A Catholic tech entrepreneur recently told me that when a company starts to lose existing customers, they frequently try to survey them to learn why they no longer buy their product; and that he believes that is the wrong strategy. He believes the better strategy is to ask why your most loyal customers continue to buy your products and then to build on what your strengths are as well as what differentiates you. Then he said something profound....
Imagine building a house without a plan or even a piece of complex furniture without following directions. It is nearly impossible for almost all of us. We need plans and directions, because while we may know some elements of what it takes to build a house or assemble furniture - without directions or some kind of a blueprint we are much more likely to fail in our goal of ending up with something the way we want it. Yet, this is how most parishes operate.