Strategies@work Podcast

Organizational leaders must be clear on their predicate, that is, who is charge of the universe—whose will and ways will prevail. The choices are either God’s or man’s. The correct choice is God’s will and God’s ways. Therefore, building an organization on this predicate means that God’s will and ways must be highest priority in every decision. Only then will organizations be able to produce excellent, enduring results because only then will they be aligned with the right view of reality—the right worldview. And only then will they enjoy sustained favor from the Creator.

Gleanings - March 2021

Wise organization leaders and managers understand that reputation is more important than profit and will, therefore, sacrifice profit to build and maintain a stellar reputation. Organizations earn reputations based on the quality of both the delivery and support of their value propositions. Customer support based on servant leadership—putting customers’ interests ahead of their own—and the Golden Rule is the Right Customer Service that will produce a stellar reputation. The reverse is also true. Failure to deliver the Right Customer Service will produce a tarnished reputation that, in time, will lead to an organization’s demise.

Gleanings - February 2021

Wise organizational leaders seek to develop strong learning cultures that enable character development in all stakeholders. Excellent value propositions are defined by godly leaders and delivered by godly workers. When an organization’s stakeholders focus on character development, the organization can be the right people serving the right people by delivering the right products and services in the right way in the right places at the right time for the right reasons. This means that the organization is delivering its value proposition according to the will and ways of God; therefore, it will be doing the right things right.

Gleanings - January 2021

Practices congruent with a Christian worldview will contribute to the development of a right culture. One of the priorities of sound leadership and management is to build an organizational culture that reflects sound Christian theology and philosophy. Accordingly, Scripture must be employed to define the core values of the organization. This will provide a basis for sound principles and practices that will produce excellent results. Organizations that commit to being so grounded will have the right culture, that is, a culture congruent with the ways of Christ who is the Creator, sustainer, and purpose for all reality.

Gleanings - December 2020

A universe created by the God who is revealed in the Bible means that an organizational leader must align the culture of the organization with values, principles, and practices rooted in Scripture. The goal is to bring total alignment of every word and action with God’s will and ways as revealed first and foremost in Scripture. In a fallen world, this is an enormously challenging task, nevertheless, it is the way to build organizations that deliver outstanding value. Any compromise to values, principles, or practices inconsistent with Scripture will destabilize the organization and, in time, lead to failure. Success can only come through faithfully ordering the organization in alignment with the will and ways of God.

Gleanings - November 2020

Organizational leaders must be committed to developing and executing a strategic plan. The plan should be reviewed and updated annually, if not more frequently. The leaders should follow the above tips to maximize the opportunity to successfully execute the plan. The leaders must seek to connect every initiative to the plan and hold the organization accountable to the plan. And likewise, the leaders should be willing to submit to external accountability. An organizational culture marked by strategic thinking and execution is an indicator of an organization whose work will reflect the favor God, that is, the work will be established.

Gleanings - October 2020

Organizational leaders who value a Christian worldview will value strategic planning as a tool to enable them to align with the will of God. Such leaders will hold annual planning meetings and periodic (e.g., quarterly) accountability meetings to help them stay on course. The leaders will also engage accountability partners from their oversight board or consultants to hold them accountable to their plan. Organizations with this level of commitment to alignment with God will deliver excellent value to those they are called to serve.

Gleanings - September 2020

Wise organizational leaders understand that God blesses alignment with his will and ways. Therefore, they seek to live aligned with God both individually and organizationally. This means that they will seek to understand their roles in the metanarrative and fulfill those roles aligned with values, principles, and practices that emanate from a Christian worldview. They will, therefore, build organizations with people who are committed to finding and fulfilling God’s purpose in their lives. Such people will enjoy divine favor. And organizations composed of such people and led by leaders who are committed to alignment with the will and ways of God will enjoy divine favor.

Gleanings - August 2020

Organizational leaders must develop metaphysical awareness and seek God’s purpose both individually and organizationally. Organizational success is measured by alignment with the divinely ordained role of the organization in the metanarrative. To build accordingly requires workers who think likewise. Leaders must resist the temptation to define reality functionally, that is, without metaphysical awareness, and be vigilant to seek to discern God’s will for the organization and each stakeholder in the organization. The most profound metric of success, individually and organizationally, can only be measured by the degree of alignment with the will and ways of God in the metanarrative.

Gleanings - July 2020

Management must learn to think big—beyond the superficial pedestrian thinking of delivering goods and services, making a profit, and employing people. Given the metanarrative and a sovereign, intentional, and strategic Creator, organizational leaders must engage the battle between good and evil by guiding their organizations into alignment with the will and ways of God. This is a matter of prayer and spiritual discernment that leads to wise actions. Profound organizational leadership must be committed to Scripture and a godly walk to be able to see beyond tangible reality to the bigger story of history and properly align the organization with God’s purpose in his metanarrative. In this process, organizational leaders must seek to align their organizations with good, as biblically defined. This is their responsibility before God. The ultimate definition of success must be measured by the degree to which the leaders obediently fight evil and deliver good through their organizations.

Gleanings - June 2020