Psalm 15
I love experiencing communion — The Lord’s Supper, Eucharist — as a celebration of God’s mercy and grace. But I have to admit I am challenged when Paul warns us to examine ourselves before we eat the bread and drink the cup (1 Corinthians 11:28). I’m better at looking at God at communion than looking at myself. Maybe that is why we have Psalm 15.
A psalm of David.
LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart
and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts,
who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.
Psalm 15 is an invitation to a comprehensive self-examination:
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Sitting in a brainstorming meeting this week, my colleague, Dan, asked an executive team if they could “wait on God?” This was regarding the crafting of a new venture’s strategy. He discussed how typically people want to come to a decision quickly, especially in board rooms and executive meetings.
During this discussion, my mind was jarred to past conversations I’ve had with my parents. They sold their retail coffee chain almost three years ago and initially told me that they would rest a year and then start a new business. So they traveled to various European countries, went to Egypt, forced us to join them on an Alaskan cruise, and other destinations. It was past a year and I remember asking them if they had decided on their next business. They both told me that they are still praying and waiting on God.
“Bernard, our prior business we felt that we didn’t truly seek God’s will, so this time we are praying and waiting for God’s clear direction.”
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I often get emails or comments at InsideWork asking for very specific advice regarding work or business situations. Many times they involve ethical or moral dilemmas. Other times they are just complex situations in search of a clear response. Although the answers to some questions seem clear to me, I am becoming less and less comfortable giving precise answers to some of these questions. Could I? Perhaps. But what is making me uncomfortable is that I sense that many who ask the questions are looking for a formula, a clear rationale for a decision that makes their life unambiguous, clear, and “right.” After all, we admire people who are clear and decisive. Shouldn’t our faith make us clear and decisive?
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Every August, the Education Department at Wisconsin’s Beloit College publishes a Mindset List to remind the school’s faculty — and the rest of us — what the world looks like for the incoming freshman class. Most of this year’s freshmen were born in 1990. They will enter the workforce in 2012 not knowing some things that may have shaped your perceptions about the world.
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Commentary on the marketing tone of a Christian publisher
I’m treading on dangerous ground here. I want you to understand that before we begin.
My colleague, Bernard Moon, recently wrote Is Your Work Less Valuable?, in which he expresses his frustration with a church sermon implying that those who make the “sacrifice” to do the so-called spiritual work of ministry were more committed followers of Christ than those who stayed in the “secular” workplace.
A few days later another colleague sent me a promotional quote from the back cover of a soon to be released book, The Gift of Work, by Bill Heatley. Since I have not read the book, my comments are absolutely not a critique of the book, and in fact, I’d assume that it will be a good thoughtful read, given what I see in the table of contents.
What infuriated me was the marketing tone set by the back cover. Christian publishing after years of neglecting the workplace is now finding it as an opportunity. But in typical late to the game fashion, and not understanding the realities of what God is already doing in the workplace, they approach the marketing with a sensationalistic and unbiblical mindset.
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Mea (so very) Culpa
In all the excitement of launching InsideWork 3.0. one thing I missed was that while I knew Brett Johnson’s five videos on Repurposing Business were brand new every Monday, the way we presented those videos on our front page did nothing to tell you they were new every Monday. By which I mean, they all looked pretty much alike.
So, with apologies to you and Brett, we’re going to run those five videos again — one each week — beginning today.
Honestly, Brett Johnson is smart and experienced and what he says about repurposing businesses to perform beyond the bottom line is so thought-provoking I have very little doubt you’ll watch them and pass them along to your friends and colleagues.
So…without further ado…Ladies and Gentlemen…Brett Johnson.
Click here to view video #1: Repurposing Business
In tightening markets, if you can’t (perhaps shouldn’t) compete on price, you can still (and certainly should) compete on service.
Pete Blackshaw — executive vice president of Nielsen Online Digital Strategic Services and author of Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000 — points to low-hanging fruit in an AdAge piece called Marketers Love Conversation Unless the Consumer Starts It (11 August, 2008):
If the consumer voice is so important these days, why are brand feedback, or “contact us,” forms so get-out-of-my-face unfriendly?
I dare you to find a feedback form that winks even a quasi-friendly smile. And if you find one that allows consumers to truly communicate in their native voices — complete with links, photos, audio clips or videos — I’ll eat my just-published book.
How about it? How important are your customers really?
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Thinking about the value of work last week, I reflected on what I enjoy about working. The challenge and satisfaction of creating something…the process of brainstorming and generating ideas…the people I encounter and learn from…others I mentor or help…the excitement of bringing something to market…and so many other experiences I love about work.
I’ve been blessed to have a career during which I’ve cherished most of the experiences, respected many of the people I’ve worked with, and where I’ve been able to grow personally and professionally. Of course, there were situations I didn’t enjoy — some I really hated. Working with unethical colleagues…compromising my principles…doing that I didn’t want to undertake…and firing people. Still, overall, it has been my approach in life to never have regrets. Whether good or bad occurs, I choose to take stock and move on.
I acknowledge that not everyone has been blessed with work they enjoy. I have an acquaintance who became a doctor out of respect to his parents’ wishes (Is it obvious he was Asian American? Maybe not…) but in his heart, what he really wanted was to become an attorney. I always wondered how he approached his work when his heart was somewhere else. I know others who have had bosses from hell, career paths that weren’t as interesting as they anticipated, or toiled at dead-end jobs. What would my approach to work be if I was in these situations? Would I still be “happy Bernard” or have my “no regrets” view of life?
