ROI: Return on Idea

Usually when we hear the acronym, ROI, it is in a financial context where we are discussing the “return on investment.” Often we are trying to anticipate whether the potential payoff will be worth the risk of investing our finances in one option as opposed to another. But at a conference several years ago, I learned a different way of thinking about this acronym. 

The Exponential Conference’s purpose is to help congregations move toward multiplying disciples of Jesus. This big conference attracts many church planters, but it was a concept from a small breakout session that has stuck with me the longest. 

The session was led by Hal Mayer, a pastor and leadership author, who presented the kind of questions leaders should ask to help their team win. He said that leaders often make the mistake of coming up with all the ideas and then expecting the rest of the team to make their ideas a reality. If the rest of the team has not bought into the idea, though, then very often the leader’s good ideas don’t get very far, leaving both the leader and the team frustrated. 

He presented the solution in the form of a math equation:

Potential Value of an Idea x Buy-In = Return on Idea

Let’s say that I were to take on the responsibility of coming up with all the good ideas for Lazarus Church. I’ve said before that I have many ideas, and only some of them are good. But let’s assume, for this illustration that I have an idea that is a nine on a scale from one to ten. The potential value of my idea would be a nine. But because I’ve taken on the responsibility of coming up with all the good ideas for the church, the people of Lazarus don’t have a lot of buy-in to my ideas. Let’s say on a scale of one to ten, the buy-in for my idea is only a three. This produces only a 27 for the return on my idea.

Potential Value of my Idea (9) x Buy-In (3) = Return on Idea of 27

What if I took a different approach as a leader? Instead of coming up with all of the ideas for the church and then finding someone to make my ideas happen, what if I presented our end goal and asked for people’s ideas for how to move toward that goal? The potential value of the idea that someone comes up with might not be as good as my idea was. (I mean after all, seminary taught me to have some good ideas, right?) But the buy-in for the idea of someone who is not the professional head of the organization is likely going to be much higher because of the relationships they have with their peers. The potential value of an idea of a regular, non-staff person at Lazarus might be a five on a scale of one to ten. But the buy-in for them and their friends at the church will be much higher because it is a grassroots effort, rather than a top-down initiative. On a scale of one to ten, the buy in could be at a nine. That would make the return on idea a forty, which is thirteen points higher than the return on my big idea. 

Potential Value of your Idea (5) x Buy-In (8) = Return on Idea of 40

If I want to create the kind of church culture where I have exclusive creative control, then I may get my way on every new initiative, but the church will miss out on some incredible opportunities. What good ideas might never see the light of day because they are never given the opportunity to be heard? What engagement in a passion project could be lost because all the ideas only come from the top down? Who might be sitting in the pew at church that would never respond to a mass-invitation to volunteer for a project, but might be willing to use their gifts if a friend asked them to help with their idea? 

Let’s steward our intellectual capital well. If you are a leader, remember the “return on idea” equation. Don’t make the mistake of letting your good ideas be the only ones that get voiced. 

<>< Pastor Mark T Pulliam