Five Steps To A Healthy Business Culture
Our Mission
To present Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to business and professional men and to develop Christian business and professional men to carry out the Great Commission.
Psalm 101.8 describes, each morning I will destroy all the wicked people in the land, and remove all evildoers from the city of the LORD. David was a man deeply committed to the ways of God. At least initially. His commitment was so serious that God described him, ‘as a man after His own heart.’ For God to consider a man like Him in desire, will and way is the greatest compliment anyone could receive. Yet, David imploded.
When David’s kingdom was firmly established: his enemies were dispersed, his home was secure and lavish, and he had accumulated much honor and prestige, David became lazy and lustful. The story begins by describing the timeline as, ‘when kings go to war.’ David however did not join the men but stayed in the fortress with the women.
Seeing a good friend’s wife bathing, he invited her over and slept with her. Impregnating her he was ‘forced’ to kill her husband so he could cover his misdeed by making her his wife. Thus king David, the man after God’s own heart, the man who was committed to removing all of the evil people from the land, failed.
David failed because the one evil person he didn’t remove was himself. All of us are evil. Few of us think we are evil because we create degrees of evil and place others in the lower ends and place ourselves at the higher ends. God considers all disobedience evil for He is holy and those who are His must be holy as well. We are not too familiar with the definition of this word, holy. In part it means perfect in that which God is, does and desires. We are not holy.
The key to ending this life well in the eyes of God is to never see ourselves better than we really are in the eyes of God. This doesn’t mean having a negative view of ourselves by any means. We are adopted people of God. As children of God we have much to rejoice and celebrate.
It means never forgetting that to be adopted the True Blood Son had to die in order to purchase us for the Father. He Who really was, is and always has been holy, perfect and good was slain to buy those of us who are imperfect, unholy and evil. Remembering from whence we came and the cost paid to take us to where we are will help us immensely to stay humble.
This remembrance is best accomplished through daily Bible reading and praying. In addition, we would do well to leave the confines of our castle and regularly engage the work of God so that we stay dependent upon the provision of God for accomplishing the will of God on earth as it is in heaven.
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MONDAY MANNA
A service to the business community
A Publication of CBMC International
September 25, 2017
Five Steps To A Healthy Business Culture
by Rick Boxx
In my book, Unconventional Business, I identify five steps towards developing a healthy, ethical culture within a company or organization.
The first step is “Assessing the strength of your culture.” Years ago, I reviewed a culture assessment tool with a business owner. He gave himself the highest rankings, assuring me his staff would as well. When my assessment for his company was complete, however, this owner learned his entire team had rated his leadership – and the culture of his organization – very low. 1 Corinthians 3:18 says, “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.” To establish a healthy culture, begin with an objective assessment of your existing culture; otherwise, you are likely to be deceived.
The second step is to “Cast vision for the future.” In 1961, during the “Cold War” with Russia, U.S. President John F. Kennedy cast a bold vision. He proclaimed America would place a man on the moon by 1970. By publicly communicating his dream, Kennedy set the stage for the fulfillment of that vision. In Habakkuk 2:3, the Lord told Habakkuk, “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail.” Your team needs a vision of what the culture of your organization could look like in the future. If it is compelling enough, they will help you achieve that vision.
Step three is to “Develop your strategy and tactics.” Your culture will not change unless you take the necessary steps. A friend and I were consulting with a contractor on his business culture. While developing the strategy and tactics, it became obvious this contractor had language barriers requiring some adjustments. These helped the process – and the business – to move forward successfully. Proverbs 16:9 teaches, “The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” When developing your strategy and tactics, begin with the vision of the future, invite God into the process, and break down the necessary steps your unique situation will require.
Step four is to “Communicate, communicate, communicate.” If you do not constantly communicate values and vision for the future, they can be easily forgotten. Some leaders host events focused on company values. Others scroll their values on TV screens or post signs on office walls. In Deuteronomy 6, God communicated His laws by telling the Israelites, “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” To develop a healthy culture, communicate values frequently and consistently.
The final step is to “Make periodic assessments and adjustments.” A company had a fairly strong culture. However, when a partner of the business left, taking customers and employees with him, this devastated the organization’s culture. Developing a culture is not a destination, it is a journey. Facing an enemy attack, Nehemiah, had to assess his culture and adjust while rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. In Nehemiah 4:9 he wrote, “But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night.” As part of your plan for building a healthy culture don’t forget to schedule periodic assessments.
Copyright 2017, Integrity Resource Center, Inc. Adapted with permission from “Integrity Moments with Rick Boxx,” a commentary on issues of integrity in the workplace from a Christian perspective. To learn more about Integrity Resource Center or to sign up for Rick’s daily Integrity Moments, visit www.integrityresource.org (http://www.integrityresource.org/) . His new book, Unconventional Business, provides “Five Keys to Growing a Business God’s Way.”
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