Recently, we were able to sit down with Steven Diedrich to discuss how the Baylor Angel Network is preparing future Faith Driven Investors and Entrepreneurs (listen to the podcast here). Amanda Lawson captured more of their story below.

by Amanda Lawson

“There is real money, real business on the table, it’s not just a capstone course for class credit.”

The Baylor Angel Network (BAN) began in 2009—intersecting the academy with the marketplace—with a desire to engage students in real-world financial analysis and give them hands-on experience in entrepreneurship. To say it was successful is an understatement. One of its alum commented, “BAN was the most real-world experience I had during my time as an undergraduate student and it prepared me for the workplace more than I even knew at the time.”

But realistically, what can an 18-month stint as an undergraduate financial analyst produce in the long-run? 

According to its alumni, a lot. During their time as BAN analysts, students become proficient in a variety of skills related to the field, gain valuable experience that transfers to their professional careers, and develop soft skills for use both in and out of the conference room.

Over a decade later, BAN boasts 71 alumni now thriving in a variety of fields and has become a model for other undergraduate institutions seeking to enhance their entrepreneurship offerings. Steven Diedrich, the executive director of the Baylor Angel Network, participated as a student before returning to his alma mater to lead the program. Diedrich noted the value of BAN as being better than an internship because of the real-world experience its students gain over the course of their 18-month tenure as BAN Analysts—on average, each student engages with 90 different companies and leads the analysis of 10-12. A deeply connected and dedicated network of angels provides students with hands-on opportunity, as well as valuable mentorship throughout the program.  

We asked several BAN alumni about their experience in the program and how it translated to their lives after graduation. Their responses left no doubt: the Baylor Angel Network is a game-changer. 

What was the most valuable lesson you learned as a part of BAN?  

Alumni explained that among the top lessons learned as BAN analysts was how to evaluate organizations and teams through qualitative due diligence practices in addition to quantitative facts and figures. As a part of the well-rounded training and experience, two respondents mentioned their substantial growth in leadership and communication: learning to speak with confidence, to ask good questions, and to do thorough research. One alumnus explained that he learned to manage ambiguity and filter out the noise in order to best understand an organization and its needs. On a personal note, one shared, “BAN helped show me how to align my priorities to be a person of my word and commit to things that are important to me.” 

How did your experience prepare you for your future professional career?

The alumni unanimously pointed to better interpersonal skills and teamwork as one of the most significant influences of BAN on their careers. Whether referring to learning from others through observation (one described it as a “caught-not-taught” method), valuing diverse opinions, or simply growing in maturity and professionalism, it was clear that BAN enables its analysts to grow in practices that translate into nearly any career or field. Discussing working as a team of analysts, one mentioned the importance of time management as key to team effectiveness, as well as building a network that will “exist even beyond graduation.” 

What skills/values from your tenure with BAN have impacted your life outside of your career?

Each respondent connected BAN’s influence on life outside of work to their relationships with the angels who served as mentors. Two drew a direct line between mentorship and learning both humility and confidence. Learning from mentors taught analysts to be “humble in knowledge and confident in asking questions,” and encouraged them to pursue big aspirations and the vocations they felt called to. The teamwork and mentorship of the Baylor Angel Network “set a high bar for [future] company culture” and demonstrated “authentic living and purposeful leadership.”

Becoming a BAN analyst is not an easy process nor does it come with a light workload but is clearly worth the time and effort, both professionally and personally. Whether through working with angel mentors or peer analysts, students gain valuable and transferable skills while remaining rooted in a gospel-driven mission. 

Or as one former BAN analyst said, “You don’t have to keep these things separate or compromise your ethics and what’s truly important just to fit into the business world or to be successful.”

by James Waters, PhD

Like most of you, 2020 was a year of significant pivoting and great learning for my team and me at Eido Research. Personally, I got the second-to-last flight out of the UK to get married on a beach in Hawaii, travelled back to the UK, moved to Brazil, and am now back again on British soil. In 2019, I travelled the world piloting The Kingdom Impact Framework for Christian development organisations. But in 2020, with no such travel happening, we pivoted to support UK charities as they adapted to Covid, and I poured my energy into developing an equivalent tool for faith driven investment and business.

