Beyond an Ethic of Do No Harm
by Mike Sharrow
What does it mean to be a faith-driven entrepreneur, or a “steward” of a business? It’s so easy to settle for essentially an ethic of “don’t do bad things” and some token expression of generosity. Is “do no harm” and tipping Jesus with a percentage of wealth (the real question is what do we keep not what do we give if it’s all His, right?) the fair test? Perhaps an exercise in the form of a fabled case study where you enter into the story might help…
An Unplanned Owner/Investor Site Visit
Imagine arriving at work tomorrow, parking your car in the usual place, and walking toward the entrance. Everything seems normal. As you near the door, you notice a figure waiting just outside. As you approach, you sense a warm and open demeanor and reception. This person is obviously a friend.
A few more steps and you recognize him. It’s Jesus! He says, "I’d like you to show me around and explain the business to me. This is as much mine as any church is, so I’m curious to see what you’re doing with the business I entrusted to you to manage for Me." In your mind’s eye, imagine yourself saying, "Well, fine, Lord, let’s go in." Gulp.
Imagine taking Jesus through the reception area and into the office, then into your personal office, through the work areas, and around the entire physical location. Imagine Him keenly observing the way you and your team interact as you take the tour. Think about explaining how and why everything is laid out the way it is. Mentally introduce Him to each person, while explaining their function and a little about them.
Sit down with Him in your office or conference room and describe how each piece of the business functions, from the different ways of contacting customers, to the production and delivery of the product or service, to billing clients and collecting payment.
Tell Him how people are hired, trained, evaluated, encouraged, equipped, challenged, compensated, promoted, disciplined, or fired. Explain how you handle complaints and suggestions from customers, suppliers, and employees.
Take Him through accounting, showing Him how you pay bills and handle taxes. Discuss how you use or distribute profits and who benefits from them. Show Him the company’s debt and explain how and why the leveraging works. As you engage in each of these areas, imagine saying to Jesus, "Lord, this is how we try to show You and Your principles in this function or action… this is how we think You would do this… Lord, we do this so we won’t bring offense to Your name… Jesus, we don’t do this the world’s way because of what You said in Your Word."
Does this process excite and encourage you or does it cause you to break out in a cold sweat? Is there a process, business practice, or person that you’d want to avoid in this tour?
MOVING FROM METAPHOR TO OUR DAILY REALITY
In reality, this describes a typical CEO visit to a branch or subsidiary operation with an inspection tour guided by his local general manager. During any such tour, you demonstrate and discuss your major priorities, emphases, and progress against corporate business plans.
The visiting owner or CEO verifies that the location consistently and successfully applies the basic plans for business development and growth. He looks for results but is acutely interested in alignment, commitment to company goals and principles, and evidence of capable "process," knowing that diligently following the corporate strategy drives desired results.
In our businesses, God conducts this review continuously. God does have a plan for our lives, and it includes every aspect: home, work, community, social, recreation, and any other area you might identify. You could say that there is a performance review as stewards, but it’s an open Book test!
Further, His plan always desires the same end, consistently reflecting His values.2 While the environments or playing fields may change, His eternal purpose, to manifest the gospel of Jesus Christ, never changes. His ultimate purpose, to bring forward the Kingdom of God, drives everything God does and allows. Nothing in God’s world "just happens."
In our businesses, as in every other area of our lives, we can either recognize this reality or miss it completely. The choice is ours. If we see our business primarily as a tool to produce money for ourselves, we primarily concern ourselves with how well it generates cash, and we’ll focus our attention, develop strategy, deploy people and assets, make decisions, and drive actions primarily toward that end. On the other hand, we might see our business as a part of God’s eternal plan, entrusted to us and designed to fit into an intricate and beautiful master plan to strategically contribute to sharing Christ with the world. In this case, our decisions and evaluations reflect different values, and we attempt to structure what we do to produce a more Godly set of results.
MOMENTS OF TRUTH...THE TRUTH!
The "Moments of Truth" diagram initially popularized in the 1980s by Jan Carlzon’s famous turnaround of Scandinavian Airline Systems. The helpful diagram behind that concept invites any leader to assess every possible business-to customer touchpoint and assess deficits or opportunities.
So What?
As Christians, isn’t this model equally relevant as a lens through which to evaluate how effectively every element of the company demonstrates Jesus as the true Owner? Doesn’t every point along that process represent an opportunity to either shine or betray our true purpose?
So, what if Jesus was waiting for you at the company entrance tomorrow for His tour? Are you ready? Do you have thoughtful answers for His questions concerning His primary interests? Do you have a plan centered on His values and purposes to guide you as you evaluate and develop each part of the business?
God entrusted you with an incredible platform...what opportunities will you seize? Where or what do you need to change to reflect the true Owner of your business?