Three Books...

I'm a little overdue in updating my book list so here are three that I'm recommending.  None of these books would fall into the category of Christian or spiritual, but I enjoyed each of them for different reasons.

I'm still finishing up "The Starfish and the Spider", but I'm totally into it.  The Starfish and the Spider argues that organizations fall into two categories: traditional “spiders,” which have a rigid hierarchy and top-down leadership, and revolutionary “starfish,” which rely on the power of peer relationships.  If you cut off a spider’s leg, it’s crippled; if you cut off its head, it dies. But if you cut off a starfish’s leg it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish.  The subtitle, "the unstoppable power of a leaderless organization" isn't inaccurate.  The examples of the organizations, movements and tribes do have leaders, but not a single leader.  This book has a lot of application for anyone who is interested in reproducing multiple church sites or a movement of new churches.

"Monster" is what the prosecutor called 16-year-old Steve Harmon for his supposed role in the fatal shooting of a convenience-store owner.  It holds you in complete suspense till the very last page and beyond.  Monster is brilliantly written as though you are reading the diary of someone who is imprisoned and working on a potential screenplay.  My daughter Amy recommended this because "Dad, you only read stuff about leadership".  She is right.  I need to read more stuff outside of my usual genre of church, spirituality, management, leadership, etc.  Monster is definitely worth the read.   

And now back to more of the usual stuff. "The Brand Gap" is a great quick read that gives a tutorial on brand strategy and management.  You and your organization do have a brand.  The question is whether or not you will be intentional about what you do with that brand.  The brand is your voice and how others perceive you. 

Comments

[Jackaway (the un-intern)]

i love the brand: Gap. It's a great store, though the price is a little high. ok, just joking. yeah, you totally have to read things from different genres to keep your brain from going crazy. like for me, i like to read all kinds of genres: contemporary christian fiction, contemporary christian non-fiction, christian theology, contemporary christian magazines, past issues of Christian Standard, christian biographys, christian auto-biographies, etc. so you see, my reading of genres is rather diverse.

[jeff pessina]

A leaderless organization? Hmmmmm.... now that's interesting. Of course, as you said, they really do have leaders, but then "not a single leader". Do you really think that's so? I mean, is that possible in the strictest sense of the idea? And if so, does the buck really not have to stop somewhere then? Who ultimatley is responsible in such an environment? This is just plain interesting to me, since I have been contemplating for some time now how we could achieve a growing and thriving church that has no easiliy identifiable main leader. Most of the feedback I've gotten when I ask the question is, "It's not possible," or "That's just not the way it works." But I'm not convinced. My guess is you're not either?

[m]

The starfish and the spider sounds very interesting. I'll have to pick it up.

The third book...brand management and corporate identity is something I really enjoy. Most companies/groups don't take the time to invest into brand management.... and find themselves reinventing themselves with every move. Which is sooooo time consuming and a waste....when you invest the time to define who you are and what you represent....and put in down on paper...that time invested pays for itself 10 fold, by directing it towards the guts of what your really trying to do. Which is really sweet....

A couple books that I've used in the past 10 years with this....
22 immutable laws of branding by Al Ries and Laura Ries
11 immutable laws of Internet branding by Al Ries and Laura Ries (father/daughter team)
My most recent find....Branding for Nonprofits: Developing Identity with Integrity by Dk Holland; This I haven't finished yet, but so far it's awesome! Highly reviewed by designers in my industry.

So, where is CCC in the journey of branding their image? (precieved and acctual)