Blog
- Meeting Bigs
We had some folks from our corporate home office visit us last week. Normally, in my previous jobs, this was a big deal. Having folks from Home Office visit was a chance for me to meet them and get to know them personally. I would also able to ask them questions and hear insights as to where the future of our company was going as well as give feedback as to how we collectively could make it better.
When you are 100% commission and the only thing that really matters is if you bring in revenue or not the importance of these meetings changes.
When you are hourly/salary, their visit can hold more meaning because your job is directly affected by the actions they take. Are they changing the comp plan? Will they provide more support for us regarding the systems we use? Are they going to scale back folks in my position? What happens when our policies change and how will that affect our customers/supplies, etc.?
Yes these things can also make an impact on me and my business but many times they are more indirect than not.
So my approach to the whole meeting was different. Do I really need to attend, or should I be out meeting with partners and clients to generate more business? Is what I am going to hear going to ultimate help me achieve my sales goals?
A Real Christian Businessman realizes attending these meetings DOES have an impact. It may not directly impact me achieving my sales goals, but it does impact how I can have an influence on others. My attitude and approach with the corporate office folks, the managers, and my fellow colleagues all can be an example of how a believer is to act when in settings like this.
“Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity.” Tit 2:7 (ESV)
So, I attended and had a great time. I didn’t talk too much or ask any questions (well, I did ask one – much less than my usual amount as my old colleagues from the past will attest to!). I talked kindly and mingled with folks. I was encouraging to my co-workers and listened intently to the leaders as they gave their presentations.
So the next time you have to attend one of these meetings with all the executives and bosses, just be yourself, be encouraging and be an example that others will remember.
That’s just what a Real Christian Businessman is supposed to do. - Honor Or Else
“…Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.” 1 Sam 2:30b (NIV)
Disdained means disparted, despised, scorned, spurned…
We gotta keep the honor up or we will be in a bad place y’all! - Easter UP
Easter is such a wonderful time! The reminder of how Christ is Risen and all that He did and does for us every moment of our lives… It’s immeasurable! I can get caught up though at home and at work with how commercialized it has all become.
Easter egg hunts.
Easter bunny.
Easter baskets.
Easter presents.
More Easter bunny.
Easter candy (YUM!).
Bunny, bunny, bunny.
My family has been and still is part of all of that stuff! We have always done an Easter Egg hunt with the kids (even now – and they are 17 & 19!). We have always made Easter baskets with little gifts in them, we have always talked about the Easter Bunny, and we for sure have Easter candy!
BUT… we have ALWAYS talked about what the entire day/week is about since they were born. We have read the stories, read through bible books related to it all, sat down with the “resurrection eggs” every year, and celebrated by attending a sunrise service and/or regular service on Resurrection Day.
A Real Christian Businessman knows that if we choose to take part in the “secular stuff” – the commercialization of a Christian holiday – that we also have to make sure and bring it all back around with our family and at work.
It’s easy to get caught up in all the little things that the world says Easter is about (Candy, Bunny, presents, baskets, etc.) INSTEAD of what believers say Easter is about (Cross, Jesus, sins forgiven, risen from the dead, etc.). So it is up to us to remind ourselves, our family and our co-workers what it’s REALLY all about!
“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrections like his.” Rom 6:5 (NIV)
Let’s celebrate together that He Is Risen, and when we reach for some of that left over Easter candy at our co-workers desk next week, open up a conversation about the whole weekend and subtly remind people what it means to us.
And eat some chocolate for me! YUM - Unsaid
“Do not speak to a fool, for he will scorn the wisdom of your words.” Prov 23:9 (NIV)
Some things are better left unsaid! - Head Down
I go into the office at least once or twice a week. We have a nice small suite in a three story office building just outside of Nashville in a popular “office building area” with a bunch of other folks who are in the same office building. There are a ton of restaurants, dry cleaners, grocery stores, etc. nearby. Everything is set up and ready for office workers like me to get everything we need while we are near the office working!
On each floor of our office building we have an area near the elevators where the bathrooms are located (we don’t have a bathroom in our office suite). So anytime I need to go to the bathroom or I need to leave our office suite I pass by other people in the building.
Growing up in the South my personality is such that I usually look people in the eye and say Hi. I try hard not to text/read on my phone while I am walking in the building (I still do it sometimes though!). Many of the folks I see are either looking the other way, typing on their phones or not interested in saying hello. I try and be kind and speak to them anyway!
