Core Vaules

As we go through these difficult economic times it has prompted me to review the core values of our company. It would be great if we all conducted business this way.


1. Love. The Apostle John said “My dear friends, we must love each other. Love comes from God and when we love each other; it shows that we have been given new life” (1 John 4:7). We can be doing all the right things but if it is not done in love it is worthless. Love is defined as being patient, kind, not envious, proud, boastful or self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, it does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. It never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Why is showing love to our clients, listeners and co-workers important? Because it is the visible manifestation of a follower of Christ. Doesn’t matter what you know, or what church you go to, all that matters to those around us is that you care (show love). When our main concern is ourselves, we will never be satisfied. If we put others first, we will never be disappointed.

2. Confront in love. What do you do when someone wrongs you or you see someone doing something wrong? The Bible gives us a clear course in Mathew 18:15 it says that if that happens we are to go to the person in private so you can win back the person. It they don’t listen you are to bring one or two others to confront them. What often happens in organizations is gossip and slander instead of lovingly confronting them. I encourage you to follow the Mathew 18 principle when you see someone doing something wrong. Gossip, slander, jealousy, factions (2 Corinthians 12:19-21) has no place in our organization.

3. Work. When I first got into Christian radio I was amazed at the attitude of the staff. I was a new Christian and was excited to be working for a Christian organization. I found it unloving, filled with gossip and the sales people I worked with were lazy and incompetent. I used to have to stay away from the office so that I could keep a good attitude. Finally my boss got rid of those that were the problem and things got on track. We don’t have much problem in our organization with slothfulness, or laziness, but we all need to be reminded to work as unto the Lord. Proverbs 13:4 says “The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.” In other words how we work will determine what we have.

The 3 M's of Business

In this time of economic crisis it is causing many businesses to retool and restructure to survive. Those that survive will be much stronger. During this time of assessment it is also important to assess a companies “core values”. Whether you are the owner/manager of a business or you are an employee of a company or organization, you must believe in what you do. I recently evaluated what we do and codified it in the 3 M’s:

Message
Method
Motivation

Message
What is the message (product) of your business and do you believe in it and have a passion for it? This applies to you whether you are the CEO or the delivery man. I couldn’t run a radio station that had a message that I didn’t believe in. I remember reading an article about the CEO of a large broadcasting company. The reporter asked him about the morning show that aired on many of his stations and whether he listened to the program with his family (it was a shock jock show filled with vulgarity, disturbing commentary and sexual misconduct). He responded that he wouldn’t allow his children to listen to the show. Although he had no remorse about pumping this filth into the minds of young people all across America, his family was safe behind their gated walls and his kids carefully educated in their private school. What about the single mom working two jobs and trying desperately to raise her children with a moral compass in a sea of corruption. Her family is fair game to this amoral media mogul. What about your companies message (product) is it something you believe in enough that you consume the product or use the service? Is it good enough for your family and friends?

Method
What is the method that you use to sell and distribute your product? The Bible references business conduct throughout its’ 66 books. Things like “the Lord detests unequal balances and scales”, “owe no man anything except the love of Christ” or “let your yes be yes and your no be no” abound in the scriptures. Jesus gave us a tremendous example when He washed the disciple’s feet to demonstrate to them what a servant leader is all about. He told them if He would wash their feet, that they should do so to one another. The idea of foot washing may not mean much to us in the 21st century. But in the 1st century it meant a lot. People traveled by foot and wore sandals. Their feet would get very dirty and it was customary when you entered someone’s home that the servant would wash your feet. Do you serve your customer Jesus style? Do you put them first and your needs second?

Motivation
What motivates you to do what you do? I was talking to a friend of mine a few years ago that had inherited his fathers business. I asked him that question and he responded “money”. He told me that he had little interest in the business and just wanted to build it and sell it. I believe that if that is your attitude that you will not be recompensed in the way you imagine. The most successful people that I know have a passion for what they do. They would do what they do, whether they made any money or not. Consequently they have more money than they need. Because if you believe in your message (product) use ethical and moral methods to sell and distribute your product and you are motivated to see people’s needs met by you and your product, you will be very successful. The by product will be that you will also be content.

A look at the health care proposal

I know there is a great deal of concern about the health care proposal that is currently on the table.

I think it is great we live in a country where we can still vigorously debate these issues. Here are my 2 cents (and that may be all I have left after the government takes the rest):


We waited too long to work on this. We have come from a time when I was born when people paid for their medical services (including maternity) and had catastrophic policies to cover major medical. Now folks are used to HMO’s, PPO’s etc. and are not used to paying for the services completely. They are part of the co-pay or no-pay generation. This along with defensive medical practices (doctors do unnecessary tests because of the fear of law suits, this costs us 200 Billion Dollars per year) and trial lawyers have raised the costs astronomically.
Change is inevitable, so what are you going to do about it? We had a roundtable with John Kyl before the election. He told us that regardless if Obama or McCain were elected we were going to have the plan that Obama was proposing and in 2 years we would have a single pay system. So what is happening now is delaying tactics with the hope of derailing the process.


If the plan goes through what are you going to do to move your business forward profitably?