My 9 Word Strategic Plan
I believe that the most important thing a leader provides is clarity; if the vision is clear, it almost doesn’t matter what the vision is (as long as it’s not wicked). So, I’ve often joked that if the vision is
“We’re gonna be the cheeseburger church—everyone who comes on Sundays will be served a cheeseburger;”
And if that vision is clear,
Then the church will grow.
Clarity is actually really difficult to achieve, but once the vision is clear, everyone wins.
(I was joking about the “cheeseburger church” thing, but I think I could actually get behind that idea. Who’s with me? Maybe it just means I’m hungry.)
Keystone Habits
I’m a big believer in what Charles Duhigg calls “keystone habits.”
A keystone habit is a behavior that, though it might seem small, will have a cascading effect into other areas of a person’s life. So, for example, take exercise:
“When people start habitually exercising, even as infrequently as once a week, they start changing other, unrelated patterns in their lives, often unknowingly. Typically people who exercise start eating better and becoming more productive at work. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use their credit cards less frequently and say they feel less stressed. It’s not completely clear why.…‘Exercise spills over,’ said James Prochaska, a University of Rhode Island researcher. ‘There’s something about it that makes other good habits easier.’”
Committing to the right keystone habits is HUGE, since those repeated behaviors will drive everything else.
I’m much more interested personally and professionally on focusing on inputs than I am on outcomes.
What are the inputs that will set me up for success?
What are the habits that will prepare Asbury for what’s next?
My 9 Word Strategic Plan
So, here’s my 9 word strategic plan for Asbury:
One psalm a day, every day, for 150 days.
It’s not exciting. It’s not glamorous. It’s not impressive.
But if Asburians develop the habit of beginning their days in silence and in scripture, if we commit to daily consistency and not worry overmuch about intensity, if we learn the practice of praying through our emotions to the Lord, in 150 days we’ll be in fighting shape.
“One psalm a day, every day, for 150 days.”