It’s about $8 million a year – at least on the scale of the operations of UPS and its fleet of more than 95,000 trucks. It seems that in today’s troubled economy, the importance of the bottom line is becoming increasingly critical to organizations of all sizes.

No doubt, you have experienced sitting in a left-turn lane, waiting on the light to change so you can make your turn. It’s a waste of time and money – not much of either on an individual scale, but if you are big enough, say the size of delivery giant UPS, all those pennies begin to add up.

This realization — that when you operate a gigantic fleet of vehicles, tiny improvements in the efficiency of each one will translate to huge savings overall — is what led UPS to limit the number of left-hand turns its drivers make.

The company employs what it calls a “package flow” software program, which, among other highly-efficient practices, involves: the packing and sorting of its cargo, mapping out routes for every one of its drivers, and drastically reducing the number of left-hand turns they make (taking into consideration, of course, those instances where not to make the left-hand turn would result in a ridiculously circuitous route).

In a recent report, UPS revealed that the software helped the company shave 28.5 million miles off its delivery routes, which has resulted in savings of roughly 3 million gallons of gas (at today’s average price, that’s almost the above mentioned $8 million). It’s also reduced CO2 emissions by 31,000 metric tons. That’s significant.

Your organization is probably a fraction the size of UPS. You don’t have the economies of scale to gain such huge benefits. But look beyond the specifics to the principles behind this action:

•You are probably not operating at peak efficiencies of your ministry, people, facility and financial resources

•Your bottom line could probably use a boost

•You probably have people in your congregation that could help you analyze your operations to look for improvements in efficiencies

The question is, are you willing to pay the price to gain the benefits?

Here’s the formula: C(SQ) > R(C). For those non-math people like me, here is the English translation: Change happens when the cost of the status quo is greater than the risk of change.

I’ve been reading Alan Webber’s “Rules of Thumb,” and this one jumped out at me. Webber is a former Harvard Business Review editor and the founder of Fast Company magazine. Throughout his career, he’s made a practice of writing down lessons learned on 3x5 cards. His book is the result of compiling the best of these lessons. I found it to be a great read with plenty of practical advice. Now, back to the change thing!

In more than 23 years as a church staff member, and in the five years I’ve been a church development consultant, I have seen one constant: change. In church life, even though it is sometimes masked very well, change is an ever-current reality. Many times, change involves deeply committed people who believe in their cause, are convinced they are right, and are prepared to sacrifice greatly, if that’s what it takes to “win.”

Most of the time they lose and sacrifice greatly.

It doesn’t have to be that way – but most of the time it is. I have personal stories (and scars) to prove the point. It’s not enough to be convinced that you are right – the other side is equally convinced that it is right, too. If you turn change into an “it’s him or me” decision, and you’ve announced that you’ve staked your future on the decision, it’s time to start packing your bags.

On the other hand, if you actually want to win (rather than becoming a martyr for your cause), there are some techniques and tactics you can learn that will change the math in your favor:

•Make sure you are in the game for the long haul. If you care enough to fight, care enough to stay and fight. When change is involved, you will be fighting many of the same battles over and over. You’ve got to be there to fight them with your eye on the long-term.

•Learn the other side’s language and know its argument better than it does. This may require learning new ideas, words and actions. Only when you understand your opposition’s point of view will you be able to make your viewpoint all the more compelling.

•It’s not enough to be against something that’s bad; you have to be for something that is better. If all you’re offering is nothing, the old something – bad as it is – will win. Frustrated as you may be against the status quo, you need to work out all the details, arguments and economics of your much better alternative.

•Look for allies. It’s easy for change-agents to paint themselves into a corner with their logic and find themselves all alone when they get there. Genuinely creative change cuts across all boundaries and offers you the opportunity to create new partners and allies.

Learning to make change is all about learning to do the math of change. Done right, it’s not only a soft art; it’s also a hard science.

Related Article:

When Change Comes to Your Church: Catching the Signals from the Opposition

Earl Creps – pastor, ministries consultant, university professor and church planter – has written an extraordinary book, "Reverse Mentoring." The principle is simple: Instead of the traditional mentoring relationship of older to younger, flip it upside down – the younger person now mentors the older person.

Growing in popularity throughout the late 1990s, it now continues to spread through the business world, especially as technology seems to outpace our ability to understand and apply it. But it’s not just about gadgets and geeks. it's about generational barriers as well. And the Church is not latching on to this vital area of learning opportunities.

The Church is a great place for reverse mentoring to take place. Just look at generational differences alone: It would not be hard to find a church leadership structure in which three, four, maybe even five generations of individuals would be involved in leadership decisions and actions. What a fertile ground for reverse learning to take place!

The barrier may be, as Creps points out, a humility deficit more than anything else. Taking instruction from less-experienced people in a volunteer organization suggests that the insight and capability of those at the top may be eroding or missing in embarrassing ways. The first step in reverse mentoring, then, is facing reality by confronting the uncomfortable truths below.

»Identity: I am not cool.

Admitting that my youth is behind me forms the first step in the process of acknowledging my lack of cool. Older leaders never received any preparation for the importance of cool as an issue – or their inevitable decline in this market. Age and experience alone were supposed to guarantee a following, but it turns out that the beauty, hipness, uniqueness and contagiousness we once assumed can be counted on no longer. Trying to bluff by dressing or acting differently only makes things worse. Fortunately, a better option probably sits next to you at a meeting – a younger person or some other unlikely brand of friend who possesses both the knowledge you need and the willingness to share it. To lead, it’s not necessary to be cool or young. It is necessary to have the grace to admit it when you are not.

»Culture: I don't get it.

A pastor Creps interviewed had this to say: "Every day, I get a little more disconnected unless I intentionally work at staying connected. We live in a plug-and-play world, which poses a problem for many of my peers who are hard-wired. They need what only the next generation can give: connectedness." Here's the world that generation lives in:

•I love media, but I trust my friends.

•I am aware of broadcasting, but I trust narrowcasting.

•I spend money, but I trust art.

•I respect excellence, but I trust authenticity.

•I resist church, but I trust Jesus.

Reverse mentoring requires someone at the top saying, "I don't get it," but recognizing that someone else – and maybe not their first choice – does.

»Ministry: I am not relevant.

Despite pure motives and hard work, many key influencers in organizations find themselves at the limit of their abilities long before the midpoint of their career. Their leadership models and skills simply clock out – not because they failed, but because they succeeded in a world that no longer cares as much. Practical relevance itself floats, relative to the issues and the context involved.

Reverse mentoring connects older leaders with younger teachers, opening a path of enhancing the elder's practical relevance – while the young draw from the wisdom and integrity of those who have been sustained by principle relevance for many years.

Isn’t it about time you learned from someone younger than you?

Related Articles:

The Power of Mentoring: A Model in Leadership Development

10 Powerful Principles for Effective Mentoring