Think about it, when the economy (i.e., GDP) is off a couple of percentage points from prior year, or unemployment is near 10%, we’re quick to bemoan the terrible business environment. Yet, the fact is that 90+% of folks still have their jobs and spending is 98% of prior year levels overall. It’s clear, in spite of the bankruptcies, foreclosures, inventory adjustments, and reduced big-ticket purchases that many businesses are operating fairly normally. In fact, some niches are booming, and the necessary belt-tightening in many other sectors is fairly modest. Because we become complacent in good times, preferring to let things run comfortably on autopilot, the hands-on leadership required during recessionary times seems like a painful intrusion on our otherwise routine lives. In fact, we know from Scripture that such trials, discipline, and pruning is often used by the Lord to build perseverance, character, and hope, while drawing us closer to God to produce a harvest of righteousness (e.g., Jn 15:1-4, Ro 5:3-5, He 12:11). Think of the travails of Abraham, Job, Joseph, Daniel, and David… and how the Lord blessed and used them due to their faithful perseverance and obedience. Consider the powerful resulting testimonies that honor God and still inspire us today. We have that same opportunity, as these timeless principles are still in operation today in the arena of business. The problem, to paraphrase commentator George Will, is that we’re great creatures of habit, doing the same things over and over, while only occasionally interrupted by an original thought.

First, let’s stop to remind ourselves of a few provocative facts:

• What got you here won’t get you there. Things change, even when we resist, causing a compelling need for us to adjust our offerings, methods, and staff core competencies if we’re to continue to provide a compelling customer value proposition. Necessity is often the mother of invention!

• For the thinking business leader, there are no commodities! It’s easy, especially in a recession to think that lower prices are all that matter and our company’s offerings are indistinguishable from our competitors. Focusing solely on competitors brings sameness, bloody price wars, and a loss of focus on what it takes to thrill customers with truly differentiated goods and services. For example, some might view copper as a commodity, but think about the differing ways it might be used (e.g., Siemens power plants, Carrier air conditioners, U.S. Mint pennies, Ford auto radiators, etc.)… all leading to differentiated selling, packaging and logistical support.

• Now is a great time for fresh thinking and perseverance in relooking at how to best serve customer needs! 50+% of companies on the 2009 Fortune 500 list were launched during a recession or bear market. The prize for companies who do what it takes to survive major economic dips — keeping a highly motivated staff nucleus in place and remaining a visible presence — is being first in line to address expanding customer demand with a sharpened offering when the rebound happens.

• The fundamentals of successful business – identifying customer needs and filling them well – haven’t changed. For those who are feeling beaten down, tired and ‘last generation,’ take note that the age group with the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity over the past decade are 55-64 year-olds! Those who ‘get it’ and regularly engage customers regarding their needs and hopes in any technical or supply niche will routinely uncover breakthrough business ideas!

We must shake ourselves out of our self-justifying tendencies, seeing things through the fixed prism that we’re most comfortable with, if we’re to move ahead and not choke off the good forward-looking ideas of our customers and staff. We so easily become trapped by our own past successes, methods, reputation, and words. Consider stopping, today, to deeply reconsider some of the unquestioned ‘givens’ in your business. Deeply engage your staff, as well as thoughtful and aggressive customers in the process. Take in raw, objective, third-party input along the way as grist for the discussion.

It’s obvious that businesses must continually adapt and reinvent various aspects of themselves (e.g., methods, processes, product lines, key staff, bundling of goods and services to address target customer needs) in order to stay relevant and healthy in a changing marketplace. So what’s changed in your target markets?

■ Relational joy with the Lord and others

■ investing in the health of our mind, body and soul

■ Intentionally developing our organization and market presence

■ Time for deep reflection and creative thought

  Indeed, if we travel through life with very little ‘margin,’ we’ll soon be overloaded with the many small, reactionary crises that naturally sprout from such habits.

