Tag Archives: business topics

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6 Keys to Graceful Employee Terminations

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When running a business, there are many things you will enjoy doing! Termination of an employee is most likely NOT one of those things. While it is not enjoyable, it is sometimes necessary.

The following two-part guest post from William Higgins will give you some great tips on how to execute terminations with grace. William is Founder and Managing Director of Mindware, Inc., a performance development, consulting, and publishing organization.

termination

Terminated

When it’s time for the termination of one or a number of employee’s relationships with the organization, it will almost always be painful, but it can be done with grace.

    The call on Monday came unexpectedly on my office phone, “I have some bad news,” the caller said after identifying themselves, “Friday will be your last day as an employee here.”

    The emotional blow from that pronouncement was like a heavyweight boxing champ giving me a roundhouse punch to the stomach. My knees were wobbly as if I had just finished running a marathon, and the stress induced noise in my head was like I was standing inside a skyscraper that had been brought to dust and debris from an implosion.

Such are the feelings, thoughts, and emotions of one just terminated.

No More Information?

There was no announcement to the team to let them know what had taken place. Nothing was said thanking the individual for their contribution, or informing co-workers of what lay ahead. It was just he was there one day and gone the next.

Can you imagine the blow to the individual, the drag this action had on morale, the fear in the minds of other team members as they asked themselves, “Am I next?”

What Should You Do?

As an employer, there are numerous valid reasons for termination of an employee’s business relationship, and you cannot stop the pain the person experiences. The pain is real. The experience hurts. It’s condescending and degrading to just ask them to trust God and know it will all work out for the best. While it’s true God will work things out, that kind of observation minimizes their feelings.

You will want to be sure you coordinate with your Human Resources department to be sure you are abiding by federal and state laws. While you cannot sidestep the pain of a termination, there are things you can do to terminate with dignity, value, and grace.

6 Keys To Graceful Termination

These 6 biblical keys will help integrate grace into the difficult termination process:

1. Be personal.
If at all possible meet with the person face-to-face. It’s terribly impersonal to receive this news over the phone, and it’s easy to feel like the person delivering the news took easy way out. If the person resides in another city, telephoning may be the only way, but it must be a second choice. In Matthew 18 Jesus instructs us to meet with a brother that has sinned against you in person. While the situation is different, the principle is the same.

2. Be honest.
There was a problem with the way some believers in the New Testament were welcoming those not walking in truth. John wrote to “the chosen lady” in 2 John to warn her of this. He was kind, gentle, and affirming, but he also spoke the truth. Don’t mince words with the terminated individual. Let them know the decision has been made and the reasons; performance issues, budget containment, or other valid resons. This approach will ensure they’re not confused or think there is still a way to salvage their position.

Don’t apologize. Don’t tell them everything will be okay. Don’t tell them they won’t have any trouble finding a new job. Don’t tell them they’ll feel better after they sleep on it. Don’t tell them how badly you feel about the decision. All of these can be viewed as condescending, even if said sincerely, since you still have a job. Assure them God is still at work, and He’s not finished with them yet.

3. Be gentle.
Paul discusses this principle in Galatians 6 in the context of a believer caught in sin, but the same principle applies here as well. In verse 1 of Galatians 6 Paul says to restore the person “gently.” The word gently in the original has in mind the care and compassion of a doctor firmly but tenderly setting a broken bone. You need to be firm, but you also need to be gentle. Don’t rush roughshod over the person. Inform them of the decision, but be willing to listen to their pain, to their frustration, to their anxiety without feeling the need to change the decision, or have an outplacement coach that will do this on your behalf.

**** Check out the next post for the remaining 3 keys! ****

What are your thoughts on graceful termination so far?

Do you see the benefits to the first 3 keys?

What issues do you anticipate so far?

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Another Dangerous Source Of Misinformation For A Christian Business Leader

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Have you ever faced a decision or an opportunity that seemed right at the time, but later proved to be completely wrong? At the time, there were so many facets of the opportunity that appeared to fit. The more you thought about it, the more right it felt! Later, nothing fit and you were amazed at how different it looked. This is how it often goes when misinformation is clouding your vision.

misinformation

Fleshly Lusts

In my last post, I described how misinformation can make already difficult Christian business challenges even more troublesome. In that post, I went into detail on worldly wisdom, the first of three sources of misinformation that we can face in Christian business. Today I want to talk about the second source of misinformation – fleshly lusts.