Reflecting on our work throughout this turbulent year, and drawing from examples from Christian business and philanthropy, this paper scratches the surface of what can be achieved when delivery organisations, funders/investors, and impact professionals partner together to see the world impacted by the Kingdom of God.

“What we measure reflects what we value.” – Danny Kruger MP, Levelling up our communities: proposals for a new [1] social covenant.

The response of Christian financial generosity to the Covid-19 pandemic has again confirmed the effectiveness of faith-based philanthropy. On average, evangelical Christians across the UK [2] remained consistent or even increased their financial donations to Christian ministries.

Additionally, faith-based philanthropic funds were set up to meet immediate needs. Through one such fund, Stewardship’s Rapid Response Fund, £5 million was raised and quickly [3] distributed to over 80 Christian organisations.

Whilst the speed and scale of these financial figures are a testimony to Christian generosity, it shouldn’t be the only story we are telling. What we value about these funds is their ability to create meaningful change in society, so rather than simply rejoicing at the act of giving, we should partner together to measure and celebrate the social and spiritual impact of this generosity on the world around us.

One partnership that we have valued in the last year is with Stewardship, working alongside them to discover the impact of the Covid Rapid Response Fund (RRF) that they coordinated. Drawing mainly from that project, this article gives three reasons why such partnerships between philanthropists, investors, and impact professionals are so fruitful.

1. Celebrate and prove the value of Christian generosity

Unfortunately, the positive impact of Christianity is often questioned by society. A 2018 study showed that 41 percent of British non-Christians believed that the UK Church made no positive [4] difference in the world (with another 40 percent stating they were unsure). This worrying chasm between perception and reality is in large part due to the failure of Christian organisations, funders, and impact professionals to create effective partnerships to measure and share impact.

The RRF impact evaluation revealed that 71 percent of funded Christian organisations had created positive social impact through their programmes (often in addition to significant positive spiritual impact). Examples included: supporting 1,000 young people experiencing stress and anxiety through Covid-19 mental health projects; facilitating the giving of 2.8 million meals to vulnerable communities through a consortium of churches; and empowering 100 women to remove themselves from a place of abuse to a place of safety.

Within Christian funding circles however, it is often the spiritual impact of these programmes that are called into question. As a 2018 report from the Bible society showed, Christian funders are increasingly keen to find robust measures of ‘spiritual fruit’ rather than rely on [5] anecdotes. Here, the RRF impact evaluation observed a significant spiritual impact including: 1,400 people who became believers in Jesus through funded programmes; 13,000 people asking questions about God and wanting to know more; and 954,000 people receiving information about the gospel. Likewise, 90 percent of leaders who partnered with RRF said that they and their staff had been spiritually encouraged.

When it comes to Christian investing and business, this year we carried out a survey of thousands of ‘business as mission’ organizations globally. From a representative sample of these, we found that nearly 48 percent have activities and are seeing impact in the realm of creating decent work, 33 percent are seeing impact in economic growth, and 20 percent are seeing impact in providing education. In terms of spiritual impact, 40 percent reported to be impacting culture through demonstrating biblical values, 32 percent are seeing spiritual formation in their staff, and 32 percent are reaching the unreached with the gospel. Perhaps as importantly, the majority of business owners were thriving in terms of personal, spiritual, and social well-being.

We know that most investors lack robust evidence of social and spiritual impact in their investee companies and entrepreneurs. But, encouragingly, more Kingdom companies and investors are showing interest in documenting their impact and, indeed, their ‘redemptive edge’ or ‘fourth bottom line’ as different groups call it. As such, partnerships between companies, investors, and impact professionals are increasing, enabling us to celebrate and prove the positive social and spiritual impact of Christian generosity and investment.

