన్ని నిర్దిష్టంగా, ఆచరణాత్మకంగా బోధించడానికి మరియు అన్వయించడానికి తన జీవితాన్ని అంకితం చేశారు. ఆయన టెక్సాస్‌లోని ఫ్రిస్కోలోని స్టోన్‌బ్రయర్ కమ్యూనిటీ చర్చి వ్యవస్థాపక కాపరియై ఉన్నారు, అయితే చక్ యొక్క శ్రోతలు స్థానిక సంఘ పరిధి దాటి వ్యాపించి ఉన్నారు. 1979 నుండి క్రైస్తవ ప్రసరణలో ప్రముఖ కార్యక్రమంగా, ఇన్‌సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ ప్రపంచవ్యాప్తంగా ప్రసారమవుతోంది. డల్లాస్ థియోలాజికల్ సెమినరీకి ప్రెసిడెంటుగా, అలాగే ఇప్పుడు ఛాన్సిలర్ ఎమెరిటస్‌గా చక్ యొక్క నాయకత్వం క్రొత్త తరం స్త్రీపురుషులను పరిచర్య కొరకు సిద్ధపరచడంలో సహాయపడింది.