Seeing our Work through Christ’s Eyes

Who are we and why are we here? Paul says “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:10). We, in Christ, have been created by God to work for a purpose, and are empowered by Him as we fulfill this destiny. We’re Jesus’ hands and feet as we live out our calling through family, friends, the Church and those we...

Diligence – A Key to Order

For C12 members, the key question is “What does God expect or require of us?” We propose that the answer is ‘diligence,’ defined by the dictionary as “the attention and care legally expected or required of a person.” A practical definition would be, “to meet the requirement inherent in a given situation, responsibility or relationship.” In Kingdom terms, we might further say:...

Growing Your Business-A Five Point Approach to Branding

A Five-Point Approach to Branding 1. Defining your Dominant Selling Idea (DSI) Our DSI is a unifying, energizing, focusing, trust-building, clutter-removing, lean-value-creating notion – a motivating difference at the moment of the purchase decision – that communicates our #1 position in a ‘desirable specialty’ that’s important to our target customers. That’s a mouthful, but unless...

Ending Working Relationships in Christ’s Love

One of a leader’s toughest tasks is releasing team members, whether due to poor performance, economic conditions, or a major breach of trust. No ‘normal’ person enjoys the termination process. Most of us suffer from being too slow in making these difficult decisions, rather than being too quick, and will readily admit that this is one of the most distasteful aspects of exercising our...

Seizing the Moment

Here we are, in the middle of an extended recession, hunkered down and unsure as to when the pressure will let up. Many of us are praying for restored demand and a healthy backlog that will allow us to “breathe easy” again. Is this where you are today? Is your attitude one of simply waiting out the slump and surviving to play the game another day the same way we always did? One of the grand...

Born for Such a Time as This – Be Encouraged

I have some good news for you today! God isn’t participating in the recession! And He won’t need a stimulus package or bailout, either! These tumultuous days may be the greatest season of our lives… the most fruitful that we have ever known! It will all depend on how we perceive them. It’s been said that “The circumstances of life don’t make me who I am; they reveal whose I...

Breakthrough Discipline: Balancing Strategy & Execution

There’s much to consider under the broad banner of strategy and execution. The fact is that it’s relatively easier to develop a topnotch strategy, based on your industry’s future direction and competitive opportunities, than to discipline yourself to execute ‘stretch’ operating objectives. During growth periods this becomes even more difficult due to the challenge of hiring and training...

First Things First… Ensuring Liquidity

After God’s grace and providence, an entrepreneur’s most important asset may be liquidity (i.e. enough cash to operate through the upcoming period).When firms run out of cash, it’s “game over”! So, how can you stay on top of this key issue? First, maintain a forward-looking projection of net cash position by detailing major sources and uses of cash on a rolling basis (e.g., 6-12...

Righting the Ship to Ensure Operational Fitness

So what can you do, especially in a soft economy, if you find yourself with lots of cash tied up in operating capital to run the business? First, get serious about tracking each sub-category and assign responsibility to gatekeepers with goals to enhance performance by improving the number of ‘days’ of each type of operating capital. • Meet face-to-face to resolve issues with major slow...