Write About Now

Jeff Bezos started Amazon.com with nothing—he quit his job in New York, wrote a business plan for Amazon on the drive west, and rented office space in one of Seattle’s worst neighborhoods. His first desk was a wooden door perched on two sawed-off two-by-fours. From this humble location he created the largest online retail company and changed the way we think about the Web, about customers, even about books (anyone used the Kindle?).

He also created a culture; because the boss’s desk was a cheap door and scrap lumber, Bezos’ employees followed suit. Even ten years after the company’s 1994 launch, you could find Amazon employees using these desks. Frugality, efficiency, and focus on work instead of perks….one choice and one tangible object communicated, well, volumes about Bezos’ expectations.

Our small actions as leaders leave indelible imprints on the ministries we’re building—staff meetings promoting collaboration fall flat when every executive returns to an office with a closed door, and paying lip service to teams won’t counteract complicated reporting lines or hierarchical org charts.

“Cultures, for better or worse, are very stable,” Bezos says. “Over time, you build up this momentum around a culture that is self-perpetuating.” This means our organizations and churches—especially the start-ups and church plants—must be very intentional about creating the culture they want. How are you doing this—or fixing mistakes from the past?