Real-Life Example

Years ago, my father had an opportunity to purchase a particular dealership. At the time, he was in a growth mode in his business and was looking for deals. This dealership was much further away than he thought was ideal. It was also much pricier than he originally had decided he could handle. In fact, its purchase would likely have stretched his resources.

He went to his father and described the deal to him and asked for his advice. As more and more questions were thrown his way, the truth came out. My father was most interested in this dealership because it included a Porsche franchise! He had always had a love for Porsche’s and now he had the opportunity to have a dealership full of them! This would allow him to drive his dream car as part of his job!

Blinded

This is an example of allowing a fleshly lust to serve as misinformation and drive a risky decision. Looking back at this decision later, my father could clearly see the danger, but at the time he was blinded. At the time, he saw Candy-Apple Red (his favorite color Porsche!) rather than a clear picture of business pros and cons.

This may be an extreme example and a large decision, but the danger is just as big in the little decisions we make every day. Our fleshly lusts can be sources of misinformation across a variety of categories.

Many Lusts

Obviously, the first lust most people think of is sexual lust. Certainly, that is a deadly one. But there are many more kinds of lust that can bring misinformation into our decision-making process.

How often do people make poor decisions because of the lust after a get-rich-quick scenario? What about lust after a prominent job title or house on the golf course? Even something as simple as the lust for respect in the community?

Immunity?

We are not immune to any of these! And all of these can serve as misinformation that can cause us to make poor decisions. If we do not work to avoid them, we will end up being ruled by them!

As I said in my previous post, I am quick to say that I do not have this source of misinformation defeated. I am a victim of fleshly lusts as much as anyone else. I fight it, but it is a deceptive pitfall. Just when you think you have it beat, it sneaks in another door!

Misinformation Awareness Is Key

All I can tell you is that awareness of this misinformation and the damage it can do is the beginning of the battle. I am not sure we can ever get to the point where it is not a danger, but we can certainly fight it with the power of the Holy Spirit.

God says we will not be tempted beyond what we can handle and He will always provide a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). We have to trust Him in this truth and make sure we are putting up defenses where we know we are especially weak (Ephesians 6:11-17).

By the way, I need to finish my story about my father’s dealership opportunity. He did not purchase the store. In fact, he followed his father’s advice. His father told him he was crazy – it would be much cheaper to just buy a Porsche car than it would be to buy the whole dealership!

Have you been blinded by a fleshly lust in business?

What defenses do you use for avoiding this?

Do you see how an accountability partner can help identify misinformation?

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Is A Good Name Important In Christian Business?

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good name

There have been several incidents lately that have caused me to think about the importance of a good name or reputation and how it relates to a Christian business owner or leader. Most recently, I received a request from Rajeev (my friend in Chandigarh, India). He has faced a challenge or two relating to this idea and asked me to post about it. In this post, we will answer the following question:

Is a good name important in Christian business?

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EntreLeadership: Free Book Give Away!!!

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[title color=”orange-vibrant” align=”scmgccenter” font=”georgia” style=”normal” size=”scmgc-7em”]Free Book Give Away!!![/title]

entreleadership

A Free Book Give Away?

You read that right! I am doing my first give-away on this blog. And to start things off, I am offering a free copy of Dave Ramsey’s latest book, EntreLeadership! If you have not read this book, you are in for a treat. Even if you have, you need to give a copy away to someone else you that needs to read it.

How Do You Win?

If you scroll down just a bit you will see the Rafflecopter entry form which outlines a bunch of ways to enter the EntreLeadership giveaway. Just complete as many as you would like to be entered to win?

Why Am I Doing This?

I started this blog in an effort to spread the message of integrating the Christian faith into our businesses. I want to see more Christian business owners and leaders begin looking at their businesses from an eternal perspective and running them as platforms for Christian ministry.

