CHAPTER 20
Innovating
You can judge your age by the amount of
pain you feel when you come into contact
with a new idea.
JOHN NUVEENContinual change is the reality of our era. Global competition and
rapidly shifting consumer demands force businesses to “innovate
or die.” Social norms and expectations keep shifting. Peter
Drucker reminds us, “Reality never stands still very long.”
Authors Arnold Brown and Edith Weiner captured our entre-
preneurial march into the future: “In a time of rapid, turbulent,
and confusing change, you must fall away from a past that pre-
vents you from seeing the potential ahead.”
Effective leaders must blend history and precedent with wis-
dom from the past, applying them to emerging realities. Billy Gra-
ham launched his ministry in an era when many religious leaders
warned that Christianity would survive only by “modernizing” its
message. Yet he stubbornly preached historical, biblical Christian-
ity. At the same time, he communicated this message innova-
tively. Billy may have drawn from the organizing genius of
Dwight Moody and the preaching dynamics of Billy Sunday, but
he used communication tools as they emerged, keeping the mes-
sage the same but adapting to the delivery systems. “We used
every modern means to catch attention,” Graham said, in describ-
ing his early days with Youth for Christ. This spirit continued
throughout his career.