the starfish and the spider

ok, so i've been reading this book, "the starfish and a spider: the unstoppable power of leaderless organizations". it's quite fascinating! i really have enjoyed it. it's about decentralized organizations, versus centralized ones. it was mentioned in an article written about house churches that was thought provoking, so i got the book from the library and devoured it. the book itself is certainly purely secular, but i love the implications for the church. so here are some of my thoughts.

i have a decentralized mentality at work. in essence, i believe we are all equal. each of us, no matter our position or title, has a role and a stake in what we do. we are all responsible for making a great latte and creating a great environment for each other and our customers. we have different roles and different tasks, but we're all on a team and work together for a common goal. if i'm needing help, someone else jumps in to help me, but essentially, i am responsible for my part. if i mess up, everyone has a responsibility to correct me. that doesn't mean jump on me, but no one can say, "it's not my responsibility." at the same time, if i mess up, it's my responsibility. i have the freedom and space to make mistakes, but i also have the space to realize it and correct them myself. if someone else needs help, i'm gonna help them. we're all in it together. i think that most of my co-workers feel the same way, at least to some extent. we all help each other out and treat each other with respect and space. if i mess up, it's on me, not on you. yes, there are shift supervisors and we have a store manager, and of course they have the final say in things, and i respect that.

but i realize this is my ideal, and not realistic. at least one of my co-workers (maybe more, i haven't thought about them all) has a more centralized, hierarchal view. it's all a tree of command, and if something is wrong, it's all on whoever is in charge. there is limited room to make and fix my own mistakes, it's all on the shift supervisors to correct immediately.

ok, so that's just one application for my life. but others, like wikipedia, are more well known. everyone can contribute, and if something is wrong, everyone has a responsibility to fix it.

all of it fits with my idea of house church: raising the bar on what it means to be a disciple, but lowering the bar on what it means to do church. we all have more responsibility, but we also have more freedom to pursue what God has put in each of us individually.

ok, on to a quote:
"The Values Are the Organization: Ideology is the fuel that drives the decentralized organization." (p206)

i thought i had more, but i don't. i would love to pull more quotes, but they all have to be in context to be understood. so i leave you with that.