2. Steward and build a culture of accountability

In a world with increasing philanthropic and ‘ethical’ investment options, if we are to

futureproof the ‘investability’ of Christian organisations, it is vital to show that we are carefully looking at how money is spent and used to create impact. As a ‘2020 Give.org Donor Trust Report’ showed, when funders are deciding whether to fund a charity, “the top factors are (1) third-party evaluation by an independent organisation, (2) name recognition, and (3) [6] accomplishments shared by the organisation.”

Going through a robust impact strategy and evaluation process, with space for significant critique and external validation, provided Stewardship’s Rapid Response Fund with significant accountability and trust with funders. The process was systematic, testing the ‘impact strategy’ of the fund by asking organization leaders to assess the impact upon themselves, their staff, their programmes, and, subsequently, their beneficiaries.

This approach enabled us to see how organisations themselves stewarded the resources given. Perhaps this contributed to 22 of the 80 organisations raising matched funding, to a total value of £923k, adding around a quarter to the amount distributed by the RRF.

Meanwhile, what we are learning as we launch the ‘Kingdom Impact Framework for Business’ is that faith driven investors think similarly and that evaluations can build trust between investors and businesses. One of the first companies to pilot our tool discovered that their employees’ perception of company culture and Kingdom values differed between sites. This will enable them to make changes, increasing potential impact, and demonstrate that impact to investors.

Partnership with an independent evaluator builds a culture of accountability and ultimately leads to greater trust between the organisation and potential funders. “Good data will boost the confidence, and retain the loyalty of private funders, and therefore increase the volume of [7] philanthropy” and, as we are seeing, of investment.

3. Learn how to improve the impact of future funding

Whilst the response of Christian funders in 2020 was both generous and transformational, it will by no means be the last time that such generosity will be required. And as resources are always finite, it is vital to study what is being given now in order to learn how we can improve

the impact of future Christian philanthropy and investment. If funds and investments are evaluated well, “good data will enable a shift in the culture of accountability from ‘proving’ to ‘improving.’”

The current models commonly used to distribute, or raise, funds require scrutiny also. Some application processes are too costly, or inefficient, and new, disruptive, philanthropic and investment platforms are launching all the time. Whilst responders to the RRF impact report widely praised the fund’s approach, there were key learnings that can be built upon. One improvement voiced by leaders was to facilitate learning between recipient organisations: “At a time of greater isolation, it might have been good to have opportunities to hear the stories, [8] and/or share some experiences between the different recipients.” Perhaps portfolio investors can also do more to facilitate connection between businesses in their networks. We are often struck by leaders mentioning their need for non-financial support such as advice and [9] connection. Our own ‘Impact Strategy coaching’ tools have been developed out of a desire to meet more of these needs.

In summary, impact evaluations that include an analysis of the relationship between Christian organisations and investors/philanthropists will allow sector-wide learnings, leading to increases in efficiency and the strengthening of funding partnerships in the future.

Conclusion

Throughout the last year, our partnerships with Stewardship and their network of

philanthropists have clearly demonstrated three benefits of measuring the impact of Christian philanthropy: first, we can celebrate and prove the value of Christian organisations to funders and wider society; second, we can increase accountability and trust; and third, we can improve

and learn towards a better future. Furthermore, through the launch of our tool to measure social and spiritual impact in business, we are seeing the same lessons hold true. We believe that embedding a culture of measuring and celebrating impact will lead to an explosion of Kingdom investment.

[1]

Danny Kruger. 2020. ‘A report for government: Levelling up our communities: proposals for

a new social covenant’

[2]

Evangelical Alliance, Stewardship, & Eido Research. 2020. ‘Changing Church: Meetings and

money’.

