Dan, an acquaintance of mine, loved giving away large sums of money, as long as he received credit for his generosity. Unfortunately, Dan acquired much of his wealth from deceptive business practices. In order to increase his profitability, and ultimately his generosity, Dan covered up the shoddy workmanship of his products with attractive packaging. Many of his customers suffered significant ...
Tim Weinhold, Director of Faith and Business for Eventide Funds, penned a well-researched article about the growing disparity between the rich and the poor. He discovered that, The 62 wealthiest individuals now own as much as the bottom half of the world's population combined -- 3.6 billion people. And the top 1% now owns more than the remaining 99% combined. ...
In my book, “Unconventional Business,” I highlight four marketing challenges that many of us face in the marketplace in trying to do marketing with truth and love. This week I’ll address each of these four challenges, beginning with “Pricing.” In the 1980s, Mary Hudson’s business empire crumbled when she was convicted of tampering with the gasoline pump prices at her ...
Paul was a pharmaceutical salesman who called on a doctor’s office in his new territory only to learn that they had a rule. They only allowed the first three sales reps on any given morning to actually meet with a doctor. Paul was fourth! Then Dan stepped in. Dan, a sales rep for a competing company, approached the doctor’s assistant ...
Tim Weinhold of Eventide Funds, wrote a well-researched essay on the “Wisdom of Shared Rewards.” He contends that, biblically, workers deserve to share in the profits that come from their productivity. Until the mid-1970s, corporations existed to serve customers, employees, communities, and shareholders, and worker’s pay was closely tied with increased productivity. In the late 1970s the corporate philosophy changed. ...
When I was in banking one of my largest accounts was a construction-oriented business led by Sean. He squeezed his vendors for all he could get out of them, rarely providing anything in return. Sean’s business was profitable because he drove his people hard and squeezed his suppliers to manage the expense side of the ledger. But few people enjoyed ...
My son, Jeremy, loves animated movies so much that we’ve seen “Muppet’s Christmas Carol” countless times. As the movie develops you quickly realize that Scrooge has no interest in generosity or Christmas. When Kermit the Frog asks Scrooge about the staff having off Christmas Day, Scrooge is incredulous. He cannot believe that his business should stop for even one day! ...
A CEO with vision can accomplish far more than just sell products by “leveraging their influence.” An effort called “Giving Tuesday” is one such opportunity for businesses that truly care for their communities. Some simple ideas being used today include companies matching any donations their employees make on “Giving Tuesday.” Other businesses encourage customers to support a specific cause by ...
Christmas season is a time most retailers focus on increasing their share of the billions of dollars spent on Christmas. Their efforts have brought us “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday.” Now we have “Giving Tuesday!” Giving Tuesday began in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y, a cultural center in New York City. Instead of being focused on consumerism, “Giving Tuesday” ...
An entrepreneurial friend asked me, “Should I be giving from my “gross revenue” or my “net profit?” There are many businesses that have high sales volume, but very thin profit margins, sometimes 10% or lower. If these types of businesses tithed off their sales instead of profits they would quickly go bankrupt. God desires us to give from a generous ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
