They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Take a look at this picture and tell me what you see. Did you catch the anomaly? If so, what does it say to you? Do you see how it relates to how Christian business leaders can kill their Christian witness by trying to fit in?
We have recently celebrated Memorial Day, a day we set aside to remember those who have sacrificed everything for our freedom. This is a very serious day and we all should have stopped in some way to honor our soldiers and their sacrifice. However, for some people, I wonder if this is actually a waste of time.
If anyone knows about turnover, it is a car dealer! The auto sales industry is notoriously bad about high turnover rates. We have found one method that helps to reduce turnover. We call it our Successful Employee Profile. This profile is taught in our new hire training process, painting a picture for new employees as to what is expected.
If you are in business then you have been frustrated, even all-out angry! Things happen so often in business that can cause frustration. Whatever the cause of the issue, we have all felt our blood boil and we start looking for a way to take action. We have to do something or we will explode! Today, I am going to give you a list of things you should NOT do when you are angry!
If you look around at the world we are living in today, you will see a lot of confusion and chaos. There is so much uncertainty and fear whether you look at politics, the economy, or most any other arena. It is in many ways a frightening time to live. On the other hand, this is an amazing time to live if we look at the opportunity from an eternal perspective. We simply have to stand.
If you go to Amazon.com and spend any time at all, you will find more books about mixing Christian ministry and business than you can likely read in a year. While that is a good thing for those of us learning how to do it, there is an even better source than Amazon – the Bible! Practicing the art of applying Scripture to business is a skill we all need!
Recently, I was meeting with our Strategic Ministry Team for the purpose of relaunching our mission and vision for doing ministry through our business. We had completed the mission statement for the team and moved on to the envisioned future. I explained what I had envisioned for our future and then asked for feedback from the rest of the team. That was when I was told that my vision for the future was not big enough!
Have you ever stopped to consider what is the main purpose of Christian business? As business leaders, the very purpose of our businesses should be very clear to us. Otherwise, we will likely make decisions and take actions on occasion that oppose this purpose, right? If we are not clear on this purpose, how can we achieve it?
As you are probably aware, there is not a shortage of reading material on business strategy. In fact, the vast majority of business schools, seminars, and coaches want to focus on strategy as well. The problem is that most businesses do not fail due to a poor strategy. No, it is execution that kills most businesses (pun intended).
For the longest time, I struggled to figure out how to reconcile my role in running our family’s business with my role as a follower of Jesus Christ. At one point, I even considered walking away from our family business because I thought that was the only way I could fully invest my time as a disciple of Jesus. Fortunately, I later found the answer to my dilemma in the Parable of the Talents.