While I know my posts are written toward this effort, I thought I would try to step it up a notch for 2013. My plan is to give away one book a month for the entire year! All I am asking from you is to follow the Rafflecopter instructions below. As you enter, you will be helping me to spread the word about this blog at the same time. We both win!

This Month’s Book- EntreLeadership

When you started your business, did anyone teach you how to invest in your team? How to delegate so you could grow your company beyond you? Who taught you how to find the perfect hire or let people who weren’t a fit go with dignity? Leaders need answers to questions they don’t even know to ask. EntreLeadership provides the answers…and it does it from a Christian point of view!

Enter The Give Away

Follow the instructions below and then spread the word to others!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Apostle Paul And Marketplace Ministry, Part 3

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In my last two posts, we have been looking at an example of marketplace ministry from the life of the Apostle Paul. I showed you how the Apostle Paul set an example for us in the marketplace of Athens. I also reviewed the first two steps in Paul’s 4 step process of sharing the gospel in the marketplace. In today’s post, I want to break down the last two steps of this four-step marketplace ministry method and how we can apply it in our current-day Christian business settings.

marketplace ministry

Paul’s Marketplace Ministry In Acts

As a refresher, please take another moment to read the passage – Acts 17:16-34. As a reminder, here are the first two steps from last post:

Step #1 – Be observant and sensitive to your surroundings.

Step #2 – Listen to what they say.

Now let’s move on to the final two steps…

Step #3 – Use their language to communicate your message.

Paul – If you remember back in Step #1, Paul had observed an altar “To An Unknown God.” While this may seem silly to us, it was obviously important to his audience. Rather than mocking them for their rampant idol worship, Paul used that very altar to lead into his discussion on the one, true God.

He went on in his message and talked about how God is not one dwells in temples built by human hands. As a society worshipping many gods, they were very familiar with temples and had many scattered around Athens. Finally, Paul even mentioned (and quoted) their own poets.

Application – We are called by God to be separate and different than the society in which we live. At the same time, we should follow Paul’s example and be familiar enough with the “language” of this society that we can carry on meaningful conversations. Too often, we act like we cannot even associate with “those people” that we see as sinners and non-believers.

If you read about Jesus’ ministry here on earth, you will quickly see that “those people” are the very ones with which he associated. We are to do the same, talking to them in ways they understand, not in “churchy” language that confuses them.

Step #4 – Tell them the simple truth.

Paul – Paul observed their surroundings, listened to what they had to say, and tailored his message to their language. What he did not do is water down the gospel message. He did not skip over the resurrection because it might “offend” or cause them to ridicule him. He did not acknowledge their beliefs as another option for salvation.

In his marketplace ministry, Paul stuck to the simple truth of the gospel message. He did not swerve from it to the right or the left. The results? Some sneered and others mocked him. But still others came to believe and followed him to learn more.

Application – There is so much pressure today to show tolerance for other religious views. Christians are ridiculed for believing that Jesus is the ONLY way to the Father. As a result, many Christians (even some pastors!) retreat from this message and water down the gospel. I think this is simply a tragedy.

Our responsibility is not to modify or reduce the gospel message to one that is more easily swallowed by a stiff-necked crowd. We DO need to present it in a way that is understandable by the crowd. Otherwise, we may as well leave it written in Latin. But to go beyond this and CHANGE the message itself is not acceptable.

Stick with the simple truth and God will honor your efforts. Even if you are another Jeremiah without a single convert, you cannot lose heart. Only the Holy Spirit can do the work in their hearts. Our job is to cast the seed. The rest is up to Him!

Do you see how you can engage in marketplace ministry?

What does it look like in your situation?

What obstacles are holding you back?

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Automotive Super Conference Coming Soon!

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Typically, I do not have much advertising on this blog. At the same time, one of my stated goals is to provide resources for anyone interested in using their businesses for an eternal impact. I believe the Automotive Super Conference is this type of resource.

Automotive Super Conference

Automotive Super Conference

For that reason, I want to bring this upcoming conference to your attention. The conference is going to be held in Charlotte, NC at the Charlotte Motor Speedway on March 13-14, 2013.