What do you do when you are leaving your office suite or headed to the bathroom in your building and you see other workers? Is your head buried in your phone like theirs is (and mine sometimes)? Do you look the other way when you see someone? Or do you go out of your way to speak to them and be courteous?
A Real Christian Businessman will use this opportunity to display a simple act of kindness and speak to other people that we come across in our office building. Some people may not have anyone be nice to them the entire day so who knows what a small hello might do for them when we see them.
“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Heb 13:2 (NIV)
Make it a point this week to say Hi to folks when you are walking around your office building. We never know what type of impact this could be having on others.
- Work To Do
Are we “working” while at work or thinking about other things?
Look at what Nehemiah said:
“Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work, we did not acquire any land.” Neh 5:16 (NIV)
It makes a little more sense in The Message Version:
“I had work to do; I worked on this wall. All my men were on the job to do the work. We didn’t have time to line our own pockets.”
When we are at our workplace it’s easy to think about all the other things we could be doing or getting into!
Let’s be diligent like Nehemiah this week and let our work be our work.
Let’s get it done! - Got it Done
I just closed a loan on Friday that was one of the most difficult ones I have done.
But it was also one of the most rewarding.
The young man I helped was renting a house and the owner’s husband recently passed away. She decided to sell her rental house along with her personal home and move closer to her daughter out of state. She offered Jeremie the first chance to purchase the home before she put it up for sale. He wasn’t sure he would be able to buy it but he didn’t want try and find a new place to live for his family (5 kids under the age of 14 along with his longtime girlfriend); plus he lived 5 minutes from his work place.
His job as a manager of a junkyard didn’t allow him much time to communicate during the day, so most of what we did was in the evenings and on weekends. His credit wasn’t the best and we had to overcome numerous obstacles to get him to the closing table but we somehow were able to do it.
How rewarding it was to see him sign all the paperwork and become a homeowner!
A Real Christian Businessman knows that sometimes the hardest things we do at our workplace can sometimes be the most rewarding. Helping Jeremie become a homeowner when he thought there never was a chance makes doing what I do that much more worth it.
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Col 3:23-24 (ESV)
If we look at the underlying things we do at work, in some way we are always helping others to achieve something they didn’t think was possible. And we are always serving the Lord.
Does that report that you do really make a difference in your weekly meeting? Does talking to a customer on the phone with kindness and respect give them a sense of worth?
Even the little things we do can make a difference in other peoples lives. It may not be as obvious as helping someone purchase their first home when they thought they never could, but look closely and you will see that what you are doing makes an impact on others.
And it also is serving the Lord. 🙂 - Whatever…
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Phil 4:8 (ESV)
Let’s take the right “whatever” approach and make an effort to think about these things!
There is enough “other” stuff to think about already… - Morning Routine
My morning routine has gotten in a rut. The morning time has always been my most productive time and it still is, but lately I have found myself wasting it away. Reading useless things on the internet, working on laundry, or even walking around in circles moving stuff in the house (I really do this sometimes just ask my family!). Lately I have found that I no longer make the efforts to “do the things that are best” versus “doing things.”
What does your morning routine look like?
Have you ever even stopped to think about it in a detailed way?
A Real Christian Businessman knows that having a good morning routine sets the stage for the day and allows us to lead by example. Here are some quick tips to consider regarding morning routines:
Start with quiet time
Do this first before getting into useless screen time or other things that can eat up our most productive hours. As a Real Christian Businessman this has to be a non-negotiable. Even if it means reading just one Bible verse! I’m not here to slam you or me for not reading our bible enough but starting the day with a verse and a prayer is just like “eating an apple a day” (from the old school saying ‘an apple a day keeps the Doctor away’… It works to help keep Satan away too – lol).
Do some exercise
It’s a game changer for almost every single person when exercise happens. And it doesn’t have to be a big deal. A simple walk to the end of the street and back or a few jumping jacks in the living room can ignite our day in ways we don’t even realize.
Make a list
When we write things down that we need to do instead of winging it each day we feel more productive and are actually able to accomplish more.
Focus on one thing at a time
I won’t get into this extensively as I know many folks think they can multitask well (I can’t!) but research shows (even a recent Stanford University study) that multitasking is less productive than doing a single thing at a time.
“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” Prov 21:5 (ESV)
What is one thing we can change in our morning routine that will make the day go better? - Diligency
“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” Prov 21:5 (ESV)
Do you move quickly without thinking about what may happen like I do most of the time… or do you take a moment to make a plan?
Which one do you think yields better results?
🙂