My friend, Chip Ingram, tells the story of meeting with a young lady while in college. She was beautiful, popular and had a 3.7 grade average. She seemed to have it all. But soon, Chip learned that this young lady was telling herself a completely different story. Chip’s friend tearfully shared that in her family, anything less than a 4.0 […]

Seth’s employer shared with Kathy and I one evening that Seth usually does good work, but occasionally becomes sloppy and does his job just enough to get by. This was not surprising to Kathy and I because we knew of Seth’s home life and his past history. Seth’s childhood and home life had set the stage for him to mentally […]

Jeff Bramstedt was falling behind his Navy Seal teammates. His platoon leader dropped back and commanded Jeff to follow him and to keep his eyes on the platoon leader’s pants. This platoon leader took off with Jeff mustering all the strength he could to keep up. Soon, they passed all of Jeff’s teammates and they were leading the pack! When […]

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee was interviewed by the Baptist Messenger about his faith and how it impacts his role as Governor. As a previous business owner, Governor Lee mentored inmates who were leaving prison. Because of this experience, Governor Lee established a criminal justice initiative that is designed to help Tennessee inmates with re-entry and sentencing guidelines. In addition, his […]

During a prayer retreat, I felt God encourage me to be open to something new. Shortly thereafter, a friend challenged me with a new idea. He said, “Rick, your book, “Unconventional Business” would be a better brand than Integrity Resource Center. Have you ever considered changing?” My immediate reaction was, “Absolutely not!” My friend then challenged me to pray about […]

Recently, the Wall Street Journal featured a story on Nehemiah Manufacturing in Cincinnati that has some interesting hiring practices. 80% of their employees have criminal records! As I expected, the founders of this business are Christian men who wanted to rebuild a city more than a company. Within the inner city of Cincinnati, they are rebuilding the lives of people […]

What is a talent? A talent can be anything that we have been entrusted to steward. Talents are not only our abilities and giftedness, but also relationships, position, resources, schedule, education, portfolio, and so on. And what happens when we put our talents to use for the Glory of God? When we actively pursue using our gifts for the glory […]

Imagine how the world perceived Jesus on the day of His crucifixion. Here’s a man who had built his audiences to over 5,000 people with notoriety throughout the region. But then his numbers shrunk to dozens instead of thousands. To cap it off, Jesus was arrested and crucified. At His crucifixion, the only disciple we know that was present was […]

Author, Simon Sinek, in his book titled “Infinite Game,” believes that the business world has been stuck chasing what he calls a “finite game.” When business leaders simply chase profit from quarter to quarter, they are chasing a finite solution, rather than a lasting purpose. Sinek contends that what business leaders should be pursuing is what he labels a “just […]

Many of us may be willing to make modest pivots in business, but what happens if your business model is soon to be irrelevant? Kodak made their money on film when digital cameras surfaced. They needed to change their business model, but their leadership lacked the courage to make a radical pivot. Their inaction resulted in bankruptcy. Peter was only […]