How To Gain Business Clarity From 3 Simple Questions

clarity

Andy Stanley is a name that is fairly well known in Christian leadership circles. He is senior pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA. He has authored a number of books, is a sought-after speaker, and leads thousands of others through his church and ministry organizations. With all of this, he attributes much of his leadership success to the clarity he gets from a simple 3×5 index card on which he wrote three questions many years ago.

Is Christian Business Offensive To Non-Christian Employees?

offensive

I was recently asked by a reader if labeling our business as “Christian” was offensive to non-Christian employees. We had a great discussion, but it made me realize that this concern might be prevalent among Christian business owners or leaders, possibly even preventing many from stepping out in faith to leverage their business for eternal returns.

15 Killer Ideas For Christian Ministry

In my last post, I described a house that had gas cans, lit candles, and exposed wiring throughout. We agreed that the owner of this house is clearly trying to create conditions for a fire to break out. We also looked at how this same idea applies to Christian ministry in our businesses if we are looking for eternal impact by pointing people toward God.

Christian ministry

Examples Of Christian Ministry

Today, I would like to give you some specific ideas about how we take this same approach in our business. I do not have the space to fully describe each item on the list. Instead, I will give a brief description and then, when possible, direct you to another post on this site that goes into more detail.

My hope is that you can take even just a couple of these ideas and adapt them to your business. If you have any questions or want to discuss them further, please comment below or send me an email. I will respond as quickly as I can!

    1. Mission Statement
    God is central to our company mission statement and core values.

    2. Chaplain program
    We offer chaplain services to our employees on a weekly basis through Corporate Chaplains of America. This service is incredible and has too many benefits to list here!

    3. Owners Manuals For Life
    We put a New Testament Bible in the glove box of every vehicle we sell. The cover says “Owners Manual For Life” and we have a note inside that explains how we believe it is the greatest book they will ever read. We don’t point it out to the customer, but let them find it later.

    4. Christ in Christmas Party
    We celebrate and have fun like other companies, but we also make sure there is a story or illustration at the end of the party that contains the gospel message to keep our focus on the real reason for the party.

    5. Christian magazines, Gospels of John in lounge
    We keep Christian magazines like “TwoTen” on the tables in the customer lounges at each of our stores. We also keep pocket-sized copies of the Gospel of John stocked there.

    6. Bible Studies
    Our chaplain (and sometimes our Controller) leads a weekly Bible study in the employee break room. We do one at lunch and one at breakfast so everyone has the opportunity to come, regardless of work schedule. We provide the food and we watch a video series followed by discussion.

    7. Devotions
    I go around to each department once a month and tell a quick story or illustration with a business and spiritual message woven in. These take five minutes or so and stay very light, but get great responses!

    8. Employee Newsletter
    I write an article for our employee newsletter once a month. In this article, I follow much the same pattern as the devotions mentioned above.

    9. Library
    We have a couple of library areas across our locations where we keep books for use by employees. Topics range from spiritual to family to parenting to business. If they are looking for a book we don’t have (and it fits our mission), then we will get it.

    10. Sponsorships
    We sponsor a number of faith-based organizations around our community. While these are mostly financial sponsorships, there are also opportunities to help with things other than money. Use of facilities, social media marketing, etc. are some examples.

    11. Car wash
    We host faith-based organizations on our parking lot and provide all necessary materials for them to hold a car wash fundraiser. They provide the labor and keep the revenue from the customers. We give a per-car donation as well.

    12. Open meetings with prayer
    We take time at the beginning of our sales meetings to open in prayer.

    13. Employee recognition
    We recognize employees who go above and beyond expectations outside of their job with a couple of awards – the RPM award and the Lightning Strike.

    14. Christian music
    Our overhead and on-hold music comes from a Pandora station with upbeat Christian music. It is not overwhelming, but provides a great atmosphere in the showroom and around the dealerships.

    15. Pay for volunteering
    We provide opportunities for employees to volunteer during community events we sponsor and pay them for half the time they spend doing so.

Not Everything

This is not everything we do to create the potential for eternal impact, but it should give you some ideas about what you can do in your business.

The idea I want to make sure I convey is that all of this does not happen at once. This is an accumulation of over ten years of intentional thought and action. We started small. You can do the same.

