As the new Chief Lending Officer of a community bank, I was charged with controlling the lending activities of the former CEO of the bank. Fred had made so many bad loans that he was required to report to me on any loans made. One problem we encountered was that Fred would make loans to people who were already bankrupt. […]

According to Wikipedia, St. Patrick’s Day originally celebrated the priest who returned to Ireland in 432 AD to bring Christianity to his homeland. Ireland had been a polytheistic culture. One way Patrick introduced them to Christ was by using the 3 leaved shamrock to describe the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. He made a difference by communicating in cultural and […]

When I was 19, I was working construction to pay for college. One of my peers invited me to go somewhere with him after work. On our way, he stopped where we usually filled up the company truck and he filled up his car and charged the gas to the company account. When I asked about his action, he said, […]

Although it’s only one hour, the change to Daylight Savings Time in the spring often leaves me feeling deprived of sleep and rest. If this is true after losing one hour of rest, imagine the impact my body experiences when God’s design is ignored and I work seven days a week! When I worked tax seasons in public accounting, I […]

In his book, The Speed of Trust, Stephen Covey says, “The principle is simply this: We tend to get what we expect—both from ourselves and from others. When we expect more, we tend to get more; when we expect less, we tend to get less.” Expectations produce an undercurrent for a certain level of productivity. It’s an undercurrent that produces […]

When I graduated from college, I started working for a CPA firm just as tax season began. Working seven days a week for weeks at a time was exhausting and could surface short tempers and infighting. In the middle of March, the firm decided we needed an evening to relax. They hosted a fun evening of card games and refreshments. […]

When I was young, I found a sharp-looking Toyota Celica that had surprisingly low mileage for its years. After purchasing the car, I immediately began having trouble with the engine that didn’t make sense for such a low mileage car. When my mechanic grandfather inspected my car, he said, “Rick, you’ve been swindled. The odometer has been rolled back.” I […]

Recently, Kathy and I met a young leader via Zoom. His family business had furloughed hundreds of employees due to Covid. When asked how we might pray for him, he blurted out that he has really been struggling emotionally. This pandemic season has been long and hard for many. The Apostle Paul spoke of how he addressed those dark moments […]

This last year has been harder than ever for business leaders to make good decisions. To make good decisions, it’s necessary to have valid information and data. We have more information than ever, but less clarity on what’s true and what isn’t. Many business leaders are being required to make decisions about masks, vaccinations and social distancing, while the information […]

In his book, The Speed of Trust, Stephen Covey says, “we judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their behavior.” Intentions are often unclear through behavior alone. The greatest level of trust among coworkers comes from a desire to understand intentions instead of the result of behavior. Judging others by their behavior proves a shallow level of trust. Matthew […]