Posts Tagged ‘fragmentation’
Church: Google or Apple?
January 5, 2012
photo credit: http://www.talkandroid.com
I need to admit something to you. I secretly read all the web/tech blogs. I love it. I can’t get enough. Ask me the difference between the ‘interest graph’ and the ‘social graph,’ and I’ll have an answer. Propose to me all your reasons why the laptop is an evolutionary dead-end, and I’ll add three more reasons.
I think I’m so into this stuff because more pure innovation happens here than anywhere else. The lessons begging to be learned and applied in other fields are endless. Such is the case with the raging war between Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.
To be up front with you, I operate on Android–phone and tablet–but I choose not to get into the petty word battles. I think Apple products are amazing. Steve Jobs will be remembered less as a computer genius and more as an artist. But the benefits of Android in my opinion are worth the draw-backs.
Nevertheless, Android and the ‘Fandroids’ love slinging mud at Apple and her followers, and the latter have no problem throwing it right back. The fundamental argument is over what Apple calls Android’s problem of ‘fragmentation.’ Here’s the simple version:
Because only two hardware platforms use iOS–iPhone and iPad–the people who develop our precious Apps have very little work to do in order to make sure the Apps function perfectly, regardless of your device. Android on the other hand runs on 216 unique devices at last count, manufactured by more than 20 companies. 216! That means when an App developer wants to make your life easier when it comes to, say, choosing a restaurant, he has to consider how it might scale differently on each of the 216 devices, not to mention all the different screen sizes or versions of the OS. (Too much geek talk? Let me get to the point.)
Apple and Google say they see this issue differently. While Google say their ecosystem is ‘inclusive’ (‘look at all the devices you can choose!’), Apple calls it fragmented (‘Don’t expect an App to work on your Xoom just because it works on your Razr.) And herein lies the problem–which is better? An operating system that works perfectly but only on two devices? Or one that gives you tons of device and brand options but may not offer the same experience across them all?
The answer isn’t easy. It’s a philosophical debate. And we face the same dilemma in the church at so many levels. Shouldn’t we ‘be all things to all people?’ But if we attempt to make the gospel work across all ‘platforms,’ isn’t that diluting the message? What about weekend services–hymns, drums, liturgies–do you try to be ‘inclusive’ in your styles? Or does that just lead to ‘fragmentation?’ If we say no to inclusion, well, isn’t that… exclusive? Are we OK with that?
What’s your answer? Should our ecclesiology–the way we do church–be functional across our own platforms at the risk of exclusivity, or should it work in countless ways, at the risk of fragmentation?
Be Progressive
December 22, 2011
photo credit: http://online.wsj.com
I loved working for Progressive Insurance.
Most insurance companies operate their claims process on the specialist model. They train people to be very good at one part of the claims process. You might have had some experience with this, if you’ve ever wrecked your car. It goes something like… car accident, call to the insurance company, reporting specialist takes the info and tells you to expect a call from the rental specialist, the property damage specialist and the injury specialist. You field all those calls, get your rental car, meet with the other two and then wait for the car to be repaired. When all is said and done, you’ve moved through five or six people. If it all works according to plan, you’re off driving again in no time.
Unfortunately, nothing ever seems to go as planned. When trouble comes in a situation like this, it becomes very difficult to solve problems. You’re left wondering who to call for what, or worse, told that you’ll get a call back that never comes. Each specialist believes it is the other’s responsibility. While the specialist model costs a lot less to manage–less time training, lower salaries, etc., it inevitably costs tons more in lawsuits and unhappy clients.
Progressive has one of the best customer satisfaction/profitability ratios of any auto insurance companies out there, and it’s because they use a different model. Progressive operates on the generalist model. When I was hired, the company spent $37,000 (not including my regular salary) sending me through 4 months of training, where I learned how to take a claim report, set up a rental car, write estimates on damaged property, assess injury, write big checks and manage the whole experience from start to finish.
Instead of being passed through multiple staff, the customer had one single point of contact throughout the entire process. We did all of it. On the front end, the generalist model costs much more and requires tons more time. On the back end, though, far fewer lawsuits and much happier customers. This model is always more effective than the specialist model, since the process is always messy.
In the church, we’ve adopted the specialist model. Proof? The Spiritual Gift Inventory. We help people discover their specialties, and then encourage them to focus just on that. Evangelism, small groups, children, students, hospitality, etc. But discipleship is messy. Imagine if we had the courage to spend the time and resources to make generalist disciples. What would the new believer’s path to deeper spiritual maturity look like if they had but one point of contact–one mentor, one ‘sherpa’–to lead the way?
We’ve been designed for this, but we’re satisfied with providing a fragmented journey. The specialist model clearly costs more on the back end; people ‘slipping through the cracks,’ seeing church as a Sunday event, anemic in the spiritual disciplines.
Be… progressive. What would you change in your church to develop a generalist model of discipleship? Where would you start? Who would you talk to first?
