business(33/0)
Crisis demands shared leadership
The shape of our two primary political party’s response to COVID demonstrates the great need we have for multiple dominant parties. In the early stages of the pandemic, it was the Democratic party’s response that proved most human. Most Democrats were swift to listen to scientific guidance and protect the vulnerable, to release funds and organize a coherent response. The Republican party, in contrast, quibbled with the scientific community, claimed moral superiority in upholding freedom at the expense of the vulnerable, and balked at even modest capital expenditure.…
Good business depends on theology
Christian business people need theologians. Periods of hope in human enterprise are followed by times of unprecedented greed and sufferings inflicted on the weak. For every corporate advance in civil rights there’s a business who makes its fortune on the backs of indentured servants. For every green company there’s an oil spill. The business world is fraught with sin, and the potential for a company to inflict harm or share good rivals the power of nations.…
Culture is a series of concentric circles
Distinction between the mix of cultural, familial, and individual characteristics helps entrepreneurs avoid mistakes and stereotypes. Every individual is a combination of culture, family, and personality. Upon meeting your first Hindu, you may come to a number of conclusions that must be sorted into at least these categories to be accurate. You may learn she is a vegetarian and assume no Hindu eats meat. This is only partly true; it’s likely a familial decision that has its roots in a religious culture.…
Language is integral to culture
Language holds the keys to culture. Much of a culture’s distinctiveness exists in its language. The ways individuals and groups are represented happens through language. “My Computer” is a natural icon on the desktop of a member of an individualistic culture, but it’s a faux pas to a collectivist. An Eskimo lives in constantly snowy atmospheres and has dozens of ways to differentiate types of snow in their language, while a Pacific Islander has one word for snow but several for tides and currents (Livermore, pg.…
Supernatural discernment is an entrepreneurial advantage
Entrepreneurs accurately discern actions and events because of Jesus' enlightenment. Jesus said to his disciples, “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life (ESV, John 8:12).” Because he follows his Father, he knows where he has come from and where he is going. He has come from the Father and he is returning to the Father (John 13:3).…
Leaders form healthy team norms
Leaders uncover the norms of their teams and of individuals. The combination of individual values, personality, and the surrounding culture influences the team’s norms from their first day together. Some norms have a positive influence on the team, but not all. One of the leader’s roles is to read the team’s norms, to expose the negative norms that impact everyone and to strengthen the positive norms through repetition and awareness. Norms encompass the habits of the team, such as the “angel’s advocate” to protect new ideas (Goleman, pg.…
Don't do discount deception
Discounts are everyday practice at storefronts across America. Every window is plastered with the sale inside, as though it’s only purpose was to announce this fact. Consumers who weren’t looking for a product may buy it when they believe it’s a steal. This is commonplace, but is it right? Two case studies: First, a 10% men’s clothing discount at Kohl’s. A shirt which the month before was advertised at $15 is now only $13.…
Intelligencia product design critique
##Product Description An Intelligencia coffee bag is an individual work of art. From its bright red color to the quality of the bag itself, every detail has been architected towards the founder’s vision, “Illuminating Coffee.” The structure of the bag is strong. The seals hold, and the bag’s opening is a Ziploc hidden behind a pull tab rather than the traditional twist-tie. Because of the quality, it begs to be recycled rather than trashed.…
Keep the vision steady
People follow a leader in part because of his life’s direction. When he’s going where the people want to go, and they believe the leader can help get them there, they’ll follow him to the end ({maxwell-minutes}, pg. 235). Thousands were willing to follow Gideon into battle against the occupying armies of the Midianites, although they had feared them for years (ESV, Judges 7). If a leader loses focus on the vision or switches to another vision, his followers may disband.…
Four pillars of cultural intelligence
Four questions guide any leader in their approach to a cross-cultural encounter. Livermore lists four questions to summarize the four pillars of Cultural Intelligence (CQ) and help leaders navigate cross-cultural situations. The questions are: What’s it going to take to motivate you? What do you need to know? What’s your plan? What behaviors should you adapt? (Livermore, pg. 31) The first hints at why you care about another’s cultural differences.…
Persevere in cultural intelligence
Motivation, or drive, is necessary for the improvement of cultural intelligence (CQ). The intangibles of cultural intelligence (CQ) are equally important as a leader develops their intercultural skills. Before knowledge becomes useful or intuition kicks in, a leader must have the motivation to take the often more challenging route to understand and accommodate another culture. Influence may be a leader’s reason, for a culturally adept person stands out in the new economy more than ever.…
A leaders primary service is connection
