Recently, while returning home from a speaking engagement the airplane I was on was experiencing turbulence as we began descending toward our destination. I fly quite regularly so I am use to turbulence and I have experienced harsher turbulence than on this particular flight. However, there was something new to me with this experience.
It was late at night so it was dark in the cabin as well as outside. As we descended through the blackness of night and thunderstorm clouds, bouncing with the turbulence, suddenly the plane dropped. The drop was so sudden and significant that it lifted everyone out of our seats. The incident only lasted for a couple of seconds. I’m not certain how far we dropped, likely only a few feet. Honestly, I do not want to know how far it actually was. The pilot was masterful and got us to our destination on time and safe.
Most organizations do not fall in one clear-cut, quick drop. There is normally a series of digression. An examination of the organization will, in most cases, show a departure from the original purpose and core values of the organization. The initial signs of decline may be subtle and ignored or explained away. This first phase can go on for several years without notice.
While working with a particular church a few years ago, I realized a series of decisions they had made which had contributed to their decline. Highlighting those decisions, the group in front of me began to realize for the first time how those decisions had led to their steep decline. I stopped at a decision the church had made five years prior. On woman who had been in the church for years responded, “No, that’s not right. We were making bad decisions long before that.”
As a series of the right decisions propels you toward success, so a series of poor decisions will propel one toward decline. It is important to understand the difference between what seems to be a good decision and the right decision. What could seem good, can actually be detrimental to you personally and to your organization.
For more information on making the right decision contact George Yates and pick up your copy of Reaching the Summit: Avoiding and Reversing Decline in the church. (It’s not for churches only)