(Forgive my choice of taxonomies for this article. All of them are a bit of a stretch.)

Chuck Colson recently wrote an article about the Rockies and why their team has met with success of late. This got me to thinkin' 'bout what ingredients are necessary for an organization to truly be good.

1. They live Christian values, not just "good" values (as if "good" could possibly be defined sans Jehovah).

All of modern American society is geared toward denying this point. All over, people argue over the definition of "good". As "good" is properly defined relative to the Judge, this makes no sense but is the basis for relativism. Government and businesses both fail to live by this point, assuring their eventual failure through corruption.

2. Values matter, not just performance. In violation of the sinful utilitarian philosophy, the organization recognizes intangible contributors to the end result.

The Rockies' recent success is a good proof case against utilitarianism. Some companies are recognizing the futility of utilitarianism and are beginning to emphasize values, preferring to hire those who share the values of the corporate leadership. The bifactional* Party (Republicrats), the press, and much of the public all deny that value matter, and the Clintons are excellent examples of this fact. One Clinton was already elected, and we'll soon see the other one, yet their values are openly self-serving and evil.

*[I give Vox credit for the "bifactional" term.]

3. It's not centered on a single man (Jesus notwithstanding, of course).

Too many churches, televangelists, ministries, and even revival movements fail to learn this crucial lesson. When centered on one man (a merely mortal one at that), it very often fails to outlive him. Worse, that one man can so very easily become corrupt and self-serving.

4. The organization is not democratic. The masses don't vote.

Violating this principle, allowing the masses to exert their will, necessarily leads to mob rule. Few organizations are so stupid as to be democratic. For the record, the Founding Fathers also knew this to be true and thus created a Republic, spreading democracy as thinly as possible and not vesting much power in any one group--and then warned us of its dangers and what must be done to avoid them. Failing to heed their warnings, we've since lost sight of this as our government openly panders to the lower common denominator. Notice, for example, that Gore won the 2000 popular vote.

5. Like hires like, inviting only those who already share their values.

Ballot access more or less restricts candidates to the bifactional Republicrats. This Party limits its candidates to those who espouse their values. This all but guarantees politicians who live for power not principle. Likewise, managers hire employees like them. Upper and middle management promote those like themselves (ref.), perpetuating their sins or, rarely, virtues.

Putting it all together.

I think all of these ingredients are necessary for an organization to have a shot at true success (defined in Godly terms at the very least). I'm sure there are more pieces to this puzzle, so I may be adding to this periodically. Perhaps it can grow into a kind of checklist for organizations to use in determining their chances for long-term success.