There are leaders who heavily lean towards thinking everything is either right or wrong. They follow the rules closely and struggle when someone breaks the rules. Other leaders, however, seem to believe that rules and laws are simply suggestions. They’re more inclined to think about the spirit of the law, but often overlook the importance of the laws. Both approaches ...
Years ago, we hosted Michael Franzese as one of our event speakers. Michael spent nine years in prison as a result of following his own code of ethics. As an ex-member of the Mafia, Michael believed in, and followed, the Machiavellian code of ethics until his spiritual conversion. Machiavelli taught that anything is acceptable for pursuing self-interest and personal gain. If ...
One of my personal flaws is being overly optimistic. One instance where this can be a problem is when I’m tackling a new project for which I have little experience. When time commitments need to be made to others, I sometimes allow my optimism to establish unrealistic expectations. This can leave others with false hopes. Although my intentions are good, ...
Nick was young and unemployed, living in his parent’s basement. In a desperate attempt to support himself he started a business. During the infancy stages of his new adventure, Nick would take “Gratitude Walks,” meditating on being thankful for the things he had, and on any small successes he experienced. Nick’s business became profitable within two months and later became ...
For years we hired therapists for our son, Jeremy. Years ago, my wife, Kathy, lined up an interview. While interviewing this person, this young woman shared, unsolicited, that she was an atheist, and from a family of atheists. Kathy and I reasoned: If there’s no belief in God, or any eternal consequences for their behavior, that’s potentially one less reason ...
In David Brooks’ book, “The Road to Character,” he highlights the change our culture has taken towards a more individualistic society from our past community-minded approach. One indicator of this trend are the words commonly used. The trends, according to Brooks, are revealing a large increase in using words such as “self,” “I can do it myself” and other words ...
Michael Ramsden, the international director for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, spoke at my church recently on “Integrity in Business.” One point he drove home, multiple times, is one we often want to avoid discussing – the cost of integrity. In order to coerce integrity, some will try to convince others that integrity will help us make more money, rather than ...
A story on pjmedia.com reveals the viral power of a picture. Eric Little, the president of Crimson Building Company in Dallas/Fort Worth, posted a picture of his weekly office bible study in prayer on LinkedIn. This picture resulted in over 63,000 likes and 11,000 comments. It launched an online dialogue that provided Eric with a new perspective on the challenges ...
According to a 2014 IRS study, 86% of taxpayers believe that cheating on taxes is morally wrong. Yet, according to a yahoo.com article, one government study discovered that the most likely tax cheaters are many of our business leaders. According to this study, the professions most likely to cheat include: self-employed restaurateurs, clothing store owners, car dealers, salespeople, doctors, lawyers, ...
Matt discovered an alternative way to solving a problem frequently encountered by contractors in his field. As Matt explained the process and technique to others, a listener interjected, “You can’t do it that way!” In Matt’s eyes, he had discovered a better way of doing things. In the bystander’s eyes, Matt was breaking the rules. In Acts 5:25, Peter and ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