[3]

https://www.stewardship.org.uk/blog/blog/post/681-5-million-raised-and-distributed-to-88-

uk-churches-and-charities-within-100-days-of-covid-19-lockdown

[4]

Barna Group, The UK Church in Action: Perceptions of Social Justice and Mission in a

Changing World (Ventura, CA: Barna Group, 2018), https://shop.barna.com/products/the-uk church-in-action.

[5]

J & N Kurlberg (2018) Trends in Christian Philanthropy

[6]

https://www.give.org/docs/default-source/donor-trust-library/2020-donor-trust-report.pdf

[7]

Danny Kruger. 2020. ‘A report for government: Levelling up our communities: proposals for

a new social covenant’

[8]

All quotes in this section are from leaders of a recipient organisation of the Stewardship

RRF

[9]

www.eidoresearch.com/impact-strategy

——

Article originally hosted and shared with permission by The Christian Economic Forum, a global network of leaders who join together to collaborate and introduce strategic ideas for the spread of God’s economic principles and the goodness of Jesus Christ. This article was from a collection of White Papers compiled for attendees of the CEF’s Global Event.

— by Paul Zondagh

I believe that Christian business is called to attend to the welfare of the community within which it operates. This requires that we consider our immediate environment, and then, in the context of what we have in our hands as a business, ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in wisdom so that we can act with Godly impact. This paper briefly describes an issue in our community and details one of the programs we’ve been running in response. 

There is a Calling on Christian Business

The Jewish nation spent much of history in exile. During those difficult times, the clear calling on them was to intentionally work towards the welfare of the land in which they were. “Build houses and make yourselves at home. Put in gardens and eat what grows in that country…Make yourselves at home there and work for the country’s welfare. Pray for Babylon’s well-being. If things go well for Babylon, things will go well for you” (Jeremiah 29:5, ‬7 The Message translation). ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

As Christians in business, we also operate in a foreign and hostile ecosystem. Even in so-called “Christian countries,” the business setting is typically characterised by at least some of the following “every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarrelling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip” (Romans 1:29 New Living Translation).  Being God’s people in this foreign environment, I believe we share the calling that Jeremiah penned, i.e. to include in our focus the welfare of the community in which we operate. 

The Socioeconomic Realities to Which We Reacted

Our business operates in South Africa, where the environment is characterised by the following:

• A failing education system: In 2015, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released a report ranking the education systems of 76 countries from around the world. South Africa performed dismally. Of the 76 countries studied, the OECD ranked us the 75th worst education system.  Of every 100 pupils that start school, only 50 make it to Grade 12. Of those, 40 will pass, of whom only 12 will be eligible to study at a university. Those who do not acquire some form of post-secondary education are at a distinct economic disadvantage and not only struggle to find full-time employment, but also have one of the highest probabilities of being unemployed for sustained periods of time, if not permanently.

• High levels of unemployment: Of adults who are economically active, 38.5% are unemployed, a figure that is among the highest in the world. The numbers for young people (aged 15 to 34) are even worse. Between 2008 and 2019, the population of young people increased by 2.2 million, but the number of young people who were employed fell by 500,000. Thus, while the population of young people increased by about 560 per day, the number of employed young people fell by more than 100 per day.

• Particularly high youth unemployment: Out of a population of 20 million young people between the ages of 15 and 34, 7.9 million are neither working nor in any form of education or training. In the fourth quarter of 2018, 3.9 million young people reported having looked for work but being unable to find it. The dysfunctionality of the education system is clearly part of the problem. Large numbers of work-seekers come from households in which no one holds a full-time, formal sector job. As a result, they often lack some of the requisite workplace skills and aptitudes that might be acquired organically in a household in which more people work. They also often have little knowledge about what kinds of jobs are available, for which jobs their skills and aptitudes are best suited, or how to maximize their chances of finding one.

• High levels of inequality: With a consumption per capita Gini coefficient of 0.63 in 2015, South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world.

Salient Overview of Our Program

We refer to the program as our “intern program”. However, the terminology is admittedly inaccurate insofar as the candidates are not “interns” into our industry (we are an actuarial consultancy). Rather, they are interns into the formal economy (into whichever specific area that best matches the individual). 