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There is lots of talk about Africa at InsideWork this year. Jim Hancock started 2008 working on a digital movie project in Tanzania; in July, Geoff Finch represented InsideWork in meetings with government ministries of central and East African nations; and we have a pleasant correspondence with a business consultant (and InsideWork reader) in Nairobi.
I have to say this is a cautiously hopeful turn in a conversation I have been part of for more than a quarter of a century.
When I first went to Africa on behalf of World Vision in the 1980s, every statement about Africa included a warning that the continent was on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. We certainly were not wrong about that — for reasons that were obvious to most any observer at the time and for ominous reasons yet to be revealed in the beginnings of the spread of HIV.
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Reflections from Psalm 9
Howard Morrison writes about his encounters with God (and himself) in the Book of Psalms. One in the Walking the Walk series of posts on the spiritual practices of people in business.
Psalm 9:10 says, “Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
I haven’t been able shake these words…
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Phillip Purcell, former chief executive at Morgan Stanley, now head of Continental Investors, offers up The Five Lessons Bankers Must Relearn (Financial Times commentary, 10 August, 2008).
It is difficult to find fault with Mr. Purcell’s five lessons from from the current financial meltdown
- it’s about profits, not revenues
- executive compensation should be based on long term profits
- leverage is a two edged sword
- diversification of income & assets is a must
- risk management must be maintained as a culture in financial institutions
However, Purcell’s analysis does not mention two fundamental drivers that I believe are core issues behind the current crisis.
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When the Nobel Laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn died, August 3, 2008, he left behind more than two dozen novels, novellas, histories, plays and books of poetry exploring the breadth and depth of life in Soviet Union and beyond. And changed minds, numbering in the thousands and tens of thousands.
Solzhenitsyn wrote and spoke words he knew were unacceptable. In a 1978 speech at Harvard, “A World Split Apart,” he said:
As long as we wake up every morning under a peaceful sun, we have to lead an everyday life. There is a disaster, however, which has already been under way for quite some time. I am referring to the calamity of a despiritualized and irreligious humanistic consciousness.
To such consciousness, man is the touchstone in judging and evaluating everything on earth. Imperfect man, who is never free of pride, self-interest, envy, vanity, and dozens of other defects. We are now experiencing the consequences of mistakes which had not been noticed at the beginning of the journey. On the way from the Renaissance to our days we have enriched our experience, but we have lost the concept of a Supreme Complete Entity which used to restrain our passions and our irresponsibility. We have placed too much hope in political and social reforms, only to find out that we were being deprived of our most precious possession: our spiritual life. In the East, it is destroyed by the dealings and machinations of the ruling party. In the West, commercial interests tend to suffocate it. This is the real crisis. The split in the world is less terrible than the similarity of the disease plaguing its main sections.
“Alexander Solzhenitsyn in 1974..” Online Photograph. ‘Britannica Student Encyclopædia. 11 Aug. 2008
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The world of freelancers is populated with more talent than you could ever fit in your box. In 2005 about 10.3 million American workers ( 7.4 percent) were freelancers —up from 6.4 percent in 2001.
Confirmed freelancers — not to be confused with temp workers — find it a stretch to simply land one job and stick to it. The freedom of a flexible schedule fuels much of the creativity embodied in the work freelancers produce. All the genuine freelancers I’ve met have been brilliant. They know their fields and they learn to know their clients. They’re not much for busy work or pro forma meetings, but their experience and project orientation enable them to meet the demands of business more effectively than many nine-to-fivers could.
If your company is looking for talent, you might consider working with one or more freelancers instead of hiring. Freelancers work for sole proprietorships and small businesses as well as larger corporations with the higher costs associated with hiring. Even if the hourly cost or project rate charged by a freelancer seems higher than staffing, it’s generally worth every penny for the ease of the experience. You can find an experienced freelancer and have the project finished faster than you can by hiring an in-house staff to accomplish the same work. And getting out of a bad fit with a freelancer is as simple as not offering further work. Try that with an employee.
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The second of two posts by Al Lunsford on cutting through the clutter with clear, concise, visionary communication.
If you want your communication to capture and hold people who are paying attention to what’s going on in the world, treat us the way you want to be treated. Unless, of course, you enjoy having people ply you with vague talk about poorly defined objectives and activities.
If you’re on the receiving end of communications that fail to move the needle, write back and identify what you need to know if you’re going to remain engaged. Who knows…maybe you’ll get better mail.
I got a newsletter from a person who asked us, his readers, to pray for him as he prepared the agenda for a conference, and that he would have God’s wisdom and leading as he made important decisions about the future. I wrote back, asking:
What are some of the agenda items . . . and what are these important decisions that are before you. You certainly could provide us . . . particularly those who have donated to your work . . . an understanding of your focus at this stage, the trends that are beginning to develop, new facets to the work that you are beginning to realize, opportunities you think may be materializing. You get the idea! Tell us that and we can pray in way that is more targeted and useful.
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If you’re like me you probably get a multitude of conference brochures, announcements, funding appeals, website links and at least a few newsletters from people who happen to be “missionaries.” And if you’re like me, you probably get frustrated by how many of these communications are vague and amateurish.
I find a sameness in most of these writings. One sounds a lot like the next of its own kind and not all that different from the communications of completely different organizations in completely different categories. The writing is nearly always vague, sometimes to the point of meaninglessness. Sometimes I wonder if the writers believe they are protecting trade secrets. Other times I fear they don’t report anything specific because they are not doing anything specific.
I admit I have been guilty of this kind of vagueness myself and I am still guilty of being less than definite when people ask “How’s it going?” or “What can I pray for?” I don’t always answer with a clear focus on what I want to happen between the moment they ask and the next time I expect to see them. There is no level of detail that might make what they pray specific and measurable . . . with a desired result in mind.
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