Progress Over Time

If you work at it over time, your business will look like the house described in my last post. Everywhere you turn, you will see potential for Christian ministry to happen. You will also realize that it is good for business!

Comment below and let me know what you would add to this list! Have a question, ask it! I would love to engage in conversation about this.

You Won’t Believe This Culture Victory!

Every once in a while, something happens that really catches my attention and gets to my heart. Recently, this very thing happened in our company and validated the culture we are trying to create. I feel I have to share, especially since it actually relates back to my last two posts!

culture

Background

Two posts ago, I shared how we see our community as a critical part of the answer to the question, “Why does our business exist?” Our answer to that question, also our mission statement, is that our business exists to honor God by impacting the lives of our employees, customers, and community.

In my last post, I gave a specific example of how we attempt to create a culture of impacting the community by hosting monthly car wash events to benefit local, faith-based organizations. To get the whole picture here, you really need to go back and read these posts first.

Blanket Drive

About a week or two after our last car wash event for the year (due to the weather getting colder!), we held an employee blanket drive for Emmaus Women’s Shelter, a local homeless shelter for women and children. With the cold weather quickly approaching, they had a need that we wanted to help meet.

In order to deliver the 100+ blankets we collected from employees, we enlisted the help of one of our Clean-Up department employees, “Joe”. He was eager to help and the blankets were delivered without incident, or so I thought!

Surprise Twist

The next day, “Joe” came to me and asked if he could have a minute to share something. I quickly agreed. What I heard was incredible to me! He told me that he had helped to deliver the blankets to the shelter and was shocked to find children there. He could not believe there were so many children that were homeless.

Keep in mind that “Joe” is in the most “entry-level” position in our company and has more financial needs than most. He went on to tell me that he could not get the children off his mind, wondering what they were going to do for Christmas. He said he wanted to help make sure they had gifts at Christmas.

He then asked if we could do another car wash event where we asked people to bring toys instead of paying for the car wash. I then asked him who would actually work the event, washing the cars, since that was typically the job of the organization we were helping. He said he would get other employees to volunteer their time (their Saturday off) to do it.

Another Car Wash?

My first reaction (transparency here – it wasn’t culture!) was to think about the cold weather (this was mid-November) and many other reasons it would not work. I really did not think we would have many employees volunteer to give up their time off to do it. I am not knocking them, but that is a big deal when they work so hard during the week.

To check his commitment level, I gave “Joe” a test. I told him to go create a sign-up list and see how many employees he could get to volunteer for this car wash event. I told him we would talk further when he came back.

Less than 90 minutes later, he was in my office with a list of 25 employees willing to staff the event! I was shocked!

Not The Best Conditions

I have to tell you, I still did not know what to do. Thanksgiving was less than two weeks away and people were not going to come out in droves for a car wash. It could be snowing that day (it’s possible!) or raining and cold.

My mind continued to flood with excuses. The problem was that I had a very committed employee in front of me, and whether he knew it or not, he was calling me on my commitment to real ministry.

I told him it was a done deal. We would hold the event on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, hoping that the natural shopping traffic would help our cause. We posted details about the event on Facebook and our normal channels.

Not satisfied, “Joe” got another employee to create a paper flyer for him and he went from gas station to grocery store and to the WalMart parking lot, passing them out. He did this by himself!

Culture Victory!

The day of the event was cold…maybe not cold for some of you, but sub-40 degrees. That is cold enough when you are washing cars with hoses, buckets, etc.! The traffic was not overwhelming, but it was decent. My brother and I joined in and worked the whole event right there on the hoses! We were soaked and exhausted, but I can’t remember being more fulfilled recently.

The end results amounted to roughly $1,200 raised along with a truck load full of toys donated! “Joe” ran the entire event and delivered the toys and the money. He was on cloud nine (and deserved it).

He single-handedly motivated 25 employees to volunteer their time washing cars in the cold and provided Christmas for a crowd of homeless children. In fact, when we later recognized his efforts with a “Lightning Strike” award at the company Christmas party, everyone in attendance gave him a standing ovation!

Tough Question

Folks, I still get emotional thinking about the impact that one guy had on so many people. He had the least to give, but produced amazing results. What about you and me? In anyone’s book, we have so much more to give than “Joe” does.

So the question is this:

What are you doing with your time, treasure, and talents to impact eternity?