The intake is typically from students who finish school, coming from a severely disadvantaged socioeconomic background. Each intern typically spends between one and three years in the program, during which their exposure is as follows:

• The work week is made up of both formal work experience, as well as soft skills training. Each is placed with one of the NGOs with whom we have strong ties, where they get work exposure for four days a week. The fifth day is reserved for soft skill training, when all the interns get together and receive structured soft skill training in a group setting.

• From a training perspective, each intern is assessed to identify an appropriate area of training. A suitable training program is then selected, taking holistic cognisance of the individual’s circumstances (e.g. training that involves evening classes are often ruled out because of logistical and safety challenges).

From a financial perspective our spend on the program roughly averages twice the minimum wage over time. This is made up of a monthly stipend, in line with the minimum wage, with the balance going to direct training and support costs. 

The entire design of the program is focussed to eventually deliver a graduate who is well-groomed and confident, and whose employability is a quantum above those peers who finished school with them. To date almost all graduates have moved directly from the program into formal, permanent employment. 

The Program Evolved from Very Humble Beginnings

The program started in 2006, with just one intern. This young lady grew up in an informal settlement area and was the oldest child of a domestic worker. She never knew her father, so also had all the challenges that go with fatherlessness. Without intervention, her aspirations would probably have been very low and her outlook bleak. At the time, we had neither the NGO partnerships nor the soft skill training, so for three years she came into our office every day. A large part of the first year was taken up just by the cultural adjustment, simply to be able to fit into a business environment. From there she grew in confidence, until she could perform basic office administration competently and professionally. After her time with us, she moved to a position as a kindergarten teacher at a local NGO, a career path that would have been beyond her aspirations just a few years earlier.

From there, the program gradually evolved over time. It is quite humbling to look back and see how it took us years to identify [what now seems like] obvious, initial shortcomings. No doubt there will be more!

• Numbers: We grew frustrated about the size of our impact if we only accommodate one intern at a time. So, we went from one to three to the point where we now have a number of interns equal to the number of full-time, professional employees in our firm. 

• Partnering with NGOs: As the numbers grew, our premises and our ability to keep the interns sensibly occupied came under pressure. This led us to partnering with selected NGOs. The interns are on our payroll, but they spend their time at the NGO, working as if they were employees of the NGO. 

• Soft skill training: In 2011 we realised that while we were formally attending to academic training, we were entirely reliant on gradual, informal assimilation of many of the softer skills required in the formal economy. A weekly time slot has since been dedicated for the group to get together, to focus on this in structured and facilitated manner.  

• Emotional coaching: Some of our interns come from a past with severe emotional trauma. To reach full potential in life, it is important to provide the individual with the “tools” they need to deal with his/her past. This became an added focus around 2013, with the soft skill trainer/facilitator effectively taking on the role of a corporate chaplain who also provides one-on-one emotional coaching where needed.

Concluding Remarks

We are grateful for the lives that have been touched and the futures that have been changed since we embarked on this journey. However, much like a single grain of salt or a single ray of light, our impact is miniscule in the bigger scheme of things. While it might be insignificant, it is one of the things we have in our hand and we’re using it to add to the welfare of the community around us. What do you have in your hand? 

—

Footnotes

1)  Roodt, M. South African Institute of Race Relations (2018) The South African EDUCATION CRISIS, Giving power back to parents

2)  Spaull, N. (2013), South Africa’s Education Crisis: The quality of education in South Africa 1994-2011

3)  Centre for Development and Enterprise (2020) Ten Million and Rising: What it would take to address South Africa’s jobs bloodbath

4)  Centre for Development and Enterprise (2019) Agenda 2019: Tackling youth unemployment

5)  World Bank (2018) Overcoming Poverty and Inequality in South Africa: An Assessment of Drivers, Constraints and Opportunities.

