Going wide or going deep?

There was a hymn we used to sing during Sunday school. The hymn was titled Deep and Wide.

Grand Canyon / Image Via Creative Commons

The lyrics were

Deep and wide, deep and wide,

There’s a fountain flowing deep and wide.

Deep and wide, deep and wide,

There’s a fountain flowing deep and wide.

While the song is about God’s love for us. His love is deep, never ending. And His love is wide. It reaches farther than you could ever see or imagine.

I believe there is also a deep and wide principle in leadership.

We can look at Starbucks and see how they did this.

One of their goals was to have a Starbucks on every street corner. To sell the same amount of product in more and more stores.

They came close to it but then the recession hit.

Now they’re cutting back their stores and have switched to a deep model.

Their goal is to sell more products in less stores.

They’ve added new styles of drinks, CDs, food, etc… They’ve added depth to their stores.

How can you do this in your leadership?

First, you cast wide.

You vision will be wide to start.

You’ll run through all the areas that need to be covered. The people you will need. The resources that will be needed.

It may seem overwhelming at times but just lay it out. Cast the wide vision.

Start and let things get rolling.

But to grow your organization, you must go deep.

There will be a point where you’ll no longer be able to go wide.

Responsibilities pile up. Those under you grow in number. Duties grow to more than you can handle.

This calls for the deepness.

Going deep requires you to do things that are uncomfortable.

• You will have to be unfair
• You will have to divert your attention from those you once gave a lot of time
  
• You will have to trust

You may be saying that doesn’t sound right or fair. To be honest, it’s not fair. But it’s what you will need to do.

It’s impossible to go into a deep relationship with everyone. There’s not enough time in the day to fully connect.

You will have to choose the ones you feel called to and go deep with them.

When you do this, the base under you will be strengthened.

You’ll have specific people you can rely on. They will be your go to guys.

Put them in their areas of strength in the organization. Are they strong with media? Do they know marketing? Find out and put them there.

They will then become the key contact for others in their area of specialty.

Can you see what happens when you do this?

Those team members go deeper into the organization. Now they’re touching others. They’re building those key relationships with new members.

This brings the company to even greater depths of impact.

When you remember that you need to go WIDE and DEEP your team will experience a greater amount of success than just skimming the surface and staying wide.

Are you ready to go deep?

Question: How do you go deep in your organization? How do your team members respond? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.