Connecting Faith and Work

In this episode of The Thrive! Podcast, host Bob Willbanks interviews Shannon Gronemeyer, owner of Customer Centered Strategies.

Shannon has been a Christian his whole life, and left the corporate world about a decade ago. He got to a point where he didn't like who he had become. He realized there was more to life than career and money, and he decided it was time to do something different.

He says it sounds like a courageous decision, but it was anxiety producing at the time. He felt that he had walked away from who God wanted him to be, and something had to change.

Shannon wanted to work for a company with a healthy culture, valued employees, and an attitude of service toward customers. He decided to do consulting work as a way to "test" the company culture and find a place where he truly wanted to work.

Consulting ended up being a great fit for Shannon, and he eventually build a company around the consulting practice. The business, Customer Centered Strategies, helps compaines turn insight into action. They don't leave their clients with a laundry list of items to complete, but rather help them along the journey to better results.

Faith is central in Shannon's life and although Customer Centered Strategies is not an overtly Christian business, there are Christian themes behind their values and how they consult with clients.

Learn more about Customer Centered Strategies: https://ccsdelivered.com/

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Brad Dale has been working in the mortgage industry with Cherry Creek Morgage since 2004. He also has a passion for mentoring the next generation of business leaders in their personal and professionals lives.

In partnership with Ambassadors for Business, Brad will be facilitating the NextGen Leaders Mastermind throughout 2019. He has developed a curriculum to guide the mastermind sessions, but also wants to leave space for the Holy Spirit to lead, and for particiapants to gain what they want from the group.

The NextGen Leaders Mastermind launch is February 6th, 2019! Find all the event details and register via the Ambassadors for Business event calendar.

Brad has identified four main components to center the tools, exercises, and discussion around:

Join the NextGen Leaders Mastermind for practical application of these components, and specific guidance for the struggles you are facing as a young professional in the marketplace!

Find details here: https://business.afbnl.com/mastermind/Details/nextgen-leaders-mastermind-88362?sourceTypeId=Website

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Ashley Ebert's life and career path led her to start a wedding planning business with the help of her dad, Dale Henry. This business, The Simply Elegant Group, was developed to solve the problem of wedding planning affordability. Together, Ashley and Dale created a business model that solves this issue and has become a big differentiator in the market.

Dale Henry has a background in corporate business and corporate consulting. He helps people perform at their best and led their teams to do the same. He helps people play to their strengths, and has coached many people through the process of helping people start small businesses.

Together, Dale and Ashley make the perfect dynamic duo as they start The Abundance Group. The purpose of this new business endeavor is to create a comprehensive platform for entrepreneurs to find help as they build their business. The platform includes courses, tangible tools, master classes, and deals on business products and service providers.

Their mission is to ensure entrepreneurs prosper, and to Dale and Ashley, prosperity means joyous success. The Abundance Group is about serving others and adding value to other people first.

As the episode ends, Ashley and Dale share about mindsets they see among Christians in the marketplace that differentiate them from others in the secular world.

Visit Dale Henry and Ashley Ebert online:

The Abundance Group: www.theabundance.group

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Rob Gales has been walking with the Lord for two decades, and God put him through a season of suffering and growth in 2017. Rob was diagnosed with late stage prostate cancer and through that journey he realized he had missed what God had for him in life.

In this episode of The Thrive! Podcast, Rob shares how this difficult season of suffering caused him to look at purpose and legacy in a new way, and the encourage those he consults to consider the path God has laid down for them.

Rob shares that there are different ways of looking at the connection between faith and business, with each way getting closer to what God desires for us to do:

Throughout this episode, Rob shares stories of how he has sought to put God first in business, and lessons he has learned along the way.

Connect with Rob Gales via email at [email protected]

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The Geneva Suites is a residential senior home model run by Marlena Hemenway and her husband Scott. The core values of The Geneva Suites are:

The Geneva Suites has six residential homes for seniors (each home can house six seniors) and the renovations are being completed for a seventh home set to open in early 2019.

Marlena encourages family with elderly loved ones to start having the necessary conversations about end-of-life care. She notes it is best to consider the options and make decisions before a crisis happens, and it is often best to transition a senior out of their home and into an alternative living facility sooner rather then later.

Get in touch with Marlena:

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Bob Willbanks has come to realize that as an organization, Ambassadors for Business is the soil that helps all the pieces come together so business professionals can growth together and find the resources they need.

A few insights Bob has recently gained pertain to working together as the church body, being part of something bigger than ourselves, pursuing Christ-likeness, and building healthy family relationships.

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Joe Bertilson believes God has called him to help finance the Gospel. As he has walked through life and seen opportunities to give, he has seen others blessed no matter the size of the gift.

He joined Edward Jones as a financial advisor and he takes the opportunity to help people with their finances to point them towards giving charitably in a more tax efficient and impactful way.

Joe highlights some best practicies for people as they give, as well as a variety of ways to give charitably:

"The generous man devises generous things and by generosity he shall stand." - Isaiah 32:8

Contact Joe Bertilson via his email: [email protected]

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Adam Wallschlaeger from Action Coach, MN spoke about the parable of the talents from a business and personal development perspective. During some discussion, Bob realized the reason two of the servants went and put their talents to work right away was probably due to the type of relationship they had with the master. If they had an intimate relationship with their master, they would understand the expectations he had regarding the use of his money. Bob shares that we need to prioritize building an intimate relationship with Christ so that we can gain an understanding of what he wants us to do with what he has given us in life.

Thom Winninger spoke about how we have a perfect God at another Thrive! event recently. Bob found Thom's teaching about how we are created in God's image impactful. We are created to create more than we consume, and we are perfectly put together to do what God created us to do on this earth.

Another recent Thrive! speaker was Leary Gates. His training focused on the reality that we are not taking the time to think deeply anymore because of all the input that is coming at us. As Bob considers the teaching from Leary, he encourages listeners to unplug regularly and spend time getting closer with God and building that intimate relationship with their Creator.

Discover growth in all areas of your life through the leadership and personal development training at Thrive! Leadership with Purpose events. Connect your faith values with your work as you fellowship with like minded business professionals. Find a location near you: https://www.afbnl.com/thrive/

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In this episode, Bob Willbanks, President of Ambassadors for Business and host of The Thrive! Podcast, shares several updates. A new way for members to find and submit resources will be launching very soon. Bob shares how Ambassadors for Business is the soil, the soon-to-be-launched Angel's Biz List is the water, and Thrive! events are the seed.

As Ambassadors for Business enters the year-end fundraising time, Bob shares his realization that he is a marketplace missionary and how this adjusts the focus of fundraising for the organization.

Please subscribe to The Thrive! Podcast, and visit www.afbnl.com to learn more about Ambassadors for Business!

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Danita Bye, author of Millennials Matter, believes much of the negative news about the millennial generation is "fake news." In other words, although there may be things about this generation that aren't ideal, there are also many postive things about them.

In one survey of conducted by Danita's team, she found that 100% of the business owners surveyed were optimistic about the millennial members of their teams.

Danita discusses the importance of mission, vision, and values to the millennial generation and their leadership aspirations. Throughout the conversation, she shares her perspective on the changes this will bring to the business environment. Much of it is not complicated, but it does take time, energy, and intentionality.

Learn how to tap into the talent and potential of the millennials in your sphere of influence!

Website: https://danitabye.com/

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