This is one of the 2020 CEF Whitepapers. For more information on the Christian Economic Forum, please visit their website here.

by Kenneth Boa and Russ Crosson

Note: This article contains excerpts from chapters of Leverage: Using Temporal Wealth for Eternal Gain (Kenneth Boa and Russ Crosson, Trinity House Publishers, 2022). It may only be reproduced with permission of the publisher. 

The book is available to purchase from Trinity House Publishers, Amazon and Christianbook.

It’s often said that our calendars and checkbooks (or our mobile banking records) reveal our true priorities. We may say we’re seeking God’s kingdom first, but do our daily rhythms—including how we spend our time and money—back up our claim? 

As we search Scripture, we find that we are accountable to our Creator for the things He has

entrusted to us. Everything we own really belongs to God, and He gives us the resources we have (whether we consider it to be little or much) to meet our needs (Philippians 4:19). He also wants us to use what He has given us to invest in that which will last, rather than using it for personal benefit alone. In our context, we’re talking about investments in the kingdom of heaven, also known as stewarding God’s gifts.  

The first-century apostles understood this stewardship mindset. They did not invest in things of this world, but rather in proclaiming the gospel. You and I enjoy great gain as a result of their focus on eternal things, and we are called to continue that purpose and leverage our own wealth for the benefit of others to the glory of God.

Leverage and the Metaphor of a Lever

A lever is a simple machine that increases efficiency by amplifying a small force and turning it into a much larger one, opening up a realm of mechanical possibilities. As the Greek mathematician Archimedes famously said, “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”

While Archimedes’s scope focused solely on the material and the finite, Leverage: Using Temporal Wealth for Eternal Gain (Kenneth Boa and Russ Crosson, Trinity House Publishers, 2022) applies the principle of leverage to matters of infinite importance. 

Whether or not we realize it, we use the principle of leverage on a daily basis, not simply in physics but in the sense of turning limited resources into an advantage—often a selfish advantage that gives us gain at the expense of other people. Although the link between leverage and selfish gain is so well forged that the two may seem synonymous, in Leverage, we contend that Christians can leverage God’s earthly gifts not for personal benefit but for the advancement of His kingdom. 

Two Kinds of Wisdom – Two Perspectives on Wealth

The world clamors for our attention and encourages us to find our identity in what is temporal rather than in what is eternal. And the reality is, the more money we have, the easier it is to find our identity in it, even unconsciously. This is why Paul warned against making an idol of riches: 

For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:7–10)

Earthly wisdom peddles a false sense of control and security, consistently encouraging us to accumulate for ourselves the seven Ps of idolatry: possessions, pleasure, prestige, popularity, promotion, power, and performance. When these temporal things pass away, they will not leave us with any eternal gain. To pursue them is folly. 

Following the wisdom of God, on the other hand, requires training and discipline. As we spend time in Scripture and come to know and love God more, the wisdom of the world will have less of a hold on us. Instead of seeking control by hoarding material wealth on earth, we can relinquish our attempt at autonomy and recognize that we are stewards of what God has given us.

Living with the end in mind is the key to stewarding God’s gifts well and leveraging them for His kingdom. 

Giving with a Warm Hand – Current vs. Deferred Giving

We can choose to give with a warm hand (while we’re still living) or a cold hand (after we’re gone from this earth)—sometimes known as current versus deferred giving. Current giving helps break the power of money in our lives and gives us much more control over where it goes. For example, we may make a provision in our will to give a generous amount of our assets to a Christian ministry that is biblically faithful today. But what if that organization undergoes “mission drift” after we die? Would our money have been better released during our lifetime—perhaps even helping to prevent that ministry from straying from its roots? We have to think not only in terms of financial capital but also in terms of spiritual capital. 

