After a promotion, Quentin found himself in charge of an entire department, overseeing a large budget and more than thirty people. He took this good fortune personally and regularly communicated his esteemed place in the organization. He began talking pridefully all the time about “my team.” It rubbed people the wrong way because Quentin was erroneously communicating his personal ownership, ...
Bonus Distraction
I was caught off guard the first time I received a financial bonus at my first “real” job. I had never worked for an employer that paid bonuses, so I was surprised to receive a letter from the company president describing a one-time payment in my next paycheck. The amount was small, but the appearance of that extra, unexpected money ...
Tight to Loose
When a new school year begins, an experienced teacher learns to hold a tight rein on student discipline. But later, their grip can be loosened as the class learns to obey directives. My friend, Jim, as a seasoned executive, says that employers might consider this same tight-to-loose concept with new hires. Initially, weekly check-ins with tight accountability are warranted. Later, ...
A Snobby Banker
When I was a single young banker, I attended the wedding of a friend. As I struggled to find a seat, the only person I knew was the new President of the bank where I worked at the time. I had been in this President’s office previously and saw him frequently in loan meetings, so I slid in next to ...
A Peaceful Planning Retreat
Our team recently completed our annual two-day planning retreat. By far it was the most Christ-centered peaceful, unifying, and productive retreat I’ve experienced. Each morning, we had an extended time of prayer, communion, and preparing our hearts. The biggest difference, however, was our team member’s hearts were open to putting God first over our own interests. When I contrasted this ...
Preparing the Next Generation
Unconventional Business Network has been partnering with two local Christian universities. We are excited to help students learn, prior to their career launch, why God’s Word is a great tool for business. For many years, I’ve helped business leaders later in their career embrace God’s purpose for their work. Then, I can train them on God’s time-tested principles that can ...
The Way Businesses Integrate Faith: Part III
Wheaton College’s Center for Faith and Innovation performed a multiple-year research project to explore how faith manifests itself in business. They categorized faith activities into three distinct categories. The final category is Internalized Faith. This category is more challenging to identify. Being a company that is family-oriented, compassionate, or merciful may all be examples of internalized faith. The heart and ...
The Ways Businesses Integrate Faith: Part II
Wheaton College’s Center for Faith and Innovation performed a multiple-year research project to explore how faith manifests itself in business. The researchers categorized faith activities into three categories. Operationalized Faith is our focus today. These researchers discovered that some companies develop faith-rooted policies or practices. They labeled these operationalized faith. Some of the examples are charitable giving, providing chaplains for ...
The Ways Businesses Integrate Faith: Part I
Wheaton College’s Center for Faith and Innovation performed a multiple-year research project to explore how faith manifests itself in business. The researchers categorized faith activities into three distinct categories: Embodied Faith, Operationalized Faith, and Internalized Faith. Let’s begin this series with Embodied Faith. According to businessasmission.com, Embodied Faith is the most visible form of faith. It includes mission statements that ...
Diligence at Work
A windstorm destroyed an entire wall of our deck. Kathy was adamant we needed to hire Christy’s company to build a new one. After contracting with Christy, I was concerned to learn that Christy’s husband recently had a major health event. Christy’s husband and his associate were supposed to perform the labor. But I quickly learned that Christy, a vigorous ...
