Lessons from Blockbuster

When was the last time your idea, strategy or insight was challenged? Too many consider the absence of pushback as an affirmation of their leadership. If there is no resistance, you are 1) not moving forward and therefore not experiencing resistance, 2) surrounded by people that don’t really care about results or both.

Nigel Travis recently wrote a book called, The Challenge Culture: Why the Most Successful Companies Run on Pushback. He argues that a ‘command and control’ approach to leadership may serve to maintain discipline and managerial authority but it silences healthy pushback and stifles the critical process of challenging the status quo.

Nigel Travis knows what he is talking about. He was the CEO of Blockbuster video when Netflix came onto the scene. His leadership team evaluated a potential purchase of Netflix but concluded that the new subscription service was a blip on the market. At the time, Netflix was a small, regional entity. Travis and his inner circle figured the start-up wouldn’t make much of an impact. They turned down the offer to purchase as the price was valuated too high – $50M. Within months Blockbuster went out of business and Netflix took over. Netflix is now worth $125B.

Blockbuster missed their opportunity because they completely mis-interpreted the signs of the times. They lacked a challenge culture.

Are there lessons from the capitulation and death of Blockbuster Video that can apply to the pastoral context? Yes, but lest I be taken out of context, I want to reiterate that the way to become more effective in our mission as a Church is not to become more like a business. Most businesses are mediocre in accomplishing their mission. Why then would we assimilate mediocre practices into our modus operandi?

All that said, if we have enough humility we can learn from any person and any situation. Here are four lessons pastoral leaders can learn from the Blockbuster catastrophe.

Lesson #1: Never minimize the internal impact of external changes in the culture. Nigel Travis and his leadership team considered Netflix a minor nuisance, a regional player, a blip in the market. They were dead wrong. How are we interpreting the changes to the culture and their impact on the Church? Are we minimizing the sea-shift? The Church is no longer the trusted lighthouse for society that it once was. In fact, many suggest that the farther modern society moves away from the influence of the Church, the better. How are we modifying internal culture to meet the massive changes to the external culture? Fr James Mallon (Divine Renovation) suggests, “Priests are trained for ministry in Jerusalem, but they are living in Babylon.” Are the models of parish life capable of meeting the moment?

Lesson #2: Encourage the process of challenging the status quo, not suppress it. When external culture is changing rapidly and challenging the organization, insecure CEOs respond by squelching challenge from within. They buckle down on measuring compliance and attempt to create stability inside the organization. The Church often follows the same path. The need to preserve the status quo and maintain some sense of stability and control seems to take priority when the external culture is evolving rapidly as it is today. Pope Francis has repeatedly warned the Church not to fall into a self-referential mindset. When the world around the parish (locally and globally) is rapidly changing, that’s when Pastoral leaders need to question everything –– the status quo itself, existing practices, strategies, procedures, models and any long-held assumptions that continue to govern how the Church (parish, diocese) operates.

Lesson #3: Create a challenge culture that is immensely positive. Many leaders are afraid of conflict and therefore, resist creating a challenge culture. The underlying assumption is that the questioning itself is confrontational and disrespectful. There is no place for disrespectful dialogue in this process, especially in the pastoral context. Unity is a sign of the Spirit’s presence, but false (superficial) unity is a cheap counterfeit. Great pastoral leaders don’t settle for superficial harmony. They navigate crucial confrontations that get to the core issues with grace and speed. The process of pushback isn’t about fixing blame or pointing fingers. The most positive benefits of creating a positive challenge culture is that it generates learning; stimulates fresh insights and ideas; and, forges new relationships that will rejuvenate the organization.

Lesson #4: Surround yourself with leaders, not followers. One of the tragedies of current pastoral culture is the lack of lay leadership engaged in the local parish. There are hundreds of incredible leaders in the pews whose talents, contributions and expertise are not recognized or not welcomed. Every pastoral leader, faces the continual temptation to surround themselves with ‘yes people.’ Surrounding yourself with followers may bring temporary peace, but over the long haul, it results in missed opportunities. Leaders don’t flock, they don’t fall in line. Leaders challenge the process and they pushback. This may threaten fragile egos, but it is necessary.

The changes in modern culture are pervasive and consequential. Will the Church respond adequately? What does an adequate response look like? One that is led, not managed.

Challenge leads to change and change leads to progress. Change, therefore, is the permanent landscape of leadership. If change wasn’t necessary, leadership wouldn’t be necessary because management would do just fine. This isn’t about doctrinal changes; the deposit of faith is unchanging and permanent. But methods of outreach, models of parish life do need to change to meet the demands of an ever-changing culture outside the Church.