Christian Business Insights

The world is filled with marketplace Christians who are content with a shallow Christian presence in their business, afraid of the consequences of a more visible, deeper approach.   What if that which we would gain so far outweighs our small sense of temporary discomfort that we would look back on it down the road a bit and reflect, "I should have done that years ago. "I recently asked the people...

Selling is at the same time both simple and incredibly challenging. It is simple in that almost every adult of reasonable intelligence, who has just a modicum of people skills, can understand it and do it.  It is incredibly challenging in that to become exceptionally good at it takes the better part of a life-time of effort and practice.  In this podcast, I show you how to make it simple.

In all of my training and consulting work, I've found it helpful to establish, right at the beginning, a big picture view of the sales process.           Once we have an overview, we can understand every sales principle and practice, and use the big picture to focus our efforts to improve the effectiveness of our organization and our personal efforts.  

I call it the 'gap between idea and action,' and it is one of the largest chasms in the road hindering our path to personal and organizational improvement. The gap between idea  and action describes the ubiquitous phenomenon that we, all of us, have ideas and intentions, and yet turning those into actions – habits and routines that enhance our skills and smooth out our lives, only happens a bit of...

Our actions follow our attitudes.   The relationship between actions and attitudes is so close, that the two go hand-in-hand, and our actions can be seen as outward expressions of our attitudes. While it is easy to connect the two in this example, the principle that it unveils – that our attitudes influence our actions – extends to every aspect of our lives, and particularly to our jobs, in even t...

There is something about adversity that has the power to linger forever in our memories, shaping our character and molding our behavior for the rest of our life.  We can use it to grow and become better people, if we let it. The XI Community =https://x-icommunity.com/groupchristianbusiness/

We all recognize that our personal spiritual growth is a journey that lasts our lifetime.  It typically takes decades for an individual to progress from the tiny steps of belief, repentance and baptism to the point at which he/she is a spirit-lead mature Christian.           But what about the spiritual growth and maturity of a business?  Can those words and concepts even apply? Can a business dev...

"I'm too busy."  There is not an executive entrepreneur or salesperson in the world who can't make that statement.  We all know that we can easily spend 16 hours a day in the business.           The constant call of things to do is like an all-consuming magnetic force that pulls us into investing time and energy into the business. The pull is always there, the business is always on our minds, and...

Because a Kingdom business is more than just a money-making entity, it has spiritual functions over and above those that proceed out of the desire to make money.  In addition to the fundamental business areas of sales, operations, and finance, Christian companies are organized to make an impact for the Kingdom.  This is a new idea for many Christian business people. Let's dig into it. The XI Commu...

While many Christians have been content to focus on the worldly aspects of our business and professions, we've seen the culture fall apart around us, we've witnessed the percentage of Christians in the country shrink, and lately we've seen evil manifest itself in our country in ways that are unprecedented in our lifetime. And all of that prior to the Covid pandemic.           We've all heard the s...

We often see a crisis as a heavy, worrisome set of circumstances that threatens the status quo.  We fear that it is likely to create some significant change that could bring dire economic circumstances, shake up our comfortable routines, and open the door to a fuzzy but scary future.           It is all that. Yet, if we respond effectively, it can be a watershed event in our lives and the life of...

We understand that, as Christian businesspeople, we are charged with growing the assets we have been given to manage.  And if we are successful, we will be given greater responsibilities and a closer relationship with God. If you have arrived at that point – where you see your career or your business as striving for excellence, extending God's love, grace and provision to those you touch, and ackn...

A few decades ago, the culture in the US could objectively be described as 'predominantly Christian influenced."  In the past 30 or so years, that has changed dramatically.  As I am writing this, in the Fall of 2020, we have seen cultural trends come to a head:  increased lawlessness; disrespect for authority, institutions and one another; abandonment of principles of rational thinking and the rul...

Do you have a Christian business?  Or are you just a Christian in business? That question may seem trivial.  But the answer can actually have a life-changing impact on you as well as profound implications for the Kingdom.

Biblical business owners and executives have a special opportunity to intercede for a certain segment of the Lord's people – their employees, customers, and vendors.  This is a special ministry for which business owners and executives are uniquely positioned.  There is no other person who has relationship with the people that you, through your business, have.           While many businesspeople ha...

From a worldly perspective, businesses are formed to provide for the economic security of the folks who own and work in that business. Since food and shelter are basic needs, a business, to be viable, must meet those needs. And it does that by providing goods and services for money.  Money then becomes one of the keys to any business.  But that is just the beginning of a benefits to a business tha...

I have often wondered why we don't see the Holy Spirit active in our lives, our businesses and our communities in the dramatic and visible ways that we see him in the early days of the church. What's changed?           Some time ago, I realized that God has not changed, but we have.  I received an image that made clear to me how we hinder the actions of the Holy Spirit in our lives and our busines...

Here's a very commonly held, and incredibly bad Idea:  Real  ministry is only done under the auspices of established religion.           This message—that real  ministry is only done under the auspices of established religion- is implicit on so many levels that it is almost impossible to be a churchgoer and not absorb this idea. Church buildings are often referred to as "God's house;" pastors are...

Because a Kingdom business is more than just a money-making entity, it has spiritual functions over and above those that proceed out of the desire to make money.  In addition to the fundamental business areas of sales, operations, and finance, Christian companies are organized to make an impact for the Kingdom.  So, they ought to measure those results much like they do for sales, finance, etc. Thi...

One of the watershed moments in the life and growth of a business occurs when the executives design and implement a system of measurements. This signals the development of the business from an entrepreneurial effort to a serious organization that can exist outside of the hands-on involvement of the entrepreneur.  In this piece, we unpack that idea and show you how to create and use a a set of syst...

In the early 1960's, this country could be characterized as being predominantly "Christian."            Over the last 50 years, in the space of one or two generations, we have lost the culture.  This is an epic failure, akin to the ancient Israelites giving up the worship of Jehovah and turning to idols.  Our culture has done exactly that.  We have removed God from a central position in our cultur...

The unemployment which followed the Covid-19 shutdowns has impacted the Christian community as well.  You may be unemployed.  It may be your first time. Regardless, there are a number of us who have been there and can empathize with you.  I have personally been through three serious periods of unemployment, and I have counseled with dozens of friends and associates who have been there as well.  He...

Christian entrepreneurs and businesspeople are often alone in dealing with the demands of growing a Christian business.  This loneliness, in addition to fueling debilitating emotion, spawns lots of significant consequences.  Yet, there is an antidote to aloneness in the C-suite.

As we process the events of the last couple of months, what observations should we make?  And, based on those, what actions should we take going forward?           While we can make lots of observations about the political arena and the media, but in this article, we will focus on the impact of the pandemic on Christian businesses.           So, the question at hand is this:  What can Christian bu...