Learning to be Something to Somebody
Marcus Buckingham in his latest book, The One Thing You Need to Know , offers a difficult challenge to pastors and churches. The Apostle Paul seems to set the standard for us as he boasts of becoming "all things to all people." (1 Cor. 9:22) Buckingham contends though, that the way to serve in an excellent fashion is to be precise about who we intend to serve and the aim of that service. When we attempt to serve "everyone" in "every way," we end up serving "no one" very well, let alone with excellence.
Pastors and churches commonly experience the confusion, anxiety, stress, and ineffectiveness of attempting to be "all things to all people." The Christian mandate, however, is to be concerned with the welfare of all. If we focus on one group, aren't we shirking our responsibility to others? How can we justifiably narrow our focus, when there are so many needs?
Bear with us, for we find that both Paul and Buckingham have something important to say. Paul writes to the faithful and uses Christ's concern for all creation as basic to his point. Paul reminds us to continually raise the bar in the breadth of our love and service, while Buckingham, using the example of Best Buy stores, points to a path that can help us achieve that intent.
Initially, Best Buy sought to offer the widest variety of equipment at the lowest price. If it was available, they had it. Salespersons, paid by commission, pushed as many gadgets as possible on each person who walked through the doors. Though not intentional, employees typically ended up relating in ways that were inherently disrespectful of Best Buy's customers, using the customers to fulfill their own needs.
In 1989 the company initiated a change. They chose to clarify their focus about who they sought to serve. They stopped trying to be all things to all people and offering everything to everybody. They shifted their primary focus to serving customers who wanted to integrate the store's technology into their lives, but didn't know how. Salespeople were taken off commission and directed to "help" rather than "sell". The focus was placed on serving the smart but confused customer.
The shift may sound merely like playing with words. The effect, however, was powerful. Salespeople experienced:
Each local Best Buy store focuses in even a more narrow way through talking with and listening to customers in their different market areas. Five segments or groups of "smart but confused" customers were identified. One or two of these segments generally dominate in any particular geographical area. Thus, each store focuses on a very specific segment of customers with distinct needs. Each segment is smart about different things and also confused about different things. This focus gave salespersons clarity about their role and their job. Their anxiety about what they should be doing was reduced. They were released from attempting to be all things to all people. Both customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction improved.
Although as a corporation Best Buy is clear about the customer group focus for each store, the corporation leaves strategies for connecting with that group up to the imagination and creativity of the employees in each particular store. The focus is determined for them but how they live out connecting with their focus group calls forth their unique gifts, playfulness, and ingenuity.
In Best Buy stores, sales are obviously made to persons other than those in the targeted segment of people. The focus on the segment, however, has a ripple effect, influencing how a salesperson interacts with every customer. Attention is on the other person, the customer, and what he/she needs. Everyone is treated with the same respect. The objective is not to have the person walk out of the store with a purchase, but to respond to the real life situation of the individual. The salespersons are released to serve with the objective to help the smart but confused person connect with what will serve the needs of that person.
The store may not be all things to all people. It does, however, become more things to more people, which brings us back to the Apostle Paul.
It is not uncommon for us to hear congregants and pastors wish longingly for new people who would help teach Sunday School, bring in new energy, assume some of the workload, and help with the finances. When we view newcomers in that way, we fall into the same trap as the old Best Buy salesforce: "What can we say that will entice them to stay?" " How many people can we say we’ve brought into the church this year?" We end up treating people in ways that are fundamentally disrespectful and counter to the gospel, using them to fill our own needs.
It is a very different thing to look at a person walking through the door on Sunday morning and become curious about him or her and listening so as to learn what he/she needs. What is the life situation of this person? What does she need in order to step more fully into the person God created her to be? What can we offer to help him experience and embrace transformation?
Best Buy knows exactly the question to frame an interaction and keep it focused on the other person, "What specifically is this person smart but confused about? How can we help this person integrate electronic technology into her life?" Do we know as clearly the questions that will frame an interaction and keep it appropriately focused? Until a church learns how to be something to somebody, it is at risk of being very little to anybody.
Applying It: Questions for Reflection