Monday Manna

Overcoming Employee Discontent

By Rick Boxx Businesses are often so driven by the bottom line – maximizing profits – that they are reluctant to increase payroll costs. Such a strategy might boost profit margins over the short term, but can have a disastrous long-term impact on the people who perform the work to make the company profitable. On numerous occasions I have observed that this overemphasis on the business’s bottom line can cause considerable discontent in lower-paid workers, like we have seen repeatedly in the news as workers speak out and protest in a quest for higher wages. Numerous factors can affect a worker’s sense of contentment on the job, but feeling undercompensated is one of the greatest causes of discontentment.
Category:  Monday Manna
Tags:  Business, Employees, Leading, Managing, Employee Discontent

Excited about Excellence

by Robert J. Tamasy One of the enjoyable things in life is being the beneficiary of work well done. Recently we have had several craftsmen engaged in improvement projects at our home. These included a bathroom tile specialist, a carpenter, painters, a tree cutting service, and a tree stump grinder. In nearly every case their work was excellent, and I would not hesitate to hire them again if needed.
Category:  Monday Manna
Tags:  Excellence

Owner or Consultant? Who is Your Provider?

By Jim Lange Some time ago I was thinking about one of my past assignments while serving as a leadership consultant. During this time, I was working with a local company for a couple of days per week, providing leadership and counsel for turning the company around and resolving some serious internal challenges. My role was to develop a game plan to assist the company wherever I felt they needed help, and then provide guidance for implementing that plan.
Category:  Monday Manna
Tags:  Owner, Consultant, Provider

The 4 ‘C’s of Effective Hiring

By Rick Boxx When employers hire someone, they often reverse the order of what I call the “4 C’s of Hiring”: Character, Calling, Competence, and Chemistry. Many search for those people with a good resume and experience for the position to be filled. Once the list of candidates is narrowed, many select the one they like the best.
Category:  Monday Manna
Tags:  Hiring, Character, Calling, Competence, Chemistry

Spanning the Generation Gap

By Robert J. Tamasy In recent years it has been my privilege to write several books telling the histories and legacies of multi-generational, family-owned companies. Two of these trace their beginnings to the early 1930s, and today they are transitioning into a fourth generation of family leadership. Their stories are inspiring.
Category:  Monday Manna
Tags:  Generation Gap, Business, Mission, Values

Who Are You Trying to Please?

By Rick Foster Many products are designed to imitate the real thing. There is plastic decking that looks like real wood, and vinyl flooring that appears to be ceramic tile. We can purchase fake fur or jewelry, phony noses, hairpieces, and other body parts. The purpose behind all of these items is fairly obvious, but what about a canned product called “Spray-on Mud”?
Category:  Monday Manna
Tags:  Pleasing God, People-pleaser

Advertising: Pleasing Aroma or Bad Odor?

By Rick Boxx

It seems the typical consumer holds a high level of skepticism toward advertising. According to the results of a study published on a marketing website, more than three in every four consumers – over 75 percent – believe most of the claims made in advertisements, regardless of the communications medium utilized, are exaggerated or intentionally misleading.

Category:  Monday Manna
Tags:  Advertising

Actions That Speak Louder Than Words

By Robert J. Tamasy We live in a world in which prominent leaders in every field of endeavor make loud and brash promises. They tell us what we want to hear and presume that will earn our trust. Unfortunately, too often words are not backed up with the levels of performance we were led to expect.
Category:  Monday Manna
Tags:  Actions, Words, Work, Working

The Number One Financial Mistake

By Austin Pryor An approach we occasionally use in marketing my organization, Sound Mind Investing (SMI), is to ask, “What is the No. 1 financial mistake many Christians make?” Our answer: They ignore biblical principles when managing their money and follow advice from other sources instead.
Category:  Monday Manna
Tags:  Finances, Money, Biblical Principles

The Character of Leadership

By Robert J. Tamasy What is true leadership? Or to ask the question a different way, what are qualities of a good leader? Countless books and articles that have been written about leaders and leadership. Speakers have made careers traveling from city to city, speaking at dinners, meetings and conferences, offering their opinions about effective leadership. So it would be hard to find a definitive answer on which everyone could agree.
Category:  Monday Manna
Tags:  True Leadership, Leadership, Character, Leaders