Do you take the long view of things or the short range view? I have read somewhere that our problem in dealing with China is our tendency to take the short view, limiting our long range planning to the next presidential election or even the next mid-term election. The Chinese government tends to take the long view, looking decades ahead. Choosing the best approach is way above my pay grade as they say, either in international affairs or at Holy Trinity. But there is a case to be made for long(er) range planning. After all, it can be tough to get somewhere if you do not know where you are going. Over the years I had several conversations with the late, great Len Klein regarding General Electric Corporation and its famous CEO, Jack Welch. Jack was not a fan of detailed, long range plans because he believed they were typically out of date by the time you could develop and distribute them. Perhaps he was right, but he knew it was essential to pay attention to the future.
For better or worse, I tend to take a short range view of things, particularly as I approach my eightieth birthday! When I am at Holy Trinity, Property Team matters tend to drive me into short term thinking. The new fire alarm system work has been comp,eted! It is tough to think carefully about future needs when lightning knocks out vital equipment or wind and rain take down the tent. Sometimes, when you are trying to see the future, now gets in the way! When I am on the road, I tend to drift into a longer view of things.
As I write this report, Martha and I are in our old hometown in Ohio where we were born, baptised, and confirmed, and where we went to school. It is a shy town of about 1000 or so residents, surrounded by farms, but a relatively short drive to additional job and shopping opportunities. The town's character is unchanged in many ways, and the town has fared much better than many similar rural towns that we see as we drive about the region. I surmise that the town's current circumstance arises from a mix of careful and fortuitous short and long term thinking by community leaders and residents. Sure, many things have changed. The railroad tracks and the grain storage facilities it served are gone. Businesses have come and gone, leaving a tenuous critical mass anchored by a successful bank and locally owned and operated phone, cable, and internet company. A very nice library is thriving. The local school has been replaced by regional schools and the old school building is gone. The church where Martha and I were married nearly 58 years ago is also gone. We still have some momentos from the building, a brick and some old forged nails. The remaining churches seem to be surviving. The town appears to have sucessfully gone with the flow and played the cards it was dealt. In many ways I think other towns, organizations, and companies could benefit from our hometown's history over the past half century or so. Change is inevitable, but the ramifications can be managed to some degree and negotiated. We cannot control change, but we don't have to allow change to completely control us. This is probably true for churches and property teams as well. Time will tell!
David Mercer, Property Team Leader