Once, a serial entrepreneur shared with me how he was able to start several successful businesses without having any experience in those industries. His key was to find the best people who modeled excellence in that industry and then go study their methods. Although the word “excellence” may be lacking in the Bible, the concept of excellence is assuredly modeled ...
In this series, we’re discussing five steps to move from struggling to thriving in business. The final step is to Focus on Customers. Since the pandemic, several restaurants I’ve visited have taken their customer service to a whole new level. They realize their survival is hinged upon retaining and growing happy customers. When a business is struggling for survival, there ...
Four years ago, we bought a living room set including a sofa and loveseat. We were told that the sofa had a lifetime warranty which sounded comforting at the time. Although sofas typically last seven to fifteen years, ours lasted four. Remembering that we had a lifetime warranty, Kathy and I began making calls. We discovered that the lifetime warranty ...
My friend, Chip Ingram, tells the story of meeting with a young lady while in college. She was beautiful, popular and had a 3.7 grade average. She seemed to have it all. But soon, Chip learned that this young lady was telling herself a completely different story. Chip’s friend tearfully shared that in her family, anything less than a 4.0 ...
In this series, we’re talking about lessons we can learn from the character of Bezalel in the book of Exodus. Bezalel was responsible for building the furnishings inside the tabernacle. God gave Moses the design for what and how He wanted His tabernacle created. Bezalel co-labored with God to produce excellent results. The outcome was a tabernacle that met God’s ...
Imagine riding your bicycle. When you begin picking up speed, something happens to cause you to come to a full stop, forcing you to start over. In most workplaces, this goes on regularly, when we stop to review incoming emails or attend to distractions. Author, Mauro Thomas, believes there are three things that can help us overcome distractions. Become aware ...
Customer expectations are ever changing in today’s culture. Constant access to instant and new information, ideas and methods creates a challenge for businesses who gallantly strive to meet customer needs. The adage, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” does not apply to business. Business leaders must understand what “broken” means to the customer. Broken goes beyond mechanics and extends ...
Each Saturday, I take our son to his restaurant of choice for lunch. Often times, his choice is Chick-fil-a. Over the last several months, their drive through has been frequently backed-up for a block or more, causing traffic problems. Last week was different. As I pulled in, I realized that Chick-fil-a had made a change. Rather than accepting their situation, ...
The book of Nehemiah has some great insights about Nehemiah’s career transition that may be helpful to us today. The third phase of Nehemiah’s transition was preparation and planning. When God provided the opportunity for Nehemiah to speak to the king about his passion for Jerusalem, Nehemiah was prepared. In Nehemiah 2:7 we read, “If it please the king, let ...
Recently, I heard Judi Bertels, CEO of African Vision of Hope, speak at a business meeting. She spoke about developing a culture fueled by its mission and values. Judi mentioned she values serving others above and beyond their expectations. Judi drives her staff to push past “good enough” in order to exceed the expected. Exodus 36:5 reads “The people are ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
