Can you really turn it around?

In the early 2000s, Best Buy was THE place to go for all your electronic needs.  Not only could you find a TV, your favorite CDs or movies, but you buy home appliances as well.  It was a huge store full of everything you needed and honestly, I loved going there.

But in the early part of this decade Best Buy really struggled. Overall revenue was down and their stock price was on a sharp decline from a high of $48.31 to a low of $11.28.  All signs were pointing towards bad things, where even some were speculating that they were headed the way of Borders Bookstores, which is extinction.

In the midst of these lows, Best Buy made a remarkable recovery.  Not only has their stock price increased back up to around $37 a share, but overall sentiment about the company is positive (here and here). They have made a really nice comeback.

Aww shucks Tom, this is a really nice story, but what does this have to do with ministry???

Great question and here is the answer.  You may be in the rut right now in ministry.  Things may not be going so well of you and your program.  But there is hope!

Turnarounds happen all the time in business, so why can’t they happen in your ministry?  Here are a few things I have learned over the years about making changes and turning around your ministry.

For starters you have to evaluate where your program is at currently.  Any time you need to clean house and make changes you need to really take an assessment of what you are dealing with.

For instance, you need to know where your students are at.  That means you need to take a fresh look at where your students are at spiritually and personally.  It’s pointless to make dramatic wholesale changes if you don’t know where they are at.  Obviously, you can’t fire them and hire new students to come in and take their place.  But by taking a hard look at where your students at, you can identify the right ones to run with.  Once you know where your program is at and where your students are at spiritually, find those students who support your vision and mission and will to go at it with you.

In addition, you need to surround yourself with the right people.  By this I mean, having the right leaders and the right parents (yes, I said parents) to help you.  Making changes are hard, so to make those changes the right way you have to have people to stand alongside of you while you do that.  Having the wrong adult leaders and parents involved will only delay the transition and distract you from what you need to do.

Finally, in order to make the turnaround you have to decide: are the right person to do it.  I know this is a hard question to ask, but making significant changes is hard work.  That is why so many CEOs of businesses and GMs and Coaches are fired in sports.  They are not the right people to make the changes needed to turn around the program.  I am not saying you need to quit or fire yourself.  But what I am saying is that if you are really committed to turning around the program, you need to be able to do it.  You are going to have to make tough decisions and compromises that you may not have been willing to do beforehand.

The reality is turnarounds are tough…but NOT impossible. Honestly, though, if Best Buy can turn things around after all the negative press and trends they were facing, surly your ministry can turn it around as well.

So what do you think?  What other factors might help in turning around a ministry? Share your experiences below or on social media using #ymsidekick.