At a recent “Faith at Work Summit,” Doug Napier, with the Alliance Defending Freedom organization, spoke about religious liberties and the challenges many businesses face in today’s times. The very phrase, “Separation of church and state” has been so drummed into many people’s minds that it has distracted many from living out their faith in the workplace. Doug proclaimed, “Are ...
This week we are talking about F.I.T.T. leaders. The I in FITT is for intellectual. As I study the qualities of healthy leaders, a common trait among most of these individuals is their desire to continuously learn. Healthy and effective leaders read books, listen to podcasts, and attend seminars to expand their knowledge. F.I.T.T leaders grow and develop themselves intellectually. ...
The Seventh Key to Financial Success – Turnover Ratios Profit is important, but cash pays the bills. If your inventory, or monies owed to you, grow significantly, you can be profitable, but cash poor. A past bank customer of mine was profitable, but had a cash flow crisis. By calculating how frequently his inventory was turning over, we discovered his ...
The Sixth Key to Financial Success – Leverage At 25 years of age I started a car rental agency! In order to fund this new business I borrowed money personally, and also, from a bank. My new business was highly leveraged with an excessive amount of debt. Before long I discovered that every time the bank demanded something from me, ...
The Fourth Key to Financial Success – Return on Equity A business owner should have two types of returns on the time and money they invest in their business. One is compensation for their work, and the other is a return on their financial investment. If you were investing in a mutual fund, you would want to know how much ...
The First Key to Financial Success – Revenue Growth In my book “Unconventional Business” I discuss Seven Keys to Financial Success. The first key is Revenue Growth. Knowing the pace your revenue grows from year to year is critical in assessing how well your customers appreciate your products. Unfortunately, some pursue more sales in a greedy and unethical manner. A ...
Most Saturdays you can find our son, Jeremy, and I at a local thrift store. One of his quirks, related to his autism, is his insistence in buying a VHS video each week from a specific thrift store. Like most thrift stores this store is filled with used, donated goods. As Halloween approached, however, I noticed racks of new Halloween ...
Building trust is critical in our relationships, and, in the world of commerce. Jesus modeled five building blocks of trust in the calling of his first disciples. These elements can be remembered by the acronym TRUST. The first T is for Testimonials. Jesus’ first encounter with Peter and Andrew was at the Jordan River. John the Baptist baptized Jesus, then, ...
Prior to Philadelphia’s famous Wanamaker’s department store, prices were usually established by haggling with the shopkeeper. John Wanamaker, a department store legend in the early 1900s, had a philosophical problem with haggling so he invented a fixed price amount for price tags and the money-back guarantee. His problem with the practice of haggling flowed out of his spiritual roots. He ...
In my book, “Unconventional Business,” I highlighted seven questions from marketing guru, Seth Godin, that may help you shape your marketing plan. The third question is, “What do your prospective customers want?” During my banking career I watched as we constantly launched products to meet our needs with little concern about the customer’s desires. Then a new product was announced ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
