Strategies@work Podcast

Gleanings - September 2017

Gleanings - August 2017

Wise people are recognized by the excellence of their attitudes and actions. They are divinely blessed people who build their lives based on a sound knowledge of God and, therefore, enjoy the favor of God in every area of life, including their work. Such people are the only ones who consistently enjoy divine favor and therefore consistently deliver excellent value. Consequently, organizational leaders should seek to build their organizations with wise people—people whose conduct displays the internal virtue of meekness of wisdom. Organizations built on this standard will deliver excellent value that will bless all stakeholders. And excellent value is a key predicate to enduring success.

Gleanings - July 2017

Management must recognize the bias to sin—the inclination to think and act contrary to God’s standards—in all people and, therefore, in all stakeholders: owners, managers, workers, associates, suppliers, subcontractors, customers, and regulators. One way to detect the level of sin in anyone is to listen to what he or she says. Wise managers are good listeners and understand that to deliver excellent value requires stakeholders who are internally motivated to obey God’s standards, that is, people who are self-governing under God. The best way to build people who are self-governing under God is to build a culture of discipleship that empowers stakeholders to mature spiritually. For those stakeholders who refuse to be discipled, the only options are sin management or termination. Given that sin management never works well, termination is generally the best choice.

Gleanings - June 2017

Management must understand that people cannot compartmentalize their private lives from their work lives. The core values of workers will be manifested in every area of their lives. To deliver excellent value, organizational leaders must embrace biblical core values, such as sacrificial faithfulness. Correspondingly, organizations must have workers whose core values are defined by Scripture. This means that an organization must build with workers whose personal core values are truly congruent with the organization’s core values. Failure to do this means that the organizational leaders are gambling on worker hypocrisy. This is a bad bet.

Gleanings - May 2017

Organizational leaders who are committed to a Christian worldview must develop a well-defined scripturally based code of conduct and/or statement of core values to guide the expected deportment of stakeholders and provide the primary metric for all organizational decisions. Pragmatism should never be the primary metric, but it can be a secondary metric. The primary metric must always be alignment with virtues that emanate from a Christian worldview. To deliver excellent products and services, organizational leaders must model and require a high level of compliance to the code of conduct or statement of core values by all stakeholders.

Gleanings - April 2017

For fallen mankind, the default thinking about wealth is unbiblical. By nature, we value tangible (temporal) wealth over intangible (eternal, true) wealth. Learning to think biblically about wealth requires training. Organizational leaders must make sound biblical training about both tangible and intangible wealth a high priority. In addition to training, the actions and practices of organizations must reflect the truth that accumulating intangible (eternal, true) wealth is the true definition of success, significance, and security. Tangible temporal wealth must be properly stewarded by seeking to use it to serve the purposes of God. The fruit of sound stewardship of tangible wealth will be the accumulation of intangible (eternal, true) wealth—wealth that God values.

Gleanings - March 2017

For the workplace to function well, management must promote equitable dealings. All stakeholders must subscribe and be committed to this standard. Anyone associated with an organization and who is self-deceived will be unable to profoundly live up to this metric. When management discovers self-deceived stakeholders, prompt remediation must be offered. And if remediation fails, then timely replacement must be executed. Cultures that tolerate self-deceived stakeholders will be toxic and impaired in their ability to conduct business equitably.

Gleanings - February 2017

Leaders must recognize that they are stewards and that organizations exist to serve the will and ways of the Creator. Economics should therefore be rooted in biblical truth about the will and ways of the Creator. The best sources of revelation about the will and ways of the Creator are Scripture (special revelation) and creation (general revelation). Since God funds his will, long-term success requires alignment with God’s economic principles, which are best revealed in Scripture. Furthermore, any principles gleaned from general revelation must be congruent with Scripture.

Gleanings - January 2017

Organizational leaders and managers must hire the right people (those in the process of transformation) and build cultures that support Christ-centered transformation. People limited to common grace have limited ability to reach their potential. Workers, however, who are being transformed by Christ are empowered to fulfill their potential. And in the process of fulfilling their potential, these people will facilitate organizational excellence by delivering world-class value to those the organization serves.

Gleanings - December 2016

From a Christian worldview, the starting point (arche') for economics must be sound biblical thinking about God and his purpose for mankind in history. All economic activity must support God’s purpose by enabling mankind to fulfill the Creation Mandate in the context of the metanarrative. This is the correct context to support economic activity. Economic activity executed based on common grace can only be marginally effective. Economic activity executed by true disciples of Jesus who are doing the will and ways of God will be efficacious in glorifying God and producing excellent value for those served. Wise management understands this reality and builds organizations based on discipleship.

Gleanings - November 2016