Show Notes

In which we talk about how watching companies like Google, Apple, and Facebook try to “pivot”—that is, attempting (and usually failing) to do something outside their core areas of competency—highlights the difficulty of institutional change in general. We apply this idea to everything from the strengths and weaknesses of different Christian denominations to the way structural change occurs in the government.

A few explanatory comments:

• Yes, we’re fully aware that the PCA (to which Stephen belongs) has lots of missionaries on the field, and that Southern Baptists’ (of which Chris is one) views on alcohol are a great deal more complicated than just generic grumpiness. But those details are less important to the particular discussion we were having today.
• “The most open of [the Creative Commons licenses]” (from when Stephen’s mind blanked trying to refer to it at the end of the show) is the Attribution 4.0 license. Read more about it here.

Chapters

• Intro (1:32)
• Tech Companies (1:32–8:16)
• Denominations Don’t Change Fast Either (8:16–14:26)
• Dealing in Institutional Realities (14:26–23:06)
• Conclusion (23:06–24:24)

Music

• “Sandbridge”, from Places, by Brittany Jean and Will Copps. Used by permission.
• “Winning Slowly Theme”, by Chris Krycho. Used because it’s awesome! (You know it’s true.)

Links

Things we mentioned in the show—news, books, articles, etc.

• Report: Google to end forced G+ integration, drastically cut division resources (from Ars Technica)
• Facebook buying Oculus VR for $2 billion (from The Verge)
• Apple reportedly nearing $3.2B acquisition of Beats Electronics (from Apple Insider)
• Culture Making, Andy Crouch
• To Change the World, James Davison Hunter