Best Practice: Community Car Wash!

car wash

Over the years I have been writing this blog, I have tried to focus on action rather than theory. Sometimes I have been successful with this and other times I drift. Today’s post is pure action. While a community car wash might not make sense in your particular circumstances, I hope my description of what we do will spur your creativity in coming up with an idea of your own!

Would Your Community Miss You?

We recently hired some new employees in the sales department. As part of their orientation, I spent a couple of hours talking with them about the history and philosophy of our business. Of course, I went into detail about our Mission Statement, Core Values, and Vision Statement. In doing so, I tried to give them a clear picture of the vital part we believe we play in our community.

community

Community Is Crucial

I don’t know about other companies, but we see our community as a crucial part of the answer to the question, “Why does this business exist?” You probably already know this, but this question is the one you are answering when you create your company’s mission statement. For us, this question also influences our core values and our vision statement as well.

See, we believe we are simply stewards of this business and that God is the actual owner. As a result of this belief, we see our roles as running the business in a way that brings honor to Him and impacts others for eternity, pointing them to Him. For our family, that is why our business exists.

When looking at the purpose of the business through this lens, it becomes clear that our community is a huge part of our mission. No, we are not a church and could not fill that role if we wanted to. However, we still feel our business practices and our involvement in the community can impact everyone around us in a way that leads them to Him.

Execution Will Be Different

The execution of this kind of mission will be different for one business than it will for another. A business with 10 or fewer employees will carry out this mission differently than one with 100 employees. A service business may approach this from a completely opposite angle than a manufacturing business. The “How” is not as important.

What is important is that we strive as Christian business owners to make our businesses such a vital part of the community that we would be sorely missed if we were to disappear. Can you imagine what that would look like? Is your business already there? Even if so, can you now relax?

Pray For Wisdom

If this is new to you, then I encourage you to stop and pray about it. Ask God to show you how to start down this path. Ask Him to give you insights as to how you can leverage the influence of your business to bring Him honor. Pray for wisdom in starting down this path.

If this is not new to you, then I would suggest you stop and take an inventory of what your business is doing to accomplish this mission. Is there more you could do? Are there new and creative ways you could impact the community and earn customer loyalty at the same time? Have you asked your employees for ideas? How are they involved?

In my next post, I will describe for you an example of how our business attempts to do this in our community. We certainly don’t have it all figured out, but maybe our idea will spark something with you that will turn into a successful effort. Until then, take some time to brainstorm this.

What are some ways your business impacts your community?

Does your community recognize your business as one involved in the community?

What would your community miss the most if your business were to disappear?

Should A Business Give Publicly Or Privately?

For the past two plus years, I have been writing this blog from a teaching perspective. Not that I have it all together, but I do figure you can learn from my victories and defeats! I also enjoy passing on what I am learning as God shows it to me. Today, I want to turn the tables and ask you, the reader, a question: Should a business give publicly or privately? I am sincerely looking for feedback here!

give publicly

Question Explained

Let me explain a little so the question is more clear. As Christian business owners that are interested in multiplying silhouettes, we want to give of our financial resources where we see the most potential for eternal impact. Typically, we do this behind the scenes and often with complete anonymity.

We are also business owners that see the need to build a brand for our business by participating in the community. One way to do this is to give publicly to causes that match up with our mission and vision AND to do this in such a way that generates public goodwill and word-of-mouth for the business. As Tom’s Shoes has shown, giving is good for business!

Give Publicly Or Privately?

So let me repeat the question:

Should a business give publicly or privately?

On one hand, the Bible makes it clear in the following verses that we are not to seek favor with men and that we should give in secret. Take a look:

So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! 3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:2-4

On the other hand, should this really apply to a business desiring to do what I have described? Sure, I know we could give publicly in such a way that would scream “Pride!” and make us look like spotlight seekers. That is a danger, but is there an alternative?

Can’t we give to like-minded causes, market that giving in a tasteful way, and build a better brand for the organization?

Your Thoughts?

Maybe I am taking too hard a look at this issue, but I really would like to hear your thoughts on the topic. Even if you have never commented on a blog before, if you have an opinion I would like to hear it!

Even better, if you can back up what you are saying with Scripture (even if you are not sure of the book/chapter/verse), please include that in your comments. If you are unsure of the exact verses, just give me your best description of it!

