Blue Elevator Blog

A case of mistaken identity

Do you have a dream?  If we’re honest, we all have a dream.

You could be the solo-preneur of a start-up technology company hoping to become the next Microsoft or Apple.  You could be a pastor of a home church aspiring to move into a church building one day.  Or, maybe you have some other personal dream.

Here’s a great quote by Katherine Paterson:  “A dream without a plan is just a wish.”  So, when it comes to pursuing a dream, you need to have a plan.  This article is about coming up with that plan and avoiding a case of mistaken identity.

How do you get what you want?

When you are ready to move past the wish stage and into the realization stage, you are ready to begin working on your dream.  What’s next?  Whatever the form or your dream, the issue becomes how to begin working on your dream.  You need a plan.  When you create your plan, you have to be careful.  You have to avoid a case of mistaken identity.  Let me explain.

A classic case of mistaken identity

Let me illustrate this point using a well known tactic used by marketing agencies.  A company that hopes to sell a lot of expensive sports cars might hire a very pretty actress to ride shotgun next to an average looking guy driving an expensive sports car.  Translation: If an average guy buys our expensive sports car, he will also get a pretty girl.  Right?  It may seem a bit ridiculous, but this is done all the time.  This is an example of mistaken identity and it is oft used marketing tactic.

Work backwards

If you want to get what you want, you have to work backwards.  You have to identify the true cause and effect drivers that will help you realize your dream.  In the process, you want to avoid a case of missing identity.  That is, you want to avoid coming up with the wrong drivers (pun intended, given the above example).  In the above example, you would work backwards to find that the source of your dream (e.g. landing the most beautiful girl in the world) is as easy as buying an expensive sports car.  This is an obvious case of missing identity.

How about some other examples:

Let’s say you are an aspiring CEO of a technology company.  You go to a local mall and check out the Apple store to see how the “Big Boys” do things.  You notice the store is packed full of people.  The store is really busy.  You can’t stroll the store without getting jostled by any number of people scouring the aisles for the latest widget or gadget.

Let’s say that you are a new pastor.  You go to a local mega church to see how the “Big Boys” do things.  You notice the sprawling campus.  You note the world-class facilities.  The furnishings are new, nice, and contemporary.  The music is top-notch and well-produced.  And, the place is swarming with people with nary a place to park.  You also take notes on what the pastors wear and how they do their hair.

So, you work backwards, and come up with some pretty obvious conclusions.

For the aspiring business man, here’s what you conclude.  There are tons of people in the Apple store in my local Mall; therefore, if I open a nice-looking technology store, I will have tons of customers too.

For the aspiring pastor, here’s what you conclude. There are tons of people at a local mega church; therefore, if I get  nice facilities, get the best musical performers, do and dress like their pastors (and otherwise, do or copy everything that the “Big Boys” do), then I, too, can have a vibrant and growing church.

We could go on.  How about the aspiring rock star.  One might conclude that since rock stars have really cool, expensive guitars all you have to do is buy a really cool expensive guitar and then you will become a rock star.

Make sense?  Hmmmm.

Sometimes the obvious isn’t so obvious

Sometimes what appears obvious isn’t so obvious.  Whether you are a business person, a pastor, or whomever, you have to really be careful when you work backwards.  Don’t become another case of mistaken identity.  It is important to work backwards.  But because the obvious isn’t so obvious, it is important to carefully identify the true cause and effect drivers.  Don’t be fooled.  You must “find the essence.”

Here are some things to help you “find the essence” and avoid mistaken identity:

1. Often times, the obvious things are not the real drivers of success – but are the by-products of success.
2. Often times, the real cause of success may be several layers deep.
3. Often times, the real cause of success is actually several causes in combination.

Once upon a time

Here is a true story.  About 20 years ago, back in 1993, I worked for a division of a company called PacifiCare.  PacifiCare would eventually become part of UnitedHealth Group.  In that job, I was blessed to work with a great bunch of people.  One of those persons was CFO, Len Whyte.

One Monday morning, I happened into Len’s office.  I noticed that he had received a FAX.  For you young’uns, this was before the days of emails and such.  If my memory serves me correctly, it was a 1 page FAX titled “The FAX of Life.  This 1 page FAX was a compilation of some notes, quips, quotes, and short stories.  It was a small newsletter of sorts with some encouraging faith-based stories with some interspersed Bible verses.

It was interesting enough for me to ask Len a couple of questions: Where do you go to church and who is Rick?  Len answered me on both counts.  None of the answers were of any consequence to me and I didn’t think too much more about it.  Although I must admit, the FAX newsletter came out every Monday or so and it was fun to read.

So what’s in a name?

