My elementary school was attached to a junior high and high school. Lynn Camp Elementary and Lynn Camp High School met in the same building and shared the same resources.
Early in the morning, before the first bell, all of the kids (1-12th grade) would gather on the playground. The younger kids would hit the playground equipment while the high schoolers would stand around and smoke cigarettes (Yeah, that is how schools rolled back then.).
One of the fun morning activities was related to the merry-go-round. We had what I would describe as a homemade merry-go-round. It was made of wood and metal bars. It was built for speed. And I have never seen another one like it since.
Kids would pile on this amazing device to the max and beyond. If the seating capacity (Yes, seating capacity. It was not built for standing. Only death would come to the kid who was dumb enough to stand on it.) was 20 kids, we’d fit 30 on it. After loading up, we would yell at the high schoolers to push us. Usually one hulk of a kid would strut over and put the machine in motion. And the ride would begin ever so slowly.
“Faster! Faster!” We would yell. Of course in the early moments of the ride, the mass from the number of kids–coupled with the fact the high schooler had to put his cigarette in his mouth so as to use both hands–would cause the merry-go-round to move very slowly. “Faster! Faster!” After a while it would pick up speed and everything would become a blur to those taking the ride.
It was almost as if the merry-go-round was designed to use the mass of the kids to increase the speed exponentially over time based on the force from the high schooler. Put 1 kid on the ride and he could go fast in a short period of time; put 30 on it and they could break the sound barrier over several minutes of pushing.
Jim Collins popularized the flywheel concept for your team in Good to Great. For me, it is that wooden merry-go-round loaded with kids yelling, “Faster! Faster!” Regardless of whatever works for you, remember great transformations usually come about over time and through cumulative processes. Rarely does a big breakthrough happen overnight. It takes some time pushing and pushing. Yes, the Lord has been known to move in the instant, and He is likely to do so in the future. However, He often works through means in His universe.
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The first review of To the Edge: Reflections on Kingdom Leadership, Mission, and Innovation has been posted at Amazon. Check it out!