We have a rallying cry here at D+C, we call it ‘The Dunham Way.’ It describes the characteristics we aspire to and it’s something that our people internally can hold onto and trust. We’ll never bat a 1,000, but it’s something that we strive toward. When making decisions, we often ask, “Does this reflect the Dunham Way?”
On a recent Dunham Podcast episode, Josh Crowther, D+C Australia Executive Director, joined me and unpacked his perspective of the first component of The Dunham Way: We’re all about Kingdom impact.
Josh: Kingdom impact is the driving force of everything we do. It even drives decisions on who we choose to work with. Are they really about Kingdom business? Are they about things that will extend the rule and reign of God in the lives of hundreds and millions of Christians around the world? Is that their purpose?
And if the answer is yes, that helps us lean in. If the answer is no, there are plenty of good people that can help you, but we’re not going to be those people. It all starts and ends with, “Is this God’s business?” And if it is, then we want to be involved.
Trent: Amen. And that first aspect forms the rest of the components of the Dunham Way. The second component is this: We are driven by outcomes. We always do what is in our client’s best interest in order to drive the best possible outcomes for greater ministry impact.
Josh, unpack that a bit for us.
Josh: For me, it’s the question of measurement. God calls us to be fruitful. We know that. And God is serious about what fruit we are to produce. That’s a pretty important principle. If God is in this, He’s going to chop off branches that aren’t fruitful.
What is the fruit? What is the outcome? At the start of any engagement with organizations we work with, we ask the question, “What are you measuring? What does success look like for you?”
Measuring of the fruit has to be in alignment with the broader Kingdom perspective. Overall, what are your ultimate goals? What are you measuring for success? If we know that, we can drive towards the same goal, the same fruit. And as we do those things, we see that maybe this branch has 50 pieces of fruit on it, and this one has one.
Guess which one’s getting chopped off?
Trent: I’m actually very adverse to philosophical conversations in a consulting setting that don’t result in action. You can’t get an outcome by sitting on the sideline.
There has to be an action that leads to the outcome. So what actions are driving that outcome? And I think that’s the beautiful part of the Dunham Way in this particular context. It has to be measurable. We need to be able to evaluate if it’s being effective. We want to have conversations and develop strategies where we’re moving the ball down the field, where we are actually seeing successes.
Another component of The Dunham Way is that we value people more than profit. Can you speak to that principle?
Josh: Thinking through the culture of an organization, whatever you allow to happen is the definition of your culture.
The type of people we become is more important than our outcome for the day. Yes, we can make a quick buck today. But what’s better than that? It’s the people we’re becoming. Are we more obedient and more honest in the way that we act together? And if the answer is yes, then I think we’ve done our job. At the end of the day, the results will come.
We’re going to invest in relationships because they matter and they last. We’re going to invest in training and in research because we care about sowing back into the ministries that we work with.
For more of Trent and Josh’s conversation about leading globally and instilling a healthy culture within your organization, check out The Dunham Podcast episode, Defining Success from a Global Perspective with Josh Crowther.
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