In the 1950s, the Philadelphia police referred to the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday, due to all the people starting their Christmas shopping. A negative day for police, however, became a great day financially for merchants. Eventually, marketing savvy merchants became concerned about attaching a negative term like Black Friday to their best sales day. These merchants changed the ...
As a kid, baseball was my favorite sport. When we played backyard baseball, we often argued over who was going to pitch. What was best for the team, however, was not having me as pitcher. It was better when I played second base or shortstop. In business, God has created each of us with different gifts. We may try ...
When I was in public accounting, Wyatt was the least respected partner in the firm due to his inferior accounting skills. But he effectively recruited new clients, so Wyatt kept getting promoted. Sometimes there was jealousy from the other partners and staff. Their accounting help on Wyatt’s clients often went unrecognized. 1 Corinthians 12:24 teaches, “But God has put the ...
As a linear and organized thinker, I have been frustrated at times with creative freeform thinkers. There was a time when I was frustrated with one creative person on my team. It seemed like we were always at odds. Then we took some personality profiles as a team. After seeing this person’s profile, I realized that God had made this ...
As our ministry began to grow, one of the hardest hiring decisions for me was hiring a bookkeeper. As a former CPA, I can do bookkeeping. But there were two questions I had to ask myself. The first was, “Is bookkeeping the best use of my time?” The second was, “Where does God want me to spend my time?” After ...
Early in my former consulting practice, a friend convinced me I needed to hire a salesperson. Weeks later, I hired Steve. The first call Steve went with me on was to a company that I knew desperately needed our help. But I had never closed the deal. That day, Steve told the prospect. “I’m not leaving until you sign a ...
My new friend, Andy, was leading a training with a company on how they can better hire and value the disabled. The diversity of thought and value they can bring to a workplace is often overlooked. Andy asked the group to draw a star. Everyone in the class except one person drew a star as they might see in the ...
Kathy and I recently enjoyed the Kansas City Symphony as they performed “Star Wars.” Dozens of professional musicians worked together to make an incredible blended sound. In contrast, I remembered joining a rock and roll band as a teenager. We each played the songs without respecting the other instruments. We sounded terrible! My respect for the symphony grew when I ...
In Harvard Business Review, Susan Peppercorn highlighted five questions to help you retain your employees. Her final question is, “Do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?” Talented people can perform different types of functions effectively. However, each person has skills that they love doing. By asking about what they do best and exploring how ...
Terry Looper, author of Sacred Pace, says that “If we work 80% of our time in our areas of giftedness, we will experience more joy and success.” The first step towards working in our areas of giftedness is to discover your workplace gifts. Attempt to narrow the field to 3 to 5 gifts. Begin by identifying the tasks and jobs ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
