Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should

This is a conversation that I've had with my 9-year old son several times recently. For him, we are working on self-control. We'll say things like, "Just because you can climb to the top of a 60-foot tree, doesn't mean you should."

It applies to churches as well. At Granger, we are in a season of intense focus. I was reminded of this as I continued reading the book Mavericks at Work. Here are some nuggets related to saying "no" to opportunities:

Pg 57:  Are you prepared to reject opportunities that offer short-term benefits but distract your organization from its long-term mission?

Pg 57: Scott Bedbury [of Nike and Starbucks] likes to say that some of the best moves he ever made were the growth opportunities he passed up. He calls it the "Spandex Rule of Branding," and it applies to strategy as well as marketing: "Just because you can doesn't mean you should."

Pg 58: "The 'invisible' decisions that you make to stay on purpose can be ten times more important than your visible decisions," argues Roy Spence. "Nothing's more difficult that saying no to an attractive opportunity. And nothing's more important."