The M16, Donald Trump, and the "V" Team

Once upon a time, I watched an interesting program on the History Channel about the Vietnam War. As the history goes, President JFK chose Robert McNamara, former CEO of Ford Motor Company, as Secretary of Defense. A debate raged about replacing the M-14 rifle with something up-to-date that would better compete with the Russian made AK-47. The office responsible for the development of new technology for use by the military was the ARPA (Advance Research Projects Agency), which was made up of Pentagon military veterans. McNamara promptly swept through that office replacing these "Pentagon ordnance experts" with "Ph.D.s", many of which were former members of the Rand Corporation think-tank, lacking real combat experience.
To make a long, convoluted story short, McNamara used bottom line policy in deciding the fate of thousands of soldiers by choosing arms that malfunctioned on the battlefield. The early M-16's given to the front-line men where highly criticized because of there unreliability and were nicknamed "Mattel toys" by the soldiers. What in tarnation does this have to do with church video production? Well, as I watched this show I began to see some similarities in how some churches design a video program. McNamara didn't have the expertise or experience to make effective military decisions. BUT, before you get offended, that is not what lead to the demise of so many in Vietnam. The real crime was that he did not trust those that did, and went as far as to replace the ones he should have trusted with bottom line thinkers like himself, making him looking good on the ledger. He should have taken a page from Henry Ford's philosophy about leadership. On a tour of one of his assembly lines a woman asked him if he could operate any of the machinery on display. To paraphrase the heart of his answer, he said no, it wasn't his job to know, but his job to know who can and keep them employed. I'm grateful to say my boss, Rod Pearcy (www.rodpearcy.com), knows this wisdom. He doesn't know how our Pesa router works. Doesn't care. But, requires us to know what we need, and know how to make it work effectively so that he can deal with larger issues. I've been learning to let go of some matters and leave them in the hands of others too, who quite frankly, are better at it than me anyway.
What would have changed the pages of McNamara's history? Well, he could have brought combat veterans, soldiers from the front lines of Vietnam and arms engineers together and let everyone at the table have the freedom of input. We have to be careful not to make decisions in a vacuum, without the "check" of seasoned video personnel. Why does this sometimes happen? I think it's mostly because churches don't know enough about multimedia and video production to know that there is a lot to know about multimedia and video production. I've got quite a bit of experience in video and realize daily that I have so much more to learn. One wouldn't dare spend 4 months designing an entire sanctuary on napkins, then going to an architect and saying, here, make this work (by Tuesday). But it happens in other areas.
If you have hired a video team, please involve them in every stage of a project. Even if you are using a consultant, let your team be a part of the process because they are going to have the pulse on your churches needs based on experience, and they are the ones that will have to use the system. Believe it or not, Donald Trump actually said something interesting. He said, take advice/ideas from EVERYONE, it doesn't have to mean you implement them all.
The challenge to church leadership: take a soldier out to lunch. One of the guys who push all the buttons and make things happen. Ask them what they think of their job, department, equipment, etc. Ask them what they would do differently or what equipment or organizational changes would make their job easier and more effective. That doesn't mean the sheep should lead the shepherd, but there is a reason great generals, during battle, only eat soldier's rations... to stay in touch with the ones that make things happen. Remember, whether it's video production, literature, or church accounting, it's all about finding the most effect ways of making disciples. Sometimes it's not what you know that makes you valuable, it's knowing what you don't know, finding the people that do, and letting them shine. This will free you as well, letting you shine in your areas of expertise.

For more on the M16 and McNamara story, check out these links:
http://www.jouster.com/articles30m1/M16part2.html
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/M/M1/M16_(rifle).htm