Have you struggled with this decision to give publicly or privately?

Do you have any Scripture references that apply here?

What would you do in this situation?

My Life Purpose Is Multiplying Silhouettes!

Add Silhouettes

What is your life purpose? What actually motivates you to fulfill that life purpose? When the going gets really tough and you are tempted to give in, what thought do you cling to for the strength to keep pressing forward? While you think about the answers to those questions, I am going to share my answers to those same questions. Maybe my answers will help you think through yours!

The Big Picture: My Own Life Plan Method

Have you read about the life plan and goal setting methods others use? Do they frustrate you because you think differently or cannot seem to keep up with some of the details they build into their process? If so, you may just love this (and the next) guest post from my friend in the blogging world, Kari Scare. If you like this one, check out more of her work at Struggle To Victory!

life plan

The Best Goal-Setting & Time Management Method in Existence!

Guilt. Frustration. Embarrassment. Inadequacy.

This is how I used to feel when I failed to set goals the “right” way. When I heard about a person’s completed life plan or even a personal mission statement, I felt defeated because I just couldn’t manage to create my own.

Unconventional Life Plan

I have felt like a failure over and over again because I didn’t set SMART goals and because I didn’t do a SWAT analysis or put a daily game plan together in just the right way. I have felt ineffective because I don’t use an app to do just about everything for me, including helping me break negative habits and establish new ones.

Then this thought struck me. If I struggle so much with feeling this way, why am I still so productive? Why do I have so many solid habits that keep me healthy physically, spiritually and mentally? I then finally realized that while my methods might not fit into the mainstream mold of goal setting and habit management, what I do still works very well. This led me to my next question.

Best Life Plan Method?

So, what really is the best goal-setting method? What really works for creating new and breaking old habits? The answer to these questions transformed my life. Ready? Here it is: Whatever works for you!

No two people will use exactly the same life plan method, nor should they. We may take bits and pieces from other methods, but what works best for a person will be unique to that person. We all have different blends of personality style, temperament and learning style, so why wouldn’t our styles for managing time, goals and habits be different too?

As a result of these realizations, I now value my personal life plan method for setting and reaching goals and for making new and breaking old habits. My method revolves around the creation of a Big Picture, a life focus if you will, that sets priorities. It also includes two other essential elements, accountability and regular touch points.

The Big Picture

Each of the elements in creating my life plan holds a lot of details within themselves. The priorities and basic philosophy don’t change, but how accountability plays out and touch points are maintained do change as one season of life fades into another.

1. Set priorities.

My life plan involves three focus areas, God first, family second and work third. My husband and I decided these priorities years ago, and both of our lives are organized around them. The choices we make, such as how to fill our calendars, our financial planning, etc., revolve around these focus areas.

2. Establish accountability.

The primary reason my husband and I combined our life plan into one is to live as fully as possible in the truth that two become one at marriage (Mark 10:8).

Another very important reason we did this was for accountability. While we must make decisions separately at times, we know they must fit within our priorities. We constantly check with each other to make sure we stay within our priorities as well as avoid over-commitment. The idea being that we want excellence in fewer things rather than mediocrity in many.

3. Create touch points.

Touching base on our priorities, which basically means keeping each other accountable, is part of our life’s routine. We coordinate our calendars regularly and discuss commitments prior to making them whenever possible. We have daily downloads every day when possible, even if they need to happen electronically.

We also make a point to talk in more depth on our priorities at least quarterly. We try to do this away from home, say at a coffee shop or on a dinner date. We also go away as a family twice a year for connection that includes delving into goals and priorities.

Solid Guide, Different Parts

The process for creating and maintaining The Big Picture has been solid guide for career and parenting choices as well as served to strengthen our marriage too.

This Big Picture provides the framework for our lives, but we each carry out the unique parts we play in very different ways. In other words, we live in the details in different ways.

Coming Soon

In the next post, Living In the Details, I will detail my personal approach to carrying out a daily plan, and approach that fits my personality and temperament. While no two people live life exactly the same way, we certainly can gain insight, inspiration and ideas from one another. That is my prayer in sharing my personal plan with you.

What do you think about this approach to a life plan?

Which part can you take and apply immediately?

What benefits do you see in using this plan?