You can read more by clicking on the banner above, but the Automotive Super Conference is targeted toward auto dealers and their employees. It will be themed around Dave Anderson’s How to Run Your Business by THE BOOK, which I have used for some posts here in this blog. In fact, Dave Anderson will be the keynote speaker as well!

I Am Excited!

I am really excited about this conference for several reasons.

First, I have never heard of a Christian conference in the car business. These just don’t happen in our industry. If it has happened before, then I missed it.

Numerous Benefits!

The obvious benefits are numerous. There will be Bible-based teaching with direct application in every department in a typical dealership. There will be 14 different workshops covering many topics – all centered around the Bible. That is really cool!

In addition to the workshops, there will be sharing of best practices and fresh ideas coming from various panel discussion sessions as well as the breaks and meals in between. This is often where the best learning happens for me. There is no doubt I will come away having learned something.

It is also going to be inspiring to see that none of us are alone in our efforts. Being able to see hundreds of other dealers and industry leaders gathered in one place to learn more about how to honor God with their businesses – that will be awesome! I can’t wait!

My First Workshop!

Finally, I am excited about the Automotive Super Conference because I have been given the opportunity to present one of the workshops! I have not finalized my topic yet, but you know it will be along the same lines as the blog. As soon as I finalize the topic, I will give you a sneak preview!

Spread The Word

My request to you is that you help me spread the word. Tell anyone you think might be interested about this conference and send them to the site to learn more. Like I said, you can click on the banner above or the link below. You can also copy the link and paste it into your emails, tweets, etc.

While the theme of the conference is Bible-based, everyone is welcome. Maybe someone seeking a faith will come to know Jesus because they attended! Who knows what God has planned?!?!

http://automotivesuperconference.com

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Is A Yearly Audit On Your To Do List?

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I have been a C12 Group member now for over 6 years. For the past 6 years, our December meeting material has included one segment that has been the same every year. While you would think that might get boring after a couple of years, it doesn’t. This one segment is called the “Yearly Audit” and it is a very effective tool for a year-end review.

yearly audit

LIFE Planning

If you read my series of posts on my LIFE planning process, you will likely remember that I spend time at the end of every year reviewing that year and creating a game plan for the next year. I feel this process is a critical part of my job as a CEO, husband, and father, as well as all of the other roles I play throughout the year. One valuable part of this annual process is C12’s “Yearly Audit” segment.

I encourage you not only to read this segment, but also to incorporate it into your own year-end review process. If you do not have a year-end review process, then this is the perfect tool with which to start!

Below is the introduction to the segment by C12 founder Buck Jacobs.

Yearly Audit

[box]It has become a year-end tradition in each of our C12 groups to take a uniquely Christ-centered retrospective look at the results of our past year’s activities, focusing on the eternal perspective.

Taking such an inventory is, of course, a very normal thing to do in the economic dimensions of our businesses. We’re all familiar with such metrics as net income, profit margin, ROI, market share, and sales growth. We’ve devised numerous ways to measure our financial effectiveness and it’s important that we use them well.

This segment, however, is entitled Working ‘On’ my MINISTRY in God’s Business and in it we focus on an entirely different set of criteria. In many ways it’s much more difficult to measure our results in the ministry or spiritual dimension of our business lives. The whole idea of using our business as a platform for ministry can sometimes seem bewildering as it’s not nearly as well ‘codified’ as such routine business processes like filling orders and tracking financial profit or loss.

In terms of what’s eternally important to our lives, the spiritual dimension is much more — even infinitely more — important to us. So, with apologies to none, we are now going to offer some thoughts on how we might take a year-end audit from a uniquely Kingdom-oriented perspective.

What is it that we should be looking for as we examine ourselves and our spiritual lives in relation to the ministry in our business? Is it only souls won to the Lord, or dollars given to support His work, the number of Christ-honoring events we’ve hosted, or the number of tracts distributed? Is it only those things that we can quantify?

No, of course not. While we know that all these things are an important part of the fruit of our ministry which need to be quantified and recorded to help us measure progress in these areas, we also know that there’s another set of criteria.

