In the mid-1990s, I started a consulting practice. I started hearing about this new sensation called the internet. Everyone began talking about “websites.” Having America as my prospect list instead of just Kansas City seemed like a great idea. Eventually, I hired a company to build a website for my business. I lost my investment in that website when ...
In the 1990s, the internet became public. Investors began investing in local companies that now had a global market available to them. Almost anyone with a Dot-com web address started getting investment capital, even if they never made money. By 2000, when these investors began selling their money-losing stocks it created the Dot-com bubble and the stock market crashed. ...
Years ago, a banking customer of mine owned a chain of three retail stores. The owner assigned each of his two sons one store to manage while his third store was assigned to Ron, a close friend of his sons. By far, the best managed store was the one led by Ron. I recommended that the owner leverage Ron’s ...
According to a 2023American Psychology Association study, 26% of workers claim to have experienced feelings of loneliness and isolation. Curiously, if you work in customer or patient service work, that feeling of loneliness soars to 35%. You would think that loneliness would not be an issue for those engaging with people all day, but it is. If you field ...
Over the years I have served on many different boards. Occasionally, I’ll serve alongside another board member who dominates the conversation, expressing opinions on almost every subject. Unfortunately, center-of-attention kinds of people don’t usually ask many questions or seek understanding. Instead, they tend to only offer uninformed opinions. This means that their input often overlooks important facts. They haven’t ...
Years ago, Jerry was working on building a Christian retreat center near my cousin, Linda. Linda recently informed me that during the retreat center’s planning stage, she rallied people against this project. Eventually, Jerry presented his case to the community, but the community was skeptical. During that meeting, however, Jerry referenced a passage from my book. When my cousin ...
Upwork’s Freelance Forward 2023 Survey found that 38% of the U.S. workforce performed freelance work last year. A staggering 52% of all Gen Z workers operated as freelancers. This trend is dramatically impacting the way work is done. Leaders in today’s workplaces not only have to manage their in-house employees, now they also must navigate how to lead remote ...
Scooters Coffee franchisee, Tracy Bouwens, shared with our network about her transition from being a stay-at-home mom to owning her first Scooters store. She hired a new employee, gave her a Scooters uniform, and instructed her to start work on Monday. On Monday, the employee arrived but wasn’t wearing her uniform. Tracy considered possible reasons for her disobedience and ...
Some of my most fruitful times have surfaced from vacations. That’s when God often refreshes my vision or gives me creative ideas for the future. Years ago, while on vacation, God gave me an idea for a book that I would have never attempted to write otherwise. During prayer, I remember thinking, what if I wrote a book about ...
Many organizations, including our ministry, use surveys to determine ways to improve their services. The tension is determining legitimate issues that need to be addressed versus those multiple issues raised by rare people, who I like to say, “have the spiritual gift of criticism.” In Acts 6, the Apostles received a complaint. In verse 1 we read, “A complaint ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
