Month: November 2013

BAM in a Box

/ Phill

Business as mission is growing in popularity as an approach for outreach around the world. Many practitioners are looking for ways to produce more businesses that will also take God’s love and the gospel to the needy. Lately, they have been looking to franchises as a way to develop business faster, easier, and with a greater chance of success.

The idea of being able to take a known concept that is working and multiply it is attractive and shows some promise. The Business as Mission Think Tank Franchising Committee has been studying models for rapid replication and recently issued their report. They analyzed the state of the knowledge, proposed guidelines, and recommended resources on the “how-to” for would be BAM practitioners.

This article highlights key findings.

Many people getting into Business as Mission are missionaries, often with little business experience/skills, who recognize the opportunity in business as a way for reaching their communities. For them a franchise is like a boxed product that comes with a proven successful model, training, resources and systems to help secure success. The built-in processes provide safeguards to help the less experienced avoid foolish mistakes and failure.

These advantages are desirable not only for the would-be BAMpreneur but for missions agencies and others in the business community looking to multiply BAM opportunities. While the franchise can help business people avoid problems, it is not a cure-all for success. Business aptitude and skills are required, to varying degrees, for all who would enter the world of BAM. Agencies sometimes overlook this fact as was observed in the report, “While agencies will go to great lengths to make sure that people are prepared missionally, they discount the skill set required to do business.”

Building a successful franchise is more difficult than it appears. Few proven BAM franchising models exist. BAM franchising has a lot of work to do to build the necessary expertise.

The report lists a number of best practices, which lead to success, and worst practices which lead to failure. These are worth studying but there is not time in this article to enumerate them. Follow the link at the end to the full report for more information.

A few findings stand out in the report:

1. “Some of the businesses in the profiles had leadership teams where some of the people focused on the business and some on the ‘ministry.’ This divided approach to management and leadership eventually causes tension and can negatively impact the business morale, health, and financial success.”

2. Those looking to get into franchise business need to seriously equip themselves with the necessary skills and expertise.

3. Every BAM business needs to develop a list of success criteria and measure themselves against it as they build the business plan and begin to execute it.

4. Running a BAM operation is complex and requires preparation and strong commitment. One must have the conviction that God is calling you to such an endeavor.

5. There seems to be no shortage of people who want to be experts, advisors, and consultants. What is most needed are people willing to go and be “feet on the ground.” “We need people who are fully equipped and willing to go and invest time and money to start such businesses.”

It seems that the committee was looking to create franchises out of existing BAM companies. One area not explored in the report which may have value is to start with existing “secular” franchises. There are literally thousands of them with varying levels of expense, regulation, and complexity. Many have already developed assessment tools to identify the best fit between the entrepreneur and their business model. Could any of these franchises and tools be adapted by BAM practitioners?

Franchising has many advantages, but also challenges. The BAM Franchise group has created a number of tools and guidelines to help get started.

Of Giants and Men

/ Phill

“Sometimes people of faith do not understand that with the spirit of the Lord you are not the underdog.”

http://globalopps.org/tmbriefs/david_and_goliath.jpg

Inspiration can be found in the most unexpected places. Out-of-the box thinker Malcolm Gladwell known for books like the Tipping Point and Blink was interviewing to promote his latest book, David and Goliath. The short video was filled with surprises.

Who would imagine a staff writer for the New Yorker magazine writing about a 3000 years old Biblical account. But then he is an out-of-the-box person.

His purpose was to study situations where the powerless came up against the powerful and the dynamic for handling the encounter. Along the way he was surprised by his findings. There are many parallels in modern social interaction where the lessons learned can be applied.

Gladwell takes a fresh look at a familiar old story and concludes we may have got it all wrong all these years. He digs deep investigating the history and culture surrounding the combat.

The story is told as if David was a long shot to come out on top in the conflict. However, when one understands the power of the weapons in David’s favor the scales tip. He should have been seen as the favorite.

Gladwell discovers from the story of David and other historical accounts that the weak have three weapons they can use when confronting challenges – faith, courage, and determination. These turn out to be powerful enough to overcome their foes. Of the three weapons, Gladwell discovers that the most powerful is one’s faith. One “cannot read the story without coming away with a renewed appreciation for the power faith gives people.”

He then looks at other examples in the human annals to draw some surprising conclusions.

Tentmakers and Business as Mission practitioners will take heart as they re-visit the story of the weak confronting overwhelming odds. When giant obstacles come your way, take heart. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.

He recently recorded a TED talk where he tells the story of David and Goliath as he understands it after his research. The reader will learn new facts about that combat and have a new appreciation for the narrative in Scripture.

This last clip from his interview while promoting his book reveals how through his research he has been drawn back to the roots of his faith. (7 minutes)

Malcolm Gladwell’s book David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants is currently #3 on the New York Times non-fiction book list.