It is these personal criteria that we’ll examine today. These criteria pertain to growth, the kind of growth that will lead to fruit…much fruit! We offer these criteria as indicators of growth which we can all use to measure what kind of a year we really had in our Master’s eyes.

For those who were members a year ago, we recommend putting the prior year’s ratings alongside for comparison purposes, as each of these areas deserve long-term focus. For each of the following 10 dimensions, rate your year from 1 to 10, with 1 being Low, 5 Average and 10 High as measured against your potential or opportunity.

– Buck Jacobs[/box]

Yearly Audit Download

Now that you know what to do, CLICK HERE to download the “Yearly Audit” in .pdf format. I encourage you to begin in prayer, asking God to prick your heart in any area that He wants to get your attention.

I hope you find the process of going through these questions to be as fruitful as I have. If you approach it with the right heart, I am sure you will see the benefit.

Are you currently doing a self-evaluation at year end?

If not, what other ways are you planning for effectiveness?

Do you see how this “Yearly Audit” can help you focus?

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Final Lessons From David Green Of Hobby Lobby

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This is my third and final post in a series I am doing on lessons we can learn from David Green, Founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby. Recently, I shared an article from The High Calling (a Christian blog community) which was an in-depth interview of David Green. Because the article was so long itself, I did not expound on it in that post. Instead, I am taking a more detailed look in this short series of posts.

David Green

David Green

As I said before, I have never met David Green. Maybe one day I will be able to meet him and learn more about his Christian approach to business! Until then, I will simply do the best I can by reading various articles (and soon, his book More Than a Hobby). As I do this, I will attempt to apply what I learn. I will also share it here on this blog.

In reviewing the interview article I mentioned above, I found what I believe to be 15 clear lessons for anyone attempting to integrate faith and business. Though each of us has different situations and challenges, I think you will quickly see that these lessons span across industries and business sizes.

I have already written two posts covering the first 10 of these lessons. Hopefully you have learned something (again or for the first time!) that you can apply to your situation. In today’s post, we will cover the final five lessons.

#11 – Be bold about your faith.

This lesson will likely contradict what some of us have been taught – don’t mix business and religion. However, I think you need to hear exactly what David Green is saying here. Hobby Lobby does not ask about beliefs when hiring. There is not a faith requirement for employment.

However, he is committed to telling everyone – employees included – about his faith. A Christian business is not one made up only of Christians. Instead, it is a business in which the leadership or ownership sees the eternal need in all of us and seeks to share the One that will meet that need!

#12 – Have a clear statement of purpose.

Does your business have a Christ-centered mission statement or statement of purpose? If not, have you thought through the benefits of creating such a statement? I would encourage you to take the time and seek God’s guidance in this area. I think you will be surprised at the results.

David Green mentioned the Hobby Lobby Statement of Purpose. This statement effectively answers the question, “Why does this company exist?” This statement not only serves as a great roadmap for determining strategic direction, but can also be used in making the tough decisions we face every day.

#13 – Trials are good for us.

Two statements that David Green made when discussing the tough times in 1985 stood out to me.

At that time, I learned more than I ever learned in my life.

I know I couldn’t handle all of the success today, if I hadn’t gone through that.

Folks, James tells us to consider it pure joy when we face trials. This is what he is talking about. David Green makes it clear that he is thankful for the trials. He knows the value they brought him. If we are willing to learn, God can do the same with us.

#14 – Recognize you are a steward.

I am not supposed to choose favorites among these lessons, but I think I might have to at least hint at this one! At the same time, I will resist the urge to take the next 45 minutes of your time sharing my thoughts on this subject.

The Bible says that the earth and everything in it is God’s. We do not own anything! This includes our businesses, regardless of what the stock certificates may reflect. As a result, we are merely stewards of these businesses for the time God gives us. As stewards, we should be asking how God would have us use them for His glory and eternal impact.

David Green and his family have gone to great lengths to make sure this is clear among them. If you noticed, he described how the company is technically in their names, but they have all agreed (and signed) that they have no rights to any money from the stock. They earn their compensation through whatever jobs they hold – not through the value of the stock.