 This modern sickness has become a ‘badge of courage’ for many! Proud of our ability to ‘keep all the plates spinning’ in such a breathless lifestyle, we often live like hamsters on a wheel! Many actually strive to live this way. Today’s mythical ‘super woman’ is one example of such thinking. You know the celebrated image: topflight executive, spouse, gourmet homemaker, and soccer mom, and church/community volunteer. While a few among us may be so supremely organized as to be able to pull-off such an expansive multi-tasking assignment, most either ‘crash and burn’ or severely neglect vital priorities in order to pursue such an idealized existence.

 Instead, we need a godly perspective on our priorities during this short life in the flesh if we’re to restore the balance needed to regain our emotional, spiritual, physical, financial, and time reserves in an ever-quickening digital age.  Our families, businesses, testimony, and eternal legacy depend on it!

  “Lord, teach me so to conceive time as an unrepeatable gift that I might live my life serenely with Your values in mind so that my life is lived to the full.”

Leaders lead, and leadership by example is the best technique as proven for thousands of years. No great leader has ever been a disciple of “Do as I say, not as I do.” Over and over again in the study of leadership, it comes out. The greatest leaders are those having volunteer followers. Inspiration through example moves people to follow more effectively and for longer duration than anything else.

Inspiring and influencing others to follow voluntarily is leadership in its purest form.
Of course, there are other forms of leadership such as totalitarian authority, positional, monarchical, or elected majority and so on, but in the operation of a highly effective and long term successful company, volunteer followers are what we need, not slaves, serfs, or robots.
Probably the antithesis of the type of leaders we are striving to illustrate would be the army which is based upon positional authoritarian leadership. There is no choice given to the followers, it’s either obey or be punished. The leaders are identified by their title and it alone qualifies them to direct, give orders and make decisions.

Jesus might be the greatest example of a true leader. He had no title or position, no real power other than truth and example. He led by example and the power of His vision.
Ghandi is another example of a basically powerless man who is acknowledged to have been a great leader who influenced by example.

In our companies, we are the leaders. We have a title which demands respect and we can utilize the army model of chain-of-command leadership and management if we choose to do so. Most companies do but most of the best companies do not.
In today’s world, and, seemingly even more so, tomorrow’s’ high performing companies use a different style. Modern leaders will be more like Jesus than Patton.
Influence will be more effective than positional power and developing the ability to be an effective influencer is key.

To close our time today, let’s hear the famous poet Edgar Guest as he says:

I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day,
   I’d rather one should walk with me than merely show the way.
The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear;
   Fine counsel is confusing, but examples always clear;
And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds,
   For to see the good in action is what everybody needs.
I can soon learn how to do it if you’ll let me see it done.
   I can watch your hands in action but your tongue too fast may run.
And the lectures you deliver may be very wise and true;
    But I’d rather get my lesson by observing what you do.                              

For I may misunderstand you and the high advice you give,
   But there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.

Our pricing policies influence how buyers interact with us and actually help to shape their behavior, which is why training and discipline in this area is so important. Our sales and order desk people should work to engage and understand the buyer upfront by asking a series of questions to ‘profile’ their objectives, personal perspective and readiness.  Based on their answers, we’d alter our presentation to maximize the fit of our offer.

Understanding the customer’s exact role in the buying process, along with what and why they’re buying, lets us to zero-in on their expectations. This helps us to meet or exceed these expectations, thereby justifying a healthy price for our products or services. Taking the time to initially engage and profile the customer enables us to understand how they’ll buy. Remember, they buy emotionally and justify intellectually. We must satisfy both needs so as not to derail the purchase. Customers don’t like the feeling of being sold something. They like to buy while being confirmed in the wisdom of their decision. Even when our selling offer is fairly standardized, customers want to feel that we’ve tailored something for just for them.