Many of us err on the side of hoarding (we might prefer to call it “investing for the future”) rather than giving generously in the present, but the Bible—from the Proverbs of the Old Testament to the parables and teachings of Jesus—would recommend otherwise. Reasons we fail to give now out of a genuinely generous and sacrificial heart include fear, limited liquid assets (which can make giving more complex to do), a deficient understanding of why God commands us to give, failure to have a giving plan, and not understanding the benefits of current giving. (In Leverage, we cover each of these reasons more thoroughly.) 

An Invitation to Follow Biblical Wisdom Regarding Wealth and Investing

Financial prosperity, while lauded by the world, lends itself to earthly-mindedness if we are not careful, particularly when we treat our wealth with a sense of entitlement rather than recognizing that God entrusted it to us. Because material wealth will not survive beyond this earthly life, biblical wisdom invites us to grasp our finiteness and spurs us to live with a pilgrim mindset, investing our resources in what is to come through our good works and generosity.

We live in a time of unprecedented prosperity, which easily tempts us toward self-indulgence or hoarding. We are also surrounded by poverty—the spiritual sort. The question is, will we take our cues from the culture or the Bible when it comes to how we approach and use our wealth? 

We pray you will follow the way of wisdom, embracing the biblical idea that a wise life is a generous life.

Perhaps the ideas of stewardship and investing in the kingdom are unfamiliar to you, and you’d like to learn more. Or you’re looking for opportunities to follow Jesus regarding your finances but need a place to start. Faith Driven Investor is the perfect place for you!

To get started, we recommend one of our Bible Reading Plans called “Biblical Basics for Investors.” In this plan, we explore what the Bible has to say about investing and money. You can access it for free through the YouVersion website or app.

Article originally posted here by Convene

by Greg Leith

Fast Company magazine in December 2019 proclaimed capitalism is dead. That’s like Vogue magazine saying style is dead, or Car and Driver magazine saying cars are dead! The bastion of business says that there are CEOs who are “leading the way toward a more equitable, humane, and democratic system that works for the many and not for the few”.

Have we finally figured out that the people who work for a company are more than two arms and two legs? Is the idea of shareholders who ask only for a higher return on investment taking a back seat to other values like human flourishing and the health of the community we live and work in?

Simon Sinek, organizational consultant and author of the best-selling book, Start With Why, says he has a bold new paradigm for capitalism. Banner ads pop up on our social media feed calling us to “Awaken your organization. Change our world”. New books abound with titles like The Healing Organization.

So, is capitalism dead or is it just reinventing itself? Can we save it from its own misconstrued vices since it began in the 17th century? Were business leaders in the Industrial Age missing something when they said they only wanted to hire two hands and two legs?

Guess what? Another world leader already proclaimed this paradigm shift long before capitalism was invented. He was an early adopter for cultural change. His talks were mostly in the marketplace and once he spoke outside on a hill, with no microphone and no PowerPoint. Turns out his father had published some books before he arrived on the scene and he inspired his followers to write a series of books after he died. Together the 66 books they authored became a collective best seller.

In his talk on the side of the hill, he said we should give to those in need without always being seen (interpreted: don’t keep all the money for yourself), and that we should be careful to not stockpile our treasures (a.k.a. profits). He said that we actually get blessed by God when we show mercy (maybe when we don’t fire the worker who came in late because their car broke down). He suggested in his talk that we work to achieve peace and help people cooperate instead of fight (meaning it’s of high value to help people work out their differences in our workplace, because it’s an important community where people are looking for meaning). He even said we should make the first move to put things right with our enemies.

He noted we should strive to do what’s right and to be honest (i.e. don’t fudge the results, the numbers or the rules just to increase sales). He told the listeners to be content with who they are and not want more (a better title might not matter). In the same speech, he summed things up by saying we should generally do for those who work FOR us, what we would want done TO us, if we were them. Maybe we might give team members a backpack filled with school supplies in August since some of our team members can only afford a pack of pencils even though they work two jobs to pay the rent. Or we might create a profit-sharing plan that gives more than a meager Christmas bonus.