After I left PacifiCare, I went on about my career.  Sometime in 2002, about 8 years later, I was surprised to come across a familiar name.  The familiar name, Rick, would appear on a book.  The title of that book was The Purpose Driven Life.  The book was authored by Rick Warren – the same Rick who sent Len his weekly FAX who was/is the pastor of Saddleback Church.  Saddleback Church’s 1st public service was back in 1980 in Laguna Hills, CA (the same city I worked in while I was at PacifiCare).

So, what’s the point

Anyone attending Saddleback Church today, would observe a very large campus, excellent facilities, great music, professional production, etc.  It is a mega church indeed.  At face value, you might conclude that the large campus, excellent facilities, etc. attract a lot of people – and they probably do.  You might be lead to conclude that what you see is the cause and effect of the large attendance.  Do you remember what we discussed earlier?  Often times, things are not what they would otherwise appear.  Are the things you would see at Saddleback Church the drivers of their success or are they by-products?  You decide.

What is the essence of success?

In the above mini case-study, you get to decide whether what you would see at Saddleback Church see are the true drivers of success or the by-products of a job well done.  I’ll tell you what I think.  Now, I have never met Rick Warren.  But I can only surmise that he understood, early on, the importance of focusing on the essence of what he was trying to create.  Using this example, I would come to learn some very important life lessons.  So whether your focus is business, ministry, or personal, here are some principles worth noting.

Important take-outs:

1. You have to focus on the essence of what it is you want to create.  If you want loyal and faithful customers, you have to be loyal and faithful.  You must pursue a relationship with your customers and not just a business transaction.  If you want a vibrant, growing church, you must love and shepherd your people.  You must pursue this relationship – one person at a time.
2. You have to go to the people.  You would be tempted to think that Saddleback’s great facilities attract people – and they probably do.  However, I will suggest that Saddleback’s facilities are by-products.  The facilities are what is needed to house the multitudes of people that are drawn by many years of faithful shepherding.  That is, many, many years of taking the time to write a personal comment on the top of a FAX.  Something tells me that Len Whyte wasn’t the only person to receive a hand-written comment on the top of that weekly FAX.  Something tells me that the FAX wasn’t the only outreach of Rick Warren or his ministry.
3. You have to have a sustained focus.  There are no quick fixes.  Think about it.  The Purpose Driven Life was published no less than 22 years after the ministry was started.  Not convinced, here is Steve Jobs talking on the importance of staying after it.

Application

Utilizing the above take-outs, consider the following:

1. Work backwards and find the true “essence.”  Identify the true cause and effect drivers of effectual relationship.  Don’t assume the by-products (what you see) are the real drivers.
2. Apply these “cause and effect” practices to your target group – in a personal way.  You must pursue and impact persons on an individual basis.  Do this for as many people as possible.  The key word here is to pursue a relationship.  Don’t pursue transactions.  Don’t pursue attendance.  Pursue serving and loving people.
3. Apply the above over a long and sustained period of time.  In doing so, always keep an eye towards continuous improvement.

The above principles can be applied to a business, a church, a trade group, etc.  If you are not experiencing momentum, growth, etc., something is a miss.  The misfires below correspond to the above take-outs.  Carefully review everything you are doing.  One or more of the principles could be missing or off.

1. Maybe you haven’t identified the true drivers.  For example, building a big, fancy retail outlet ahead of customer demand is a recipe for disaster.  Remodeling your church absent a true change as to how you interact with your congregation will not have the desired effect.
2. Maybe you have been applying the drivers – en masse – versus  trying to cultivate individual, personalized, experience.  Momentum is built each time you carefully cultivate personal relationship.  In other words, it is done person by person.  You will miss the mark if you try to “short cut” the process and provide a “one size fits all” solution.
3. Maybe you have not been doing the above successfully for a long enough period of time.

Conclusion

A case of missing identity occurs when you see by-products as the causes for success.  As you can see in the above examples, the by-products are not the causes.  The true cause or essence is usually several layers deep, must be applied in a personal way, and must be sustained for a long period of time.

If you want a steady harvest of apples, you have to plant the essence of an apple (a seed).  You have to plant it in good soil.  You have to water the seed, nurture the sprout, and stake the fragile trunk.  If you do all of the aforementioned, and properly prune and fertilize the tree, then one day (and for many years thereafter), you can enjoy a prolonged, rich harvest of bright red, sweet, and delicious apples.  Yes, you need a seed, soil, water, sunlight, fertilizer, etc.  Those are important elements – and all need to be present.  However, the success is had as you effectively nurture that seed into a magnificent apple tree.  There are no short-cuts here.

So, whether you are a business man, a pastor, or otherwise, take your time and do it right; nurture, nurture, nurture.

We would love to be a part of helping you plan your dream.  Contact us here.