In an interview with Coach Tommy Bowden, we were discussing how to work with football players who were not living up to their full potential. Coach Bowden said that it was important to get to know each player well enough to know “which buttons to push.” Some of his players responded well to an encouraging word, others needed strong directives. […]

Many companies have embraced tying their product to a noble cause by making charitable donations when their sales volume increases. Others have tied worker productivity to their philanthropy as well. Stephan Meier, a professor at Columbia Business School, however, has discovered that corporate philanthropy tied to worker productivity can sometimes backfire. An Economic Journal study discovered that when worker productivity […]

Many Christian business leaders believe if they are kind and do the right thing it will be enough to distinguish them as Christians, without having to share their faith. Other business leaders are kind and have integrity, but don’t embrace faith in Christ. It’s God’s Presence that makes the difference. In Exodus 33 Moses said to God, “If your Presence does […]

During a rerun of the TV show New Amsterdam, the medical director, Max, realized that there were people working for him who were in obsolete jobs. Many of them had skills useful for other roles, but they had been hiding out hoping to retain their paycheck. Max matched their skills to new jobs. Many people have spent their careers in […]

Jim, a Canadian leader in the telecommunications field, was leading a cross-functional team on a significant project. One member of the team became antagonistic. Jim started to remove this person from the team when he decided to try to reconcile one more time. As he did, Jim felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to ask if this person was a […]

Coach Tommy Bowden developed a system to help shape the character of his football players called CARDS. The final letter, and my favorite, is the S for Sacrifice. For a football team to become a high performing team, there are times when an individual player may need to sacrifice their personal desires for the good of the team. In business, […]

Coach Tommy Bowden developed a system to help shape the character of his football players called CARDS. The D stands for Discipline. Many interns or younger employees have not had as much opportunity to apply discipline to their life. This can require patience on your part. By helping your team members to establish good habits, you will help them to […]

Coach Tommy Bowden developed a system to help shape the character of his football players called CARDS. Today I want to talk about R for Responsibility. Responsibility and accountability go hand in hand. One of the biggest transitions for younger employees is the area of responsibility. It’s a sign of maturity when employees assume responsibility and complete their required tasks. […]

Coach Tommy Bowden developed a system to help shape the character of his football players called CARDS. Today I want to talk about the A for Accountability. Tommy points out that some basic skills that used to be taught in the home, like time management, are not as prevalent today. Many young people today are raised in undisciplined homes with […]

Coach Tommy Bowden recently shared with our network the changes he saw over time when he was recruiting players. For example, early on, there was usually both parents involved in his player recruitment conversations. That has changed. Now it’s rare to have two parents involved. Tommy determined he needed to spend more time on character development. He developed a system […]