» 5. Adaptive methods

We can thank Jean Calvin for the Swiss watch. In 1541, he restricted the wearing of jewelry—a worldly vanity. This forced the goldsmiths and other jewellers to turn into a new, independent craft : watchmaking. By the end of the century, Genevan watches were reputed for their high quality.

For centuries the Swiss have been the [...]

Cartoon source

When your horse dies it’s a good idea to dismount. When you’re in a hole it’s time to stop digging. When the paradigm needs to change, you can’t work your way to success. You need to change the rules of the game.

Ten years ago most analysts wrote off Apple. Today they all wish they’d [...]

This report from Kristen Hiller via Guy Muse in Ecuador:

Sunlight pours through the glass ceiling of the Fundacion Clemencia, flooding the great room where a small cluster of elderly residents clap their hands and sing: “Santo, santo, santo!” or “Holy, holy, holy!”

Had Jose and Adriana Salazar not taken in these abandoned elderly in Ecuador, they [...]

More wisdom from Brenda Ueland on creativity.

(1) “Imagination comes, works, when you are not trying, when you have a peculiar passive clarity.”

(2) “The tragedy is that either they stifle their fire [creative spirit] by not believing in it and using it; or they try to prove to the world and themselves that they have it, [...]

Garr Reynolds at PresentationZen has been reading Brenda Ueland on creativity. Some great insights on a great book.

Here are the first six:

(1) “...the creative power is in all of you if you give it a little time, if you do not always keep it out by hurrying and feeling guilty in times when you should [...]

We couldn’t have had the Reformation without:

1) the message of Martin Luther; and
2) the printing press of Johannes Gutenberg.

Indulging in print

On a similar wavelength, some more great insights from OnMovments on Movements and Materials.

Dynamic movements use adaptive methods to spread the heart of their message like a virus.

Solid core. Pliable exterior.

Dying movements lock in their [...]

I’ve just flown out of the land of the MegaChurch for Trinidad. According to a missionary friend here, Trinidad has over 1000 churches and over 100 denominations.

But back to the US, the land of MegaChurches.

According to theweekmagazine the hottest sector of American religious life is the megachurch. The US now has 1,210 churches with congregations [...]

In 1891 William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, bought a derelict factory in Old Ford, London. He fitted it with large windows and wash-basins, installed machinery and set people to work making Safety Matches.

During the latter part of the nineteenth century many workers (mostly women) in the matchmaking industry suffered from necrosis, or “phossy-jaw”. [...]

“Been flat out like a lizard drinking” as my dad would say.

So here’s a quick and easy, but profound post. . . . More to follow on the emerging church in the next few days.

Margaret Wheatley believes streams can teach us about organizations (movements) and the need for adaptive methods.
I am attracted to the diversity [...]

Who killed the encyclopedia salesman?

Dynamic movements are willing to change everything about themselves in the pursuit of their mission—except their core beliefs and convictions.

The fifth characteristic of dynamic movements: Adaptive Methods.mp3