Continuous Improvement

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Posted by Justin Long ⋅ September 30, 2007 ⋅

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During this, the second year of Momentum, we’ve gone through a number of struggles. We have a great format, but unfortunately it leads us toward two things: first, the need to publish on a regular time schedule (originally intended to be every 2 months); and, second, the need to fill up a magazine of a consistent size on that regular basis. Thus there is the temptation to focus less on quality of content, and more on quantity.

That is not what we set out to do. We want to be a constant and consistent voice for the unreached, yes, but we also want to create articles that make a difference. Due to the pressure of filling up a magazine, I often find myself seeking out material to fill space rather than seeking out material that might take less space yet be more important. I sometimes find myself saying with 20 words what can be said with 5. In the quest to adapt and improve, we’ve adopted a different format for our front page, but I am becoming less and less satisfied with this format. This is not a good trend.

Fortunately I am satisfied with our vision, values, and processes. As Seth Godin once wrote, plans are not as important as processes. Every organization, every initiative, must adapt to changing circumstances in order to reach its goals. Stagnation leads to death. Adaptation and change leads to survival. So, our process of continuous improvement is getting ready to kick in again, and we’re going to try tweaking once more.

There are three kinds of articles that we tend to write. First are short, almost bullet-point articles that highlight an event or a trend. You find these in the short paragraphs in resources, or technology, or statistics, or trendsnaps. Second are the one-page analysis pieces like Reality Check, Trends, Analysis, etc. These are important for a quick emphasis or highlight of something that is important but little noted. Finally, there is the longer format of our articles. These present in great detail a specific case study or theory.

Other websites use a variety of ways to address some of these article formats. For example, changethis.com… publishes manifestos from various contributors as nicely formatted PDF files. These are similar in some ways to the longer articles published by Momentum. Blog entries, on the other hand, can range from the very small (a single link with a brief comment) to the in-depth (longer analysis pieces). None of these approaches publish on a consistent basis (e.g. every quarter or every other month without fail, never early or late), although most are daily, weekly or monthly in small bites.

Too, we mustn’t forget the Missiopedia project. This open-source wiki is designed to be a standardized reference on missions as it presently exists. We have nearly 1,000 articles in the wiki at the moment, but it has hardly taken off at this point.

At the same time, I manage the strategicnetwork.org… website, which is the online home of the Network for Strategic Missions. I’ve been with the Network for over 8 years now. In the interest of simplifying our work, part of our continuous improvement process is to merge what we’re doing with Momentum with what we’re doing at the strategicnetwork.org… website.

So, we’re in a bit of a quandry at the moment, and we’re seeking our way forward. Right now I’m not looking for paradigm shifts and I have absolutely no intention of abandoning Momentum. However, I am looking for the “1% improvement” that will help us publish regularly, with less stress, in manageable pieces, that make a difference. That’s a tall order, and one that’s taking me a little time to work through.

That’s why this issue is perhaps a little lighter than other recent issues. Nonetheless I find many of the pieces within it to be compelling, and I at least wanted to get this out there (perhaps bowing once more to the urgency of the moment). In the meantime, look for Momentum to be in something of a state of flux over the next few months, hopefully settling down by our November/December issue (or whatever form it takes at that point).

Whatever we do, we intend to move it forward with the same or better quality than what we presently experience. Thanks for reading and supporting us, and for recommending us to others. Your confidence encourage us, and also inspires us, holding us accountable to continue to do better.