A customer’s experience with us generally involves three dimensions: quality (i.e., brand reputation,  features, durability, fitness for use), service (i.e., responsiveness, delivery, warranty, field support, ‘moments of truth’), and price (actually perceived value). Quality is now a prerequisite for long-term participation in most markets. Without it, you’ll be discounting prices and incurring cost premiums just to stay in relationship with skeptical customers. It’s service excellence that often separates outstanding companies from mediocre ones. Think about companies such as Disney, FedEx, Lexus, Ritz-Carlton, and American Express. They’re all ‘premium’ companies, offering a superior service experience that enables them to set the price in their field. It’s easy to match someone else’s price, but tough to match a well-run company’s service! Consider these results from a Rockefeller Corporation study on why customers defect:

• 4% die or move away
• 14% buy from a friend or a competitor
• 14% are dissatisfied with an aspect of the offering
• 68% believe you don’t care about them

Face it, if everyone were price conscious we’d all be driving Hyundais or Kias. Most people aren’t price sensitive as much as they’re value conscious. Studies show that just 15-35% of consumers consider price to be the chief factor. More than 60% don’t consider price at all and 80% remember the brand, not the price. In every product category, ‘high-involvement’ buyers outnumber ‘price-fixated’ shoppers more than two-to-one.

With this in mind, for pricing to become a core competency in our business we must take specific steps with our team to understand and incorporate the ‘five Cs’ of value:

• Comprehend value to customers (i.e., understand segment-based value drivers)
• Create value for customers (i.e., create/deliver segment-based value solutions)
• Communicate the value you create (i.e., tell them upfront and reinforce it later)
• Convince target customers to pay for value (must profile/know them to do this)
• Capture value with strategic and disciplined pricing based on value, not cost

At the end of the day, what we’re selling is value. If we can’t communicate this value, our team can’t maximize it and capture it with price during each customer engagement. By ignoring what drives customer value, we give the customer the upper hand in negotiations, resulting in lower pricing and profits.

Beyond the amazing personal realization that His Spirit lives in us once we come to Him in faith (Jn 14:16-17), and that this promise is eternal so that no one can ever snatch us out of His hand (Jn 10:27-30), God has ordained this wonderful union for a purpose: that the world may know (Jn 13:34-35). He is the vine and we are His branches (Jn 15:5). In John 17:20, Jesus prays that others will know Him through our message. Scripture reminds us that our example of living and working together in unity (Ps 133:1, Ro 15:5-6, Eph 4:1-3) glorifies Christ and helps others to see the truth. We use our spiritual gift s and callings for this purpose so that the Body of Christ may be built up in unity (Eph 4:12-13).

In the process of pursuing and promoting this Christ-centered ‘oneness’ in all God-given structures and relationships, others will be drawn toward a saving relationship with our eternal bridegroom, Jesus. Alternatively, when we lust after other ‘idols,’ or hunger to be personally ‘significant’ or fulfilled, we cripple our witness. Are you currently feeling incapable of having much of a transformational impact through your life and business? If so, reread this devotional and remind yourself of the truth that our faith can move mountains (Mt 17:21) and that He who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world (1Jn 4:4).

Let’s talk.
• Would others observe that you find your significance and satisfaction as a child of God and disciple of Christ? How does your leadership actively demonstrate thankfulness, submission to God and His Word, and the pursuit of unity with other believers?

• What’s currently derailing you from the intimacy, unity and oneness with Christ that transforms relationships and communities in this life?

Consider how God built His Church. As recounted in “Why Work?” (Nancy & Howard Olsen,M3 Planning, 2006), the Christian faith was birthed and flourished in the marketplace. Jesus, a small town carpenter, recruited His disciples in the marketplace where He also made 122 of His 132 New Testament public appearances. Of His 52 parables, 45 had workplace settings. The gospels were written by workplace professionals. After Pentecost, the explosion of believers happened all over the city. Those working with Paul to reach the Gentiles typically led lives which blended business and ministry. Of the 40 divine interventions recorded in Acts, 39 occurred in the marketplace. When the Jerusalem temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., the early Church moved its ‘center’ to Antioch, a vital merchant trading center. Fast-forwarding to America, our founders coupled faith with work in establishing a free nation “under God.” The subsequent ‘great awakenings’ in our history gained their momentum in the marketplace.

