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Can Institutional Cultures Change?

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There’s a provocative article in the latest Atlantic (March 2012) on “Why Companies Fail.” The reason why corporate turnarounds are so difficult and rare, according to author Megan McArdle, is the stubborn persistence of dysfunctional corporate cultures. These cultures are the hardest things of all to change. She cites Detroit automaker GM as a case in point. It was bailed out by the government less than two years ago, and freed from most of its excessive overhead and liabilities. But its stock value has fallen by a third since then. The reason? GM still thinks and acts like GM. It is still the same old culture on the inside.

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Woody Allen and the Terror of the Void

Woody Allen, the famous Jewish comedian and film-maker, was featured in a recent issue of Newsweek (August 18/25, 2008). Allen has always been fall-down funny, but this article reveals a hidden and more intimate side of this celebrity. We discover that he is haunted by the terror of the void, and the apparently meaninglessness and futility of life. You might not pick it up from a lot of our church programming, but this is where Christianity really has something significant to celebrate.

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StrengthsFinder: Look before You Leap

StrengthsFinder is a new assessment device that is enjoying blockbuster popularity. It is based on the philosophy of Walt Disney’s cartoon rabbit Thumper, who famously opined, in the movie Bambi (1942), “If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say nothing at all.” StrengthsFinder is being marketed as a powerful instrument for quickly (please take a few minutes to fill out this questionnaire) clarifying who you are, what you’re good at, and the tremendous potential that lies hidden within you. Despite all the hype, Christian folk would be wise to look before they leap.

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