One of the unconventional concepts in the Bible is generosity. Imagine when the Israelites first learned of God’s requirement to give the first ten percent of their harvest to God. I can imagine one of these farmers saying, “Let me get this right. I planted seeds, cultivated the ground and worked hard to harvest my crops and, now, that I’ve […]

According to muchneeded.com, Cyber Monday has become the biggest shopping day of the year. For the workplace that means less productivity, because 95% of consumers do their Cyber Monday shopping at work! For employers, you have three choices. First, you can ignore the issue and allow your employees to shop online unhindered. (This choice can be costly because some consumers […]

According to balance.com, the first person to reference the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday was Earl Apfelbaum, in 1966. Earl claimed that the Philadelphia Police called it Black Friday because of massive traffic jams and overcrowded sidewalks. Now, decades later, many department stores are closing and in-store sales are declining, Black Friday is becoming more of a Gray Friday […]

In 1621, the Pilgrims found themselves in dire straits. When they settled in Plymouth, they were malnourished and ill, unfamiliar with the area and struggling to survive. Then God brought them Squanto. Squanto took pity on the Pilgrims and helped them establish a new business venture—a farming operation that specialized in corn, a product unfamiliar to the Pilgrims. Waiting and […]

I’ve made my share of business mistakes over the years. Sometimes the scars of those mistakes leave shame and doubt. Questions surface in my head like, “Was I listening properly to God?” or, “Do I have a clue what I’m doing?” Peter carried shame after he denied Jesus on three different occasions. Jesus brilliantly knew Peter needed to be forgiven […]

Cynthia was an executive for a large bank responsible for multiple departments. Her bank job was more than full-time, but she felt called to explore buying a McDonalds franchise. Due to Cynthia’s lack of restaurant experience, McDonald’s required that she work at a McDonald’s for an indefinite period. Cynthia carried out her daily bank duties, managed her family responsibilities and […]

In the mid-1980’s, the retail industry was changing. Walmart was growing rapidly, while Kmart was beginning to decline. Jim, a friend of mine, was an executive at Kmart at the time. Jim remembers Kmart executives holding a weekend retreat specifically to discuss Walmart’s success. Yet, any comments addressing the possibility that Walmart could overtake Kmart were quickly squelched. When Jim […]

Organizational health is the framework many business coaches use to help optimize all the functional areas of business. The parts of the body can be used as a tool to demonstrate a healthy organization. The heart represents (core values & mission), the head (innovation & development), the hands (processes & systems) and feet (sales & marketing). Ephesians 4:16 says, “Christ, from […]

Luis Guitierrez was sentenced to life in prison for murder. After 15 years in prison, Luis began following Jesus and started work for Seat King, a business housed inside the prison where Luis resided. Luis asked his boss, Pete Ochs, to represent him at a parole hearing. When Luis’ hearing date drew near, Luis panicked because he had learned that […]

My nephew, Shawn, gets bussed daily to a local machine tooling business where he operates a laser. This job gives him relief from his prison cell, provides him purpose, and enables him to make restitution to his victims. The most meaningful benefit to Shawn, however, is what this job has done for his relationship with his daughter. Shawn’s past mistakes […]