Following Christ Thru Life

Truth and Grace: How to Share?

The C12 Group focused on the issue of trust in this month’s business segment. Trust is a foundational element of our relationships in the workplace, family, friends, churches, schools, government, military and pretty much anywhere two or more people interact. One of the first building blocks of trust is engaging with truth. In addition to engaging with truth is engaging with grace. We in America…

The Best Business Book

What’s your business library look like? How many books on leadership, business development, culture, strategic planning or other topics do you have on your shelves or on your electronic devices? I’m an avid reader and have over 100, mostly on bookshelves. There is one book that everyone, especially business owners, should be reading on a daily basis and that’s the Bible. When I had the…

Are You a Christian in a Religion or a Relationship?

I usually try to avoid describing myself as a Christian, instead using the term Christ follower. Why the attempt to differentiate? Because the terms Christian and religion have such a broad application that they don’t truly represent what I have come to learn about God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and our personal relationship with each element of this Trinity.

Merriam-Webster gives three…

Intelligence, Knowledge and Wisdom

Intelligence, knowledge and wisdom are all things we possess to a certain degree. Many would like to see growth in each of these areas throughout our lives. Is there a difference between them? Can we personally contribute to an increased level of each? Let’s start with definitions of each. First, intelligence: the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.

Synonyms:          intellectual…

In my roles of business owner and C12 Group Chair, I’ve had the opportunity to work on strategic plans and the execution, or lack of execution of those plans in a number of organizations. I’ve noticed three difference makers for an organization that can help move from the lack of execution group to the group that is executing. I can’t claim that these are my ideas, I’m not that smart. Also, as…

Is Your Organization Healthy?

Have you ever heard the term “organizational health”? In 2012 Patrick Lencioni wrote “The Advantage” addressing this topic. He wrote “Organizational health will one day surpass all other disciplines in business as the greatest opportunity for improvement and competitive advantage.” What is organizational health? It’s how cohesive the leadership team in the organization is and how well they are…

Don’t Forget to Consider the Consequences

Recently our church looked at the story of the Israelites rejecting the scouting report of Canaan, the land they were promised by God. This is recounted in the book of Numbers, chapter 13. A focus in the sermon was on God being faithful to His people, both then and today. As with any wisdom from scripture, there are some other lessons we can apply to our lives as well. One lesson that came to…

Do You Have a Council of Counselors?

It is the time of year that we typically look back over the last twelve months and take stock of what went well and what didn’t quite measure up to our ideas of success. We hopefully spend some time using the lessons of the past and planning for future accomplishments in the coming year. This is an exercise successful business owners definitely engage in. The most fruitful ones have some form of…

Planning with an Eternal Perspective

This time of year many of us are starting to think about making plans for 2015. Business owners and executives are evaluating how 2014 has gone and will work on business plans for 2015. There are of course the New Year’s resolutions that many of us are beginning to think about. God encourages us to plan; He tells us that in many Bible verses including Proverbs 21:5 (NLT) Good planning and hard…

Do You Know Your Purpose?

“Christian CEO’s and business owners building great businesses for a greater purpose” is the C12 Group motto. That purpose that every C12 Group member and area chair shares is honoring God in the way we conduct our businesses and serving Him according to our talents and abilities. That purpose has an eternal perspective, which helps us when we are faced with challenges in this life, whether those…

Do You Need Business Advice? Where Do You Get Yours?

If you are a business owner do you find it challenging to run that business successfully? Do things always go just as planned? Do you have week after week of your employees doing everything with excellence and exceeding expectations? Do your customers never complain and pay you early? Do your suppliers and vendors always deliver the products and services you need on time and on budget?

If these…

Chief Technician, Chief Manager or Chief Executive Officer?

In “The E-Myth Revisited” Michael Gerber writes about three common stages many small business owners either transition through or get stuck in. He uses the terms Entrepreneur, Technician, and Manager. The Entrepreneur starts the business, the Technician wears all the hats and does his best to keep the customers happy and the Manager organizes everything and tells everyone what to do (hopefully…

Want to Hear From God Every Day?

One of the questions we chairs ask our C12 Group members each month in our one on one coaching sessions is “How’s your personal walk?” In other words, are you reading the Bible and praying on a regular basis (ideally daily)?

Fortunately, this is a habit that I was taught and developed after becoming a Christ follower in my 30’s. I read a portion of the Bible on a daily basis. The first thing I…

Corporate Chaplains – An Excellent Employee Benefit

One of the great organizations I’ve been introduced to in my role of being a C12 Group area chair is Corporate Chaplains of America (CCA). CCA provides chaplains to serve the employees of companies across the country. When I first heard Mark Cress, the founder of CCA, speak at a C12 Group training session and explain the corporate chaplain concept, I was excited about hopefully bringing that…

Are You Coaching, Mentoring, Discipling?

The last couple years of being a C12 Chair has given me a greater awareness and appreciation for the value of good coaching, mentoring and discipling. It was a recent topic in our February advisory board meeting content, specifically in our devotion time, focused on this verse from 2 Timothy 2:2 “You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these…

Time for a Convention of States

If you look at any polls rating the public approval of the president, of Congress and of the Affordable Healthcare Act you will find a majority of Americans disapprove of all of these. You will also find a majority of Americans agreeing that the country is headed in the wrong direction. (www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls). The large numbers of citizens who disapprove of our current…