The ministry leaders that can become comfortable working modularly will see tremendous fruit and exponential opportunities to lead.
Chris Brogan recently commented on this reality in his post The Future of Work:
“Many of us will start using “project” as the unit of measurement of work. Meaning, a job won’t be a job any more, but a collection of projects, sometimes with the same employer and sometimes not. We will all work a bit more like Hollywood’s film industry, gathering the right team for the right project, and having more than one “picture” in the works at all time. This will require a lot more self-organizing and a lot more self-discipline, but people who define work around the unit of “project” instead of the unit of “job” will definitely have a better chance of succeeding.”
New media platforms make it increasingly easier to find and maintain working relationships with people in different parts of the country/world. Since many of these connections will be much more personal than corporate relationships, I believe organizations that partner with informal networks like these will thrive.
There is a steep learning curve for working modularly. Skype-ing often times fails. Urgency and accountability can wane at times. But those small amounts of time that I use to spend checking Facebook or responding to “important” email I can now spend working on a niche project with a group of like-minded people from around the world.
Have you leveraged modular work yet? Any cool projects you have in the works?