Leadership opportunities come to those who connect with others. Maxwell spends three-quarters of every day connecting with people because, the stronger the connection, the more opportunity to lead (Maxwell, pg. 166). When Absalom stole the kingdom from his father David, he did so by connecting one-on-one with the nation (2Sa15). Although his desire was corrupt, the pains he took to ingratiate himself with individuals shows how powerful connection can be. So, though it took forty years, Absalom was able to steal the hearts of all the Israelite people, and he did it under one of Israel’s greatest kings!…
Attraction between leaders and followers is mutual
Attraction between leaders and followers is mutual. People who follow a leader don’t do so because it’s against their best interests, they do so because they expect that good will come to them as a result. Likewise, leaders don’t accept followers merely because they show up, but because they see the value they add to their team. When the leader shares his vision, the people who follow are those who want to go there or who value that path.…
Bring others to the summit
Leaders shouldn’t be alone at the top of the mountain, but they must be intentional to bring others with them. There’s a common saying, “It’s lonely at the top.” When a leader strives to become the best he can often fail to take anyone else with him, leaving him standing on the peak with himself and a few weak thanks for the people who helped him get there. Maxwell pokes a hole in this saying by urging us that “it’s lonely at the top, so you’d better take someone with you (Maxwell, pg.…
Cultural intelligence is crucial for todays leaders
Cultural intelligence (CI) may be the deciding factor in 21st-century leadership. “Nearly 90 percent of leading executives from sixty-eight countries named cross-cultural leadership as the top management challenge for the next century (Livermore, pg. 14).” Livermore’s research, which aggregates this surprising statistic, indicates that the leaders who can navigate the intercultural landscape will be the most valuable asset to any company in the 21st century. Charisma and efficiency may top the charts on most U.…
Empowerment is relational
Empowerment is relational. The word ‘empowerment’ conjures the image of a father handing his truck’s keys over to his son. It means autonomy and authority for the empowered. Merriam-Webster lists as synonyms commission, authorize, enable, and invest (empower). Spreitzer’s study discovered four conditions that foster empowerment in an organization. The conditions may be summarized vision, teamwork, roles, trust (security), and, from Maxwell’s definitions, I infer clarity (pg. 202-203). Galvanizing vision. “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owner will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood (King Jr.…
Leaders are assisted by intuition
Intuition is like spiritual gifts in that it only assists a person but doesn’t define them. Intuition is a word with an ambiguous definition. We know it exists because others aren’t the same as we are. Little Jimmy could play the piano before he could walk, and we couldn’t carry a tune after graduating high school. Nevertheless, the knowledge that there’s a leadership intuition does little to change one’s perspective on leadership (although it may change one’s perspective on themselves).…
Leaders with vision and no compromise fail
Leaders with a holy vision and no compromise fail. Early in the rise of Lincoln’s political career his party was at a crossroads. They sought to elect a new Illinois politician, but could not decide upon the man. Abolitionists cried for a candidate with a bold public stance against slavery. Unionists urged for a moderate voice to subdue the rising discontent between North and South. Each had their candidate; each vilified the other’s.…
Personal connection improves performance
Short interpersonal connections make work a better place to be. Although the man who spent 27 years alone in the wilderness may not agree, (Finkel) humans were made to connect with one another. Cultures vary widely on the relevance of this fact, from those who require personal connections prior to business transactions to those single-minded in getting the job done. Nevertheless, every culture recognizes a need for a connection with others when conducting business.…
Serve a better leader
Serving a better leader is a price to become a great leader. A person who desires leadership may take whatever opportunity that awaits him. Time spent in the presence of another leader is educational, but a green leader wants to get started now! He can’t wait to arrive at the pinnacle of leadership and so departs from his preparation before he’s ready (Maxwell). Elisha waited years before his leadership had a chance to shine.…
Debt can ruin a business
Although the Bible never draws a hard line against indebting one’s self to another, Proverbs is full of admonitions about the foolishness of this practice. “The borrower is the slave of the lender” (ESV, Proverbs 22:7) is one of the most vivid examples. Temporary borrowing may allow a business to capture an opportunity that wouldn’t be possible if it had to wait until the funds were generated, but if a business regularly needs these type of capital injections it’s likely a symptom of poor management than amazing opportunity.…
Emotional intelligence defines the organization
When a CEO needs to change their organization, they must direct their attention to transforming management. Those few who manage the company, both the C-suite and the general managers, set the mood and either help or hinder change. And it is the top leader, the CEO, who helps them change. Joan’s story capitalizes the effect a top manager can have on her direct reports. Joan didn’t begin an inspection of the business to identify what was wrong, she spent time with her leaders.…
Finances expose faith more than words
