I’ve personally been involved in at least seven business startups. In this series, let me share seven keys to success for aspiring entrepreneurs. Legendary consultant, Peter Drucker, wrote, “There is nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency something that should not be done at all.” In my opinion, the first key to success is producing a product or ...
In the book, Every Good Endeavor, authors Timothy Keller and Katherine Alsdorf paint a picture of work as multi-beneficial. Work allows us to use our God-given talents to serve God, our employers and our customers. We also honor God by doing our work in a way that serves our professions and our communities. Psalm 90:17 says, “May the favor of ...
As a member of my church denomination’s outreach committee, I was expected to take a mission trip to see our contributions at work. Although I had asked to visit a project in Europe, a late change redirected me to Venezuela, a country for which I had no interest or understanding. Praying furiously to God for strength and assurance the ...
Rarely do I see a spiritually encouraging article on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, but recently I read, “Bible Sales Grow 22%.” Even though print books only grew 1% this year, Bible sales soared 22%. Since some estimate that the average household owns 3.5 Bibles, the more pertinent issue is how many of these new Bible owners ...
One of the responsibilities of a CEO is to manage risks. Last month when United Healthcare’s CEO was murdered, this tragedy highlighted a risk that will probably now receive significant attention. That’s the risk of unhappy customers responding in unexpected ways. The bigger the company, the more removed CEOs can become from policies and decisions being made at frontline levels. ...
In this series we’re discussing different ways that business can shape our faith. A profound way that God has used to shape my faith is by trusting God with our marketing strategy. Decades ago, God sent a radio executive to ask me to produce a radio vignette on integrity in the workplace. I had no experience in radio, but I ...
The music artist, Lecrae, stated in an interview on essence.com that he faced significant challenges in his early years finding any recording companies to sign him. The Christian studios told Lecrae that his music was too edgy, while the secular studios said his music was too Christian. This drove Lecrae to a more unconventional approach of launching his own business ...
If you’ve ever rented a vacation home, you’ve probably experienced the lack of price transparency. You see a reasonable nightly charge, only to discover that as you go through the process, they begin adding hidden service charges and cleaning fees. Last month, the state of California passed a law that requires more transparency in lodging and restaurant fees. The ...
When I first started in banking I was accepted into a management training program. Young college graduates were given exposure to all facets of the bank, giving us the opportunity to discover our best job fit for the future. Their concept was a good way to match people’s interests and passions with the area of the bank where they ...
Recently, I scheduled a morning meeting at Panera’s restaurant with a vendor. Since I don’t drink coffee, I typically order hot chocolate. However, the clerk informed me that management recently discontinued serving hot chocolate. As a financial guy, I understand limiting the number of products you serve to enhance profitability. However, I wonder if management researched the other implications ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