Whether you are willing to go to this length or not, you truly need to recognize that you do not own your business. Begin the mental and emotional process of acknowledging this fact to God and see what He does. I think you will be amazed.

#15 – Trust in God.

Though the above lesson is my favorite in the bunch, this one trumps them all. If you are not able to apply this lesson, then you will not be able to stick it out with any of the others for very long. For you to truly live out any of these other lessons, there are some basic assumptions you must accept first.

    God is good.
    You are a child of God.
    God has your best interests in mind.
    God is perfectly faithful.

If you will accept these truths in your heart, then you will KNOW that you can trust God. When you trust God, you will follow His lead regardless of the apparent consequences – even when others may be advising you in a different direction. David Green made decisions against the advice of some Christian professionals because he knew clearly what God was asking him to do. That is trust!

What lessons would you add from the article?

Which one(s) stands out to you?

What actions do you need to take as a result of these lessons?

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More Lessons From David Green Of Hobby Lobby

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In a recent post, I shared an article from The High Calling (a Christian blog community). The article was an in-depth interview of David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby. Because the article was so long itself, I did not expound on it in that post. Instead, I am taking a more detailed look in a short series of posts.

David Green

David Green

While I have never met David Green, based on the articles I have read, there is plenty there is plenty we can learn from him! In fact, the more I read about the Hobby Lobby story and David Green’s leadership, the more I want to model our business after his. Hopefully you will learn something from this short series of posts as we dig a little deeper into Green’s story.

In reviewing the interview article, I found what I believe to be 15 clear lessons for anyone attempting to integrate faith and business. Though each of us has different situations and challenges, I think you will quickly see that these lessons span across industries and business sizes. In my last post, I took a look at the first five lessons I saw in the interview article. Today, we will review the next five lessons.

Let’s dig right in!

#6 – Learn from mistakes

I bet you have never heard this one before, have you? I know this is supposed to be common sense, but I have not found it to be that common. Too often, we are guilty of repeating our mistakes. At least I am.

Note what David Green said when asked about learning opportunities. He talked about how his company almost lost it all when they stretched too far for growth. He did not dwell on this point, but I will.

They survived that time period, but made the decision that they would be debt free in the future. That is a huge decision that impacts virtually every other financial decision in a business. Sacrifices are made and “deals” are passed up that would require debt. This is no easy lesson.

By the way, what do you think David Green is saying about this decision after what we have been through the past several years. Regret? I don’t think so!

#7 – Simplify your priorities

Again, this is not rocket science here. We hear this a lot, but do we act on it? In many cases, we get so elaborate with our plans, for Christian ministry or business, that we tie ourselves in knots. We start out feeling great about our strategic plans, but before long we are confused and paralyzed.

Instead, David Green tells us that he and his company had three simple priorities for using their cash: pay tithes, grow, and pay debt. Folks, that is as simple as you get. No confusion here, just simple priorities (based on Scripture as well!).

#8 – Plan for the future

In addition to preparing for their future by paying down debt, David Green and company also made sure to set goals and budgets for their future.

I have heard many managers and leaders claim that forecasting and budgeting is too difficult given today’s uncertain business climate. I simply disagree. Sure, it is more difficult! But that does not mean we should not even try!

Even with the uncertainty, there is huge value in laying out the budgets and forecasts and the game plan to back them up. Make adjustments along the way as conditions change, but do not give up the planning altogether!

#9 – Take care of the people

If you will notice, Green spent twice as much time talking about how he is determined to take care of his people as he did in discussing his three uses of cash! That is significant. Without the people, there is no cash!

I am taking special note of this lesson myself. Based on the feedback I received in our recent employee focus groups, there are some areas related to this subject that we need to address.

Our goal here (for all of us) should be to base our decisions here on Scripture. There are many ways to view this subject, but I think it is important we start by looking at what the Bible says. More on this later.

#10 – Have stated personal life goals

David Green had three stated personal life goals: have a strong marriage, be successful at what he did, and for his children to serve God.

He later added two more: for his grandkids to serve God and to tell as many people as he could about Jesus Christ.

