There was an interesting blog that I wanted to share with you for our weekly family ministry update. I definitely think that it can apply to our church, our specific ministry areas, and life in general. Check it out:
Alienating the 2%:
When a popular rock group comes to town, some of their fans won’t get great tickets. Not enough room in the front row. Now they’re annoyed. 2% of them are angry enough to speak up or badmouth or write an angry letter.
When Disney changes a policy and offers a great new feature or benefit to the most dedicated fans, 2% of them won’t be able to use it… timing or transport or resources or whatever. They’re angry and they let the brand know it.
Do the math. Every time Apple delights 10,000 people, they hear from 200 angry customers, people who don’t like the change or the opportunity or the risk it represents.If you have fans or followers or customers, no matter what you do, you’ll annoy or disappoint two percent of them. And you’ll probably hear a lot more from the unhappy 2% than from the delighted 98.
It seems as though there are only two ways to deal with this: Stop innovating, just stagnate. Or go ahead and delight the vast majority.
Sure, you can try to minimize the cost of change, and you might even get the number to 1%. But if you try to delight everyone, all the time, you’ll just make yourself crazy. Or become boring.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/11/alienating-the-2.html
As followers of Jesus, we can not stagnate! God calls us to be people that experience a radical faith, radical community, and radical ministry…and in turn, have a passion to help others encounter Jesus. At 4 Corners, we are always moving forward on new initiatives, changing things around, and seeking God’s direction about what our next bold steps are as a church. We are imperfect people following a perfect God…and we always have room for improvement! Therefore, if you find yourself feeling frustrated (like the 2%), I want to remind and encourage you to speak your mind to me (or your direct staff upline). But in doing so…make sure you are bringing solutions, keeping a positive attitude, and going directly to the people who can implement change. And….maybe you can bring us the next amazing idea that will alienate the next 2%!
