Before my friend, Brian, and his wife began having kids, they prayed specifically that God would lead their future children to become world influencers for the Kingdom of God. Decades later, he marvels at what God has done. Brian’s eldest son is now an attorney who has significant national influence in the political sphere. His second son has been influencing ...
When I was a banker, I inherited a loan to a lumber yard with multiple locations. This company was losing significant amounts of money and asked me to increase their line of credit. After examining their situation, I realized that more money wasn’t going to solve their problem. They needed to address many underlying management and leadership issues. So, I ...
Jackie Robinson became the first black professional baseball player, but according to Jackie’s widow, Rachel, that wouldn’t have happened had it not been for Reverend Karl Downs. In a Statesman.com article, Rachel shares how as a young pastor, Karl Downs encouraged young Jackie to leave a Pasadena gang and introduced him to Christ-like ways to handle racism. Over the years, ...
Trial attorney, Mike Whitehead, was sharing an update on religious liberty cases with our network recently. His overarching message was, “Dare to be Daniels,” like Jack Phillips. Jack owns the Masterpiece Cake shop in Colorado. Despite winning at the Supreme Court, Jack has been sued three times by the LGBTQ community for refusing to use his creative skills to promote ...
Harvard Business Review conducted a research project on creativity under pressure. The study found, “The more time pressure people feel on a given day, the less likely they will be to think creatively.” 2020 brought about the need to innovate, solve and pivot to accommodate the changing dynamics of business in a pandemic strained world. 2021 presents an opportunity to ...
A recent article from Harvard Business Review stated, “Under uncertainty, traditional approaches to strategic planning can be downright dangerous.” The danger comes from “underestimating uncertainty.” The nation is more aware than ever of the possibilities of restrictions, shut-downs, shipment delays, quarantined employees and the lingering possibilities of future shutdowns. 2021 may require planning with multiple strategies based on potential outcomes―providing ...
In Mark Batterson’s book, “Whisper,” he references a study on “divergent thinking.” Divergent thinking is “the ability to generate creative ideas by exploring possible solutions.” A Head Start study tested children on their divergent thinking ability. Ninety-eight percent of children ages three to five “scored in the genius category for divergent thinking.” Ten years later, it was down to ten ...
At 88 years old, Dr. Charles Stanley recently retired as the senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Atlanta. His son, Andy, recently interviewed Dr. Stanley about his illustrious career. Throughout the interview, there was a theme Dr. Stanley embraced to navigate many challenges in his life and remain faithful to God all the way to the finish. His personal ...
In this series, we’re talking about principles for business planning. The final principle in our series is this: “Good planning requires wise counsel.” A friend of mine has successfully started multiple businesses over the years, all in different industries. Once, I asked him how he has been able to succeed in so many different businesses. He told me that any ...
When I started a consulting practice years ago, I sent a survey to business owners. The essence of the survey revolved around two questions: Do you believe business planning is important, and, do you currently have any kind of business plan? Over 90% who responded said they viewed business planning as important, but only 40% said they had any kind ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
