Leading the Ecommerce "Believer"

E-commerce (online) is a growing marketplace, where millions of consumers are interacting daily through a new and “improved” place to do business. Whether people utilize the World Wide Web monthly, weekly, daily, hourly, or every other minute, people are impacted culturally by the new e-commerce (ECOM) world. ECOM has changed our lives in so many ways. Ecommerce first started connecting the world through improved email capabilities. Then, slowly but surely, we started utilizing the web for information searches. Today, people utilize the web daily for shopping, paying bills, chatting, playing games, searching for information, emailing friends and family, and so on. It impacts our daily life even if we are not personally using the web every moment we can.

So – How in the world does this relate to today’s Christianity? Well, look at today’s Believers. Below are some comparisons (not all necessarily bad) between consumer behavior and Believer behavior.

Ecommerce Consumerism – Now, more than ever, people have become consumers. They go online, search thousands of sites, get shown all of the products in the world at the “lowest possible” prices, and are encouraged to pay for the products in any way possible through ‘alternative payment solutions’. People are in a mode of “resource utilization for personal benefit’. This, more than anything else, has changed today’s Believer and standard “church-goer”. Believers want something for nothing and everything is about meeting their personal needs.

Non-Denominational and Non-Brand Focused – People now a days look for value, not necessarily ‘brand’ dedication. If this brand is cheaper and provides more personal benefit, then I will “buy into” it. Same with churches and denominations.

“Ease of Shopping” – It’s posted everywhere online for consumers… shop where its easiest, takes the least effort, etc… Consumers and Believers now focus on what brings the most value with the least effort.

“Customization” – Today’s consumer expects that products can be customized to their desire, because its all about the customer. Believers also expect to find something that can be customized to their needs. It’s not about changing their life, its about changing the ‘religion’.

Customer First Initiatives – Its now all about the customer, and sometimes less about reasonable sound business objectives. Customer focus has moved so far towards the customer and their needs, latest desires, etc… that companies constantly struggle with balancing business objectives with outrageous customer demands. Believers, without realizing it, expect the same. It’s all about them, not the corporate initiative and objectives. It’s hard to separate the two mentalities and expectations.

Minimal Effort – Today’s consumer can simply point and click to receive their latest consumer desire. Similarly, Believers are expecting to participate in a church, receive their latest desire, and put no effort into the process.

No Personal Interaction – The Ecommerce world has created a culture that is electronic, with little to no personal interaction and actual “people effort”. Similarly, Believers now expect to come, sit, listen, and go. The less personal interaction, the more comfortable they will be. This one is probably not even realized by those participating and is simply an enhancement of American church goers for the last several generations. Believers just now do it better than before.

Choices, Choices, Choices – It would be ludicrous to tell today’s consumer that there is one store that will meet all their needs, provide the best “customer experience”, and so on. Today’s consumer knows that not one single place can or will provide for their needs at the least possible price. Similarly, those looking for “religion” can’t believe and refuse to believe that one single religion or church can offer the right mix of beliefs, opportunities, and support. Rather, multiple churches and maybe multiple religions are required to meet people’s needs – at least that’s the perspective.

Bombardment – if a consumer is not bombarded with the latest “trend”, through multiple informational and communication channels, then the message will be missed. Believers and church-goers expect bombardment. If not, the specific thing will not be important. We value what we see – constantly!

Fads - now more than ever, consumers react heavily on fads. Look at the dot.com craze, the wireless boom, the picture phone, or the Adkins diet. We live in a faster paced, electronic, instantaneous world. Believers trend the same. What’s the latest sermon series (Purpose Driven)? What’s the latest church (Vineyard, Willow Creek)? What’s the latest movie (Passion)? Believers are as fickle as consumers around fads. They respond more to these fads than eternal Truths.

StoreFront Creatives – Every website focuses on providing some type of unique design, creative artwork, or customer tool. Consumers expect to find the website storefront that suits their current likes, dislikes, and style. Ecommerce Companies spend millions on website designs, trying to adjust to consumers personal style. Similarly, people look for a church that meets their current personal style and current life-style. The expectation is that a church must be or change quickly to where they are at as the “consumer”, rather than vice-versa. Believers interact in their “church lives” like they do in their day-to-day lives. Its electronic (non-face-to-face), quick, easy, selfish, and fully consumer focused, and trendy. Consistent, reliable, sacrificial Believers are contra to the consumer that culture has pushed for us to be. Not only is Christianity a moral battle in America, its now first and foremost a cultural battle.

Back to Politics

Back to a topic from a while back... politics in business and ministry leadership arenas. I have known for several years that politics are a reality in leadership. I also knew that not all politics are bad and that we all have our own natural bend toward utilizing politics to advance our ideas or agenda.

I did not realize, however, the reality that we all find ourselves on a political spectrum. I have spent some time studying politics and business and was recommended a must read called "The Survival of the Savvy". Great book by the way.

I started to recognize that there are two spectrums we live in with our natural political style. Either we are performance driven, meaning we advance our agenda and careers through performance focused politics; or we are relationship driven, meaning we focus on building strong relationships to push our concepts. Neither is necessarily bad, but there are varying levels within each camp.

Too far on one side, and you become totally naive to the reality and importance of relationships. Too far on the other, and you never get anything done, tend to come off as deceiptful, and rely only on your powerful relationships. Both extremes are horrible leadership misteps.

In ministry, most cultures fall closer to the Relationship side of the spectrum. And, if people are not careful, they may find themselves never actually making anything happen in ministry because they spend all their time trying to drum up new relationships or build bigger networks. And sometimes, if relationships take over their mindset, they may never actually carry out any specific vision or strategy. They will be too worried about their precious relationships.

You are Not "IMMUNE" to Virtual Teams...

To continue from my last post...

We are all impacted by virtual team principles and responsibilities. For example, maybe you work in the church world. I suspect that you and your team do not share common office hours and common locations... AND I AM including your volunteer team members in that. Many church leaders these days are lay leaders or bi-vocational, so sitting around in in-person meetings are a thing of the past. Or, maybe you lead in the business world and have peers, teammates, or employees that work different shifts, different locations, or in different functions.

Ultimately, you are probably part of a Virtual Team (a team where you do not have consistent focused common in-person times together to make decisions, take action, and/or plan).

So - what does this mean for you? It means:

1. A change in communication style (more frequent, more electronic, more creative, etc...)
2. A change in mission and expectations
3. An increase in automony and trust
4. A drastic change in leadership focus (become a "boundary" leader, supporting your team to succeed in their roles and protecting them from competing priorities)
5. An even stronger reliance on a robust TEAM-focused environment where healthy confrontation is expected and significant buy-in exists for common shared goals

And so much more... STAY TUNED!

Virtual Team Leadership

YES - Virtual Teams. They are becoming more and more a reality in our business and church leadership worlds. Virtual you ask! Virtual meaning having teams that are dispersed across multiple functions, geographies, time zones, shifts, and even locations. Virtual teams are generally right under our noses, we may even lead one ourselves, and we totally miss it.

So what does this mean for you, a leader? Well... it means that you don't lead and motivate and drive these type of teams the same way. And, if you do, it will be detrimental to the performance and productivity of the team!

Following posts will speak to virtual team leadership and best practices. What really works, and what doesn't. And, most importantly, what is most critical about leading virtual teams that if you miss it, you will probably fail.