“God saw everything he
had created: it was supremely good.” Genesis 1:31a
I pastor a struggling church. I sit on a couple of
non-profit boards and community agencies. I live in a community that has
double-digit unemployment, a decaying downtown, and a negative reputation
across the state. All that to say that I understand there are problems, big
problems. I do I have always prided myself in being able to
evaluate a situation and come up with a few (or a lot) of possible solutions.
Sometimes the solutions have been half-baked or not well thought out, but since
I learn more from failure than success, I’d get back up, brush myself off, and
start all over again. Some days I think my spiritual gift is just the
willingness to get back up again, once I’ve been knocked down.
We all have problems. We have difficulty in our personal
lives, in our business lives, and (hard though it is to believe) in our lives
of faith. The issue is not whether we have problems, but how we confront those
problems. I’ve found in my work that there are three ways people approach
problems. There are creators, who come up with possible solutions. There are
consumers, these folks benefit from the solutions offered by the creators.
There are complainers, these folks spend all their energy complaining about the
problem and finding fault with any possible solution.
My friend Jennifer often says that if you can get out of bed
and get dressed, you are creative. Oh, sure, some people are more artistic, and
some have a better sense of timing than others, but we are all “made in the
image of God,” and God, is by nature, Creator, so we are naturally creative. Creators
see a problem or obstacle and choose to view it as an opportunity. It becomes a
chance to engage in solution generating, creative thinking. Some of the solutions
may be absurd, but eventually one or more of them will be brilliant. Creators
understand the value of tenacity and the importance to keep trying even after
multiple failures. Failures are just the chance to realize what doesn’t work,
and it eliminates those options in favor of solutions that will solve the
problem. The reason most people quit is that it is easy to forget that solution
is often spelled W-O-R-K. We like easy and simple solutions, but in our complex
world, rarely is any real solution easy and simple. Creators believe the
solution is worth the effort. Organizations that nurture creators are fun and
flexible. The embrace failure as part of the learning journey, and are always
willing to try a new solution.
Consumers benefit from the solutions the creators generate. Consumers
see the world as their shopping center and have a rather narcissistic view of
the problems as interruptions to their lives. Consumers consume. When they
encounter a problem they begin to look around to see who has a solution that
they can afford. Then the decision becomes is the benefit worth the cost? Can I
buy my way out of this problem? They want the best, and believe that they
deserve the best, that their money, or effort, or attendance can “buy.” They
see the solutions as products on life’s endless buffet of options that are
designed to serve them. Consumers desire
maximum solution with minimal effort. Consumers reject the idea of taking
responsibility for the problem and fail to take the initiative to create solutions.
One more thing, consumers have loyalty to an organization or solution only so
long as it is the “best value.” They are usually led away by promises of the
“new and improved” solution. Organizations filled with consumers are always
stressed, looking for the “next best thing,” and always worried that the
consumers will be attracted away by it.
Complainers see both the problem and the creative solutions
offered and spend their time both whining about the problem and dissecting and
destroying the possible solutions. We all know these people, they suck the air
out of the room as soon as they enter. You can just feel positivity evaporate
in their presence. Another interesting characteristic I’ve noticed about
complainers is that they tend to flock. Like attracts like so complainers tend
to feed on each other’s misery. An environment that nurtures complainers
usually repels creators because who wants to hang around and be constantly
criticized for trying to find solutions?
Just to be clear, I am not saying we do not need to
critically evaluate and assess the value of the solutions. Assessment and
adjustment are the keys to creating an environment of continual improvement. Creators
understand the value of evaluation, but evaluation isn’t complaining, it is a
process of improvement.
Here is the good news: you get to choose how you are going
to approach a problem. You can choose to be a creator and be part of a creative
team that seeks solutions when you come against a problem. You can choose to be
a consumer, and let others do the “heavy lifting” and then simply pay as little
as possible to purchase the solution. Or you can choose to be a complainer and
spend your energy finding fault with the problems and potential solutions
without ever bringing an alterative to the table. You get to choose. As one who strives to serve God, whose very
first act was one of creation, I hope I always choose to be a creative. The
world already has far too many consumers and complainers, what it needs now is
those who seek to create solutions.
Get out there and create!
Marty
