A recent Wall Street Journal article chronicled business leaders’ complaints that too many employees are focusing on their phones or their laptops during business meetings. Some leaders acknowledged that they were guilty of the same behavior. In today’s frenetic business world, being connected is considered a prerequisite to effective leadership. But when we are more connected to our devices than ...
Walking into the conference room, I could tell my colleague was troubled. I couldn’t see her tear-filled eyes because her chin was almost on her chest. But I could tell something was wrong. Following my usual response to heavy situations, I made a joke. When she looked up – expressionless – I knew I had badly misread the situation. When ...
In his book, “Why Your Work Matters,” Tom Nelson recounts the Exodus story of God’s anointing on two men – Bezalel and Oholiab – for special service. “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have chosen Bezalel… and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—” ...
The CEO knew that his company was too small to survive in its industry, so he needed to find a merger partner or acquiring company to help the company reach the needed scale in the marketplace. He worked with bankers and consultants to pursue opportunities, but one criterion was his foremost concern: that the employment, salaries, and benefits of current ...
In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that states could install legal online gambling. Since that time, legal sports gambling has grown from one state to 38 states, and from $440 million to over $13 billion in revenue. With that much money involved, and the unsavory characters gambling attracts, the recent NBA gambling scandal shouldn’t be a big surprise. The driver ...
Given the stress, uncertainty, and discomfort of modern business travel, it’s important to recognize how the travel experience can test our faith. A friend recently left a job that had required weekly travel. He loved the airline and hotel loyalty points he accumulated. But once he was no longer on the road every week, he was stunned to realize ...
Wise business leaders recognize that there is much that is beyond our control at work and in the world. Business travel is a clear example of that. Changes in airline flight schedules, weather delays, staffing shortages, and even road construction mean we often don’t arrive where we want when we want. Add in fellow travelers who are just as stressed, ...
Business travel can hamper our efforts to practice our faith at work. The stress, discomfort, and disruption of routines can focus us exclusively on our immediate situation and away from our faith. I was reminded of that on a recent trip when I saw a man say a particularly ungracious thing to an older couple who stepped in front ...
John Wanamaker built a famous department store in the 1870s designed to embrace his Christian values. Although Wanamaker was very focused on his customers, he did not overlook his employees. John Wanamaker & Company offered its employees free medical care, recreational facilities, profit sharing plans, and pensions—long before these types of benefits were considered common. During an era when many ...
Even if you’re not a CEO, at any level you can still have incredible influence on your team. A recent Harvard Business Review article titled, “Every Team Needs a Super-Facilitator,” highlights longtime NBA player, Chris Paul, as a super-facilitator. Four times he’s joined a new team and within two years each team experienced their best record ever. Chris Paul is ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