I have talked at length about LIFE planning on this blog. If you have followed my posts on this subject, you know that I am a huge proponent of taking the time to state these personal life goals. Some people may be more detailed or complex in their goals while others keep it simple.

Either way, this is not a lesson to skip over. I encourage you to take the time and start this process. I think you will be amazed at what God will do in your heart as you do.

What comments would you add to any of the lessons so far?

Have you learned similar lessons on your own? How?

Which lesson is one you need to act on now?

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15 Lessons From David Green Of Hobby Lobby

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In my last post, I shared an article from The High Calling (a Christian blog community). The article was an in-depth interview of David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby. Because the article was so long itself, I did not expound on it in that post. Instead, I will take a detailed look in this and the next couple of posts.

David Green

David Green

First, let me clarify. I have never met David Green and only know what I have read from various articles online. As with any topic you read about online, there is much we do not know.

At the same time, in the articles I have read, there is plenty of meat to chew on! In fact, the more I read about the Hobby Lobby story and David Green’s leadership, the more I want to model our business after his. Hopefully you will learn something from this short series of posts as we dig a little deeper into Green’s story.

Faith And Business Lessons

In reviewing the interview article, I found what I believe to be 15 clear lessons for anyone attempting to integrate faith and business. Though each of us has different situations and challenges, I think you will quickly see that these lessons span across industries and business sizes. Today, I will cover five lessons.

Let’s dig right in!

#1 – Be patient.

    Too often we look at someone like David Green and wonder why our business has not taken off like his. Why can’t our business be debt-free and giving away so much money at this point? Then, when we look closer, we realize his did not “take off” either!

    Reading the details in the article, I noticed that he borrowed the $600 in 1970 to begin making frames in his garage. The first retail store was not opened for another two years! Look at the patience it must have taken to keep working out of the garage for two years.

    We need to have the same patience with our businesses. We need to make sure we are doing the right things, but we should not expect overnight success. God is certainly capable of giving us overnight success, but He is more interested in our development and maturity as His children. Trust His timing.

#2 – Be willing to sacrifice.

    Did you notice that David Green’s wife worked for the business for the first five years without getting paid anything? He did not mention what he made, but I imagine it was not more than they needed for their bare necessities. Are you willing to do that if necessary?

    Frequently, we are all guilty of thinking that we are entitled to certain luxuries or benefits. We are almost shocked when we realize we may have to give up something we love if we want our God-given dream to continue. We argue that we “deserve” whatever it is and we begin working hard on finding ways to keep it.

    God’s goal is not to see how low He can take us in our lifestyles, but He will test our hearts at times to see our reaction. We need to be willing to give up our earthly “treasure” for His will.

#3 – Follow Scripture.

    When asked about leadership lessons he had learned, David Green’s first response was to point to Scripture. Aside from that, he did not go into much detail about all of the ways he has applied Scripture in the business.

    However, if you pay close attention to what he says about his business principles throughout the article, you can see how closely it is tied to Scripture. From his talk about paying good wages, elimination of debt, and being bold about his faith, it is clear the Bible is his foundation for the way he runs the business.

#4 – Rely on prayer.

    Immediately after mentioning Scripture, David Green goes straight to prayer. He talks about how his team relies on daily prayer to determine their path. He goes on to say that God is the only one who knows the future and therefore they seek His leading in everything.

    As I have said before, this is the greatest resource we have as Christian business owners and leaders. We need to be committed to a daily discipline of seeking God’s guidance through prayer. This may well be our most important responsibility (that we cannot delegate).

#5 – Trust God’s will.

    Just seeking His guidance in prayer is not enough. We must be willing to follow His lead, regardless of the consequences! We must have a core belief that God has our best interests at heart.

    David Green mentions that God is always there to help them, even in the problems. They always come back to knowing He is there and wants to help them. If we will KNOW this and act accordingly, there is no limit to what He can do through us.

More To Come

Stay tuned the rest of the week for further lessons from the David Green interview!

Which of these lessons speaks most to you?

Which one is already part of your walk?

What do you need to do next to put these into action?