One translation of this 2,000-year-old talk put it this way, “Ask yourself what you want people to do for YOU, then grab the initiative and do it for THEM”. The speaker? It was a leader named Jesus of Nazareth. When he was done, the Bible tells us that the crowd “burst into applause because they had never heard anything like it… this was the best teaching they had ever heard.”

Wow! Have your team members burst into applause at the end of your talks?! The ones listening to Jesus did so because Jesus was championing a counter-cultural series of premises that focused on others instead of ourselves.   

In his book, Serving Two Masters, Reflections on God and Profit, Bill Pollard, former CEO of the $9 Billion dollar ServiceMaster Company, asks two important questions. First, “What is the role of profit?” and secondly, “Why is it important to our success?”.

Mr. Pollard points out that Milton Friedman, an economist and 1976 Nobel Prize winner, once said, “There is one and only one social responsibility of business – to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase profits”.  In Friedman’s view, every decision made for the organization would be to increase its profitability.  When faced with the decision of keeping jobs or sending them overseas, the one that returned the greatest profit would be the correct answer.  In Friedman’s view, money is the end game.

Bill Pollard sees things differently. He sees profit as a virtue. Pollard writes, “It is more than a scorecard for investors on Wall Street. It has a direct relationship to the truth and value of our promise to the customer and to the people of the firm.” 

He went on to write, “Profit as a virtue, is a tool for accomplishing end goals of honoring God and developing people.  Managing with care for the people producing the profit, we can recognize profit as a virtue of accountability, not a vice of self-aggrandizement.”

At ServiceMaster, they realized that the most important asset of the firm was not its money tucked away in the bank; rather, the most important asset actually walked out the door every night. It’s the people in your firm. For this reason, ServiceMaster saw that there was a fair distribution of the profits of the firm, and they provided multiple opportunities for stock ownership by employees.

Unlike Friedman, who saw profit as the end goal of a firm, Bill Pollard saw it as a temptation.  When profit becomes an end goal, one can risk the loss of the “soul of the firm”.

Jesus reminds us, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” Mark 8:36 (NKJV).

Perhaps Bill said it best when he wrote, “As an end goal, profit and wealth can become addictive and self-consuming. They can become a person’s god, leading to the loss of ultimate purpose and meaning in life. When this happens in a firm, the management of people becomes a game of manipulation to accomplish a series of tasks for a profit, with the gain going to a few at the top while those who produce the results suffer an atrophy of the soul.  Profit is a means goal in God’s world, to be used and invested, not worshiped as an end in itself.” 

Is the old version of capitalism dead in your firm? If not, maybe you should kill it. Ask yourself if you are too focused on profits and shareholder value to the exclusion of people, the planet and your community. Hopefully in its newest form, you can reinvent capitalism into a more conscious, God honoring capitalism… and your people just might applaud.

Article originally posted here by Eventide

by Jason Myhre

What would a wise approach to investing look like? It would have to be as concerned with people as it is with profit. It’s difficult for us to think about these two concepts being brought together. But I think when we take a closer look at how a business operates, we can see that profit and people are not opposing concepts. I think this opposition melts away.

So I want to talk to you about shareholders and stakeholders. Shareholders, we know of course — that’s the beneficial owners of the company. That’s your investors. That’s you as a fiduciary seeking maximum return for a minimum amount of risk.

Now, stakeholders are all of the other relationships in a business. That would be your customers, employees, suppliers, host communities — the places where the business is physically being operated — the natural environment, and society broadly. Those six. These are what we would call the stakeholders in a business.

Now, when people think about stakeholders, they tend to see stakeholders as those that are affected by a business. These are the groups that are left holding the bag when business gets greedy and those to whom business should have a sense of responsibility. All that’s true, but what we at Eventide would say, what is underappreciated is the effect that stakeholders have back on to the business, the effect that stakeholders have on business success. As we take this journey of seeking to apply a wise framework, what’s smart and what’s right in investing, we will show how creating value for stakeholders in our view can lead to long-term investing success for shareholders.