I’m not young, and I’ve been managing, leading, or owning businesses of various shapes and sizes since about 1990. Coincidentally, I had a kindling of my Christian faith at about the same time that I first took a management role. I’ve been considering the question posed as the title of this post for over thirty years.   Do Business Management Systems Conflict with Your Faith? I wish I had a highlight reel, like one only ESPN could produce, of all the management systems I’ve had the pleasure of learning, introducing, or implementing over my career thus far. I estimate the life cycle ..read more

Embracing Proactive Growth In Business Do you feel like your team is in control of growing your small business, or do you all mostly respond well when opportunities happen to arise? In my work on strategic and annual planning with small business clients, I’ve encountered a common initial hesitation. During our first planning sessions, business owners often shy away from setting ambitious goals. Their fear? That high targets might demotivate their team. This mindset reveals a deep issue: They are not confident that they can create their own business opportunities and growth. However, I encourag ..read more

The Easter season includes the most meaningful messages in all of Christian doctrine. Holy Week from Palm Sunday through Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday is arguably the story of Christianity condensed into its’ most bare and essential form. How can Holy Week guide you to allow your Christian Faith to be more present in your leadership?   The following are three Holy Week Messages for Business Owners. 1. Your mission should be consistent with God’s will for your life. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoeve ..read more

Do you read a lot of business books? How often do you act on what you read? In the ever-evolving world of business, I’ve turned the pages of countless books, each offering a unique lens on familiar concepts. From business strategy to self-improvement, the wisdom of the ages persists, echoing King Solomon’s words from Ecclesiastes that there truly is nothing new under the sun. Yet, approximately 4 million new books are published per year. With nothing new under the sun, there are many new takes on old topics. However, sometimes, a concept needs a new story that you can relate to personally in ..read more

We read books, listen to podcasts, watch interviews, attend seminars, and meet with mastermind groups, searching for those nuggets; That piece of the puzzle is that we need to feel that things are on the right track in our business to be at peace with things. Our interest in business improvement makes sense. Your business is part of who you are. Not in the eternal sense, but definitely in the basic provisions, financial stability, and self-actualization sense. Our businesses occupy space throughout Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.   When we initiate a conversation, one of the most commo ..read more

I recently took an assessment, one of those personality/communication type things, and the term passive-aggressive kept surfacing for my type when under extreme stress. At first, I dismissed it as I am a counselor and a coach, so of course, I can communicate healthily. They can’t be talking about me. I thought I knew what passive-aggressive meant, but I looked it up anyway. I read several articles on passive-aggressive communication. Everyone is passive-aggressive. Seriously. Definition of Passive-Aggressive Behavior Here is one definition from the Cleveland Clinic: Passive-aggressive behavio ..read more

Managing our business and employees requires us to receive feedback well, so how well do you receive feedback, correction, or reproof? “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” – Prov 12:1  I read a commentary from Paul Downing on Proverbs 12:1 that I found convincing in a good way.  You can read the entire post here. “The truth is that we rarely learn anything apart from discipline or correction. In fact, the Hebrew word translated “discipline” here literally means, “correction that results in education.” It’s the idea of being trained by a p ..read more

I had a headache this morning that I carried to my 6 am HIIT workout. I thought about it before I left the house but assumed the pain would dissipate when the caffeine from my cup of coffee made it to my brain.  It didn’t.  My hands and joints hurt, too. That means inflammation.   What have I eaten this week that I shouldn’t? Strictly following my anti-inflammatory diet makes all of the difference in the world. Really. It does. Do I like eliminating gluten, dairy, sugar, and soy from my diet? Of course not. Who would? Does it make a difference? Yes, a huge one. That’s the ..read more

“… Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us…” – Eph 5:1 I listened to a sermon this week based in part upon the lessons of Ephesians 5. Pastor Gerrit Dawson is a master storyteller and always weaves lived experiences into the fabric of his sermons. Gerrit’s take on Ephesians 5 was about how we think of and treat people in times of correction, accountability, and discipline. You can find the full sermon here.  Too often, when we are in these situations, “walking in love” would not be the best description of how we handle ourselves.   In ou ..read more

It’s a new year, a new day, and much has been written about resolutions and goals. Nowadays, it is more the “norm” than rebellious to expound on all the reasons to skip New Year‘s resolutions and goals. It’s a cop-out. I understand that most people fail to succeed or maintain their resolutions. We have shifted from abandoning our goals after a month or two of weak effort to an “I’ll show them” attitude and quit setting goals altogether. People think, I’ll be a rebel and go against the tide. It will be the ‘no goal New Year.’ But it isn’t against the tide anymore. It is the status quo. Don’t J ..read more