Learning and Leading in Ministry: Chapter Twenty

You Do Have to Please Somebody

Learn implementation.

You can’t please everybody. That’s the conventional wisdom, not to mention common sense. Principled leaders whose reputations fuel the history books supposedly have always followed this sage advice. We assume they did the right thing because it was right, regardless of who was for or against it. Before you grab this and run, however, understand that, while you might not be able to please everybody, you’ll never get anywhere without pleasing certain people. You sure don’t want to dis-please everybody. In fact, the cost of displeasing even a few certain individuals may be suicidal. Sound complicated? It might be, but implementing a brilliant plan can be more critical to the ultimate success than conceiving the plan in the first place.

Here is the scenario. You have a vision that promises to revolutionize the world—at least your world. Your eyes light up and you get animated with excitement as you begin talking about it. Then, responses start trickling in and to your surprise, you look into expressionless faces, raised eyebrows and even a few sneers. The slow burn begins. In your gut, you know you’re right, but the opposition seems too formidable to be overcome. Time for a decision. Do you railroad the idea through because you know it’s the best thing to do, or do you step back and figure out if, when and how it can be done? Forcing a good plan into becoming a reality before factoring in all the caveats can be tragic. Even the greatest ideas in the world have to be sold.

For example, who would dispute the basic concept that national security is a great idea? President George W. Bush and his administration discovered, however, that hammering the idea into a workable, acceptable plan posed insurmountable problems. Do we profile terrorists? Should we spy on American citizens? Are we right to deny due process to American citizens whom we have arrested as enemy combatants and imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay ? Implementation challenges like these underscore the difficulty of making an idea—even a noble one—translate into a practical reality.

Implementing a plan comes down to “political calculus,” a term politicians and government types use to chart the path of an idea from inception to the done deal. “Government acts only when key individuals within that government find their political arithmetic works.” www.affordablehousinginstitute.org The following questions are critical to the process: Do you have enough influence to make it happen? Will you have to do trade-offs? What will it cost you to win? What will it cost you to lose? Can you persuade people to commit to the idea? What will be the benefit of the plan?

Machiavellian overtones aside, wise strategists cannot afford to spurn the implementation process. Sources for financial backing, moral support, good will and enthusiastic commitment have names and faces. They have feelings, leanings, ambitions and convictions. They have reputations and families. Righteous causes poorly managed can turn into colossal failures.

Pleasing the right people cannot and must not mean sacrificing your convictions. It does mean that no leader operates in a vacuum or that people are immaterial to the cause. You must work with people, through people and for people (and, yes, around some people) to achieve your ultimate objective of helping people.