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violence and is struggling to overcome the legacy of destruction left behind. For years, this area had the highest murder rate per capita in the state, and for a while, in the country. It is difficult and sometimes discouraging work. Two steps forward, five steps back. Recently the community experienced shootings for thirty days in a row. Thirty days, every day a shooting—some fatal, some not.
    They are working to create avenues of nonviolence in this community. They’ve started programs in the schools and the neighborhoods to target susceptible kids and intervene in this seemingly endless cycle. The agency does good work. The people there teach classes, they counsel, they offer music and art lessons, they host a weekly family night, and they try to “reprogram” the community mind-set that sees violence as a way of life.
    The young staff that so passionately leads this organization tries to be relationally available to the people of the community 24-7. What they do is so important, and in this area, they are the only ones doing it. They frequently gather as a group to remind themselves of their vision. They tell stories of the successes and celebrate every step in the right direction. When discouragement seeps in, as it does on a regular basis, they return to their vision. They remind themselves of the truth and hope of the words. Their heroes are those who are living out the vision. When they get weary of doing good, it is not the strategy or logistics or budget that breathes life back into their understandably worn-out souls. It is the vision. It is the stories.
    Not the vision on a T-shirt, but the vision as it is lived out in the flesh and blood of those within their God-blessed reach.

stone Ships
    HAVE YOU EVER HEARD the phrase “There is no such thing as abad idea”?
    Maybe there is.
    Here’s what leaders know about bad ideas: From time to time, they happen; and the fear of them can keep organizations from doing the risk taking and creative thinking necessary to keep those organizations innovative and growing. When the fear of a bad idea is big enough, it paralyzes people.
    We talk a lot of the need to take risks, to think outside the box, to try new things. We know we need to keep organizations fresh and growing and that can’t be accomplished by only doing the same old things.
    But while we talk a good game, most of us also feel theundercurrent in those words: “Feel free to succeed.”
    Stone ships.
    In many organizations, mistakes are met with awkward silences, punishing behavior, and a distinct sense of being marginalized and labeled. The embarrassment becomes a legacy rather than an event.
    On the other hand, “successes” are applauded and extolled, heroes are created and parties are thrown. We learn pretty quickly which side we need to be on.
    Now, before I go on, let me make clear what I’m not saying. It’s obviously not a good idea to fail on purpose, to let bad ideas go unchecked, or to abdicate discernment in exchange for creativity. What I am saying is this: We need to create environments in our organizations where creativity and new ideas can flourish.
    We all want to avoid stone ships, but our fear of them keeps us doing the same things in the same way, year after year. And everyone who leads well will have a few stone ships in his or her past, and maybe one or two in the future.
    Leading an organization requires a collaborative discussion about vision, reality, and strategy. And while I am not one for linear leadership, this is one discussion that needs to at least begin in that order.
    The leader starts by orchestrating a team dialogue about what the future might look like: How might our organization flourish in the future? Where are we going? What are the ways in which new life must be breathed into what we are doing?
    Beyond the central leadership team, these discussions then need to move out into the organization. People from various areas and departmentsneed to participate in the