JetBlue and Multisite Churches
I just read a fascinating article on JetBlue and CEO David Neeleman. Jet Blue has become one of the fastest growing airlines pulling in almost $1 billion in revenue in 2003. They expect to add at least 1700 employees in the next 12 months and a new plane every three weeks. The question is: can Jet Blue maintin it's cultural distinctives as it grows larger?
I think that is the question any growing church faces--especially a multi-site church. Can we stay flexible and focused as we grow larger? Can we grow large without losing those unique distinctives that helped us grow large?
Chuck Salter says, "Can JetBlue maintain those qualities as it morphs from nimble startup into the bureaucracy that's required to manage a vastly more complex operation? It's a question that applies to many truly innovative companies these days. Call them postmodern corporations, perhaps. if they pull off the transition, they become big, but remain in importants ways the antithesis of bigness--think Starbucks, Dell, and Amazon. Like JetBlue, they depend on flexibility, speed, and a sense of intimacy with employees and customers alike. Put another way, the challenge JetBlue now faces is this: Is small scalable?"
JetBlue is doing a few things to scale itself. Salter says, "As JetBlue grows, it relies more and more on employees who weren't there in the beginning, when the entire staff could fit in one room. That's why preserving the culture increasingly requires conscious effort, starting with orientation."
JetBlue does a five-day orientation called Principles of Leadership (POL). The goal is to trasmit the culture and values of JetBlue to it's growing number of employees and managers.
Salter comes to an interesting conclusion: "In many ways, the question of whether JetBlue can do all this--grow and standardize and automate--while still perseving its personal touch comes down to this: Can Neeleman be scaled?"
That is the challenge every multi-site church faces.
I think that is the question any growing church faces--especially a multi-site church. Can we stay flexible and focused as we grow larger? Can we grow large without losing those unique distinctives that helped us grow large?
Chuck Salter says, "Can JetBlue maintain those qualities as it morphs from nimble startup into the bureaucracy that's required to manage a vastly more complex operation? It's a question that applies to many truly innovative companies these days. Call them postmodern corporations, perhaps. if they pull off the transition, they become big, but remain in importants ways the antithesis of bigness--think Starbucks, Dell, and Amazon. Like JetBlue, they depend on flexibility, speed, and a sense of intimacy with employees and customers alike. Put another way, the challenge JetBlue now faces is this: Is small scalable?"
JetBlue is doing a few things to scale itself. Salter says, "As JetBlue grows, it relies more and more on employees who weren't there in the beginning, when the entire staff could fit in one room. That's why preserving the culture increasingly requires conscious effort, starting with orientation."
JetBlue does a five-day orientation called Principles of Leadership (POL). The goal is to trasmit the culture and values of JetBlue to it's growing number of employees and managers.
Salter comes to an interesting conclusion: "In many ways, the question of whether JetBlue can do all this--grow and standardize and automate--while still perseving its personal touch comes down to this: Can Neeleman be scaled?"
That is the challenge every multi-site church faces.
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