Jesus taught often on finances, and his examples and parables often used money to make his point. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (ESV, Mat 6:21) he summarized after teaching about where your wages are stored for safe-keeping. Upon witnessing a poor woman donate a penny to the temple, he remarked, “[she] has put in more than all” (ESV, Mat 12:43). Any person with an income tells others what they believe by the way they spend it.…
Indescriminate pay harms employees
Equality for all is often cited as the golden standard, but in the world of employee wages this mantra causes trouble. This is because, while discrimination on the basis of gender, age, race, or religion is often a harmful stereotype, discrimination on the basis of performance - at least where the performance is equally measured and applied - is a benefit to the productive worker and a cure for the lazy (Burkett).…
Keep product development close to customers
I’ve noticed a trend at kCura. As the company has grown, the departments have drifted into their own separate and siloed operations. Product managers advocate for further separation of the Engineering teams from the customers, claiming that they need heads-down time to finish product features (which they do. Despite following an iterative approach, we have years of work on our plates). Customer Support managers advocate for a customer separation from the engineers because they don’t know how to talk to customers.…
Kingdom values may cause business setbacks
The business world values profit over principle, and circumstances rarely align such that the higher road and the wealthy road merge. The business person who lacks integrity often gets the upper hand of the honest dealer, the deceitful regularly overtake the good. The Psalms are filled with exhortations against the wicked, “from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me” (ESV, Ps 43:1b). One may wonder, as David did in Psalm 73, what profit there is in the way of righeousness when the wicked competition prospers?…
The bible is not a business rulebook
Employees want to receive a fair wage, to work in a safe environment, and to have the freedom to possess differences of viewpoint when those opinions don’t relate to the work being done (or, to be respected). Employers want their employees to work towards the benefit of the business in an efficient and consistent manner. The dramatic examples where this does not occur only reinforce the rule. Burkett’s descriptions, if followed as rigidly as they’re written, would not produce the results employees and employers want.…
Wise business needs holy spirit help
The Bible is full of wisdom for life and business. The narratives give examples to emulate and to avoid; the proverbs are sound instruction. At 1044 pages in the printed Bible I use, there’s a lot to glean. How will any business person apply with any confidence this collection of vital literature? The ambitious Christian scholar sets out to systematize the Scriptures in order to absorb what he must understand and obey about business.…
Brand name ideas
Business Idea: Deliver preventative counseling to overseas workers in Central Asian cities. Business Description: To improve the quality of life and lengthen the staying power of committed workers in Central Asian cities, this business will offer three preventative health packages: 1) online, 2) retreat 3) on-site. The online package will be client-focused online coaching on stress management and communication skills. The retreat package will be a resort with freedom to relax, opportunities to collaborate with others, and unintrusive assessments of health and wellbeing.…
Common barriers to product adoption
Entrepreneurs may overlook the complexity of constraints customers face. As the inventor of a brilliant new solution, a microwave we’ll say, it’s common to think others will be ecstatic to learn of my solution and use it immediately. “They just don’t know this amazing machine would save them hours!” I might say to myself as I drive to my first sale. When my customer says it’s too hard to learn, I may be tempted to blow them off.…
Leadership style depends on circumstance
Leadership styles can be developed and applied based on the circumstance. There are a range of leadership styles, many of which you may have encountered. A leader who regularly made decisions based on the group’s consensus? You’ve seen a leader use the democratic style. A leader who energized you with a compelling idea of the company’s purpose and inspired you to join it? You’ve experienced a visionary style. A leader who shouted orders to you in a crisis situation, giving you clear direction when fear threatened to immobilize you?…
Educate to make better servants
The purpose of education is to equip the student to better serve others. Whether business or health, science or philosophy, the goal of education is to make the person a more effective servant of others. A business person learns how to write lean canvases and design validation tests to help guide others towards a profitable business model. A surgeon learns the human anatomy so he’s able to heal the person. A philosopher thinks deeply about the issues plaguing his society in order to find solutions that will benefit all (Maxwell).…
Ease suspicion with direct contact
Suspicion is a barrier to cross-cultural entrepreneurship. Many will not trust an outside venture until they hear reports from others in their own culture that it holds value for them. Even when some benefit from the business venture, interest will often build slowly. The entrepreneur, knowing acceptance of his business venture will take time, may choose to market his business to the whole population in hope that for some his business venture may be recognized as valuable.…