What does this mean for us? Did we really sign up for all of this? It’s certainly far more comfortable to view our vocation as simply a 40-60 hour-per-week job. But artificially dividing life into secular and sacred realms doesn’t square with God’s Word. The Puritans had it right in seeing our vocation broadly as God’s call to social, economic, civil, and church engagement as we serve His purpose, using our God-given talents and opportunities to serve others. Jesus didn’t say “go to church,” but rather He called His people to be the Church and “go out”! But we all have specific areas where we like to hang out and devote our energy, often at the exclusion of other priorities. Whether we’re workaholics, doting parents, “can’t say no” church volunteers, or obsessive hobbyists, we must be careful not to reshape God’s call on our life into a lopsided focus on one or two things while ignoring others. Puritan pastor Richard Baxter said, “Overdoing is the most ordinary way of undoing.” In contrast, ‘diligence’ simply involves a constant, motivated effort to do what God wants, by seeing every responsibility as an assignment from, and for, the Lord… nothing more, and nothing less.

Taking Stock
What we do in the midst of a recession greatly influences our long-term prospects for being a high-performing company with an uncommon sense of purpose and teamwork. For leaders, this is an ideal time to take a fresh look at the fundamentals of the business and ensure a solid foundation for the future..

The following 7-Point Gut Check gives each of us an opportunity to “take stock” by self-evaluating our real-time leadership in seven vital areas.
■Get Off the Ledge First things first! If you’re still operating in the red or running ‘close to the edge’ on cash, what (or who) are you waiting for? If your sources of funds don’t provide enough cash each month to meet your uses of funds, you’re playing a losing game or putting your head in the sand. If you haven’t done it already, it’s time to reset your resource/capacity levels to match your activity so that you can continue operating indefinitely and profitably at this level
■Build a Winning Team This is a great time to clearly communicate and then regularly reinforce alignment on your firm’s core principles (i.e., vision, purpose, and core values).
Deep engagement is necessary to ensure clear buy-in and to help employees coalesce into a solid team.
■‘Lean’ Sales and Marketing Are your marketing efforts disjointed and based on historical habits and generic sounding appeals? Or, are they unified and based on a very focused and distinctive core message delivered through the most productive communication channels, beginning with your name, tagline, signage, website, literature, stationary, email and targeted ad spending?
■Clean-up Historical Operating Problems and Compromises Now’s the time to get serious about eliminating repetitive waste (e.g., poor project plans and costly quality problems), unnecessary capacity, underperforming suppliers, and organizational ‘ankle weights’ (e.g., naysayers, upward delegators, untrustworthy teammates, and accountability avoiders).
■Refocus around Planning and Execution Discipline Allowing multiple agendas in the same company is crippling. Involve key employees and staff leaders in the planning process and hold them responsible for delivering their piece of the Plan (e.g., revenue growth, cost, asset turns, etc.). Engage them in building the business ‘on paper’ with a fresh plan.
■Establish a Culture that Integrates Learning, Accountability, and Performance Pay A team that’s seriously engaged in making its Plan will constantly confront ‘off-Plan’ areas, hold each other accountable, and celebrate successes together. Share the pain and the gain, while cultivating a culture of ‘owners’ and committed ‘professionals.’
■Unwavering Personal Witness It’s incumbent on us to communicate clearly and lead with grace when making changes that negatively impact others. As a steward, servant leader, and Christ follower, we’re to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in all seasons. Do we exhibit His peace in the midst of the storm?

Reflect on each of these seven areas. Any low score is worthy of personal reflection and prayer, discussion, and staff brainstorming to probe ways to remedy and elevate your company’s performance.
How can your leadership help your team to use this recession as a foundation strengthening time that provides a fine launching pad for the future?

Marlon Brando’s pitiful angst in delivering the most famous line in 1954’s“best picture,” On the Waterfront, still resonates with us since it deals with a common condition: being burdened by regret for previous actions and lost opportunities. Brando’s character, Terry Malloy, was reflecting on his young life and the way he’d squandered his opportunity to have “class” and “be somebody.” An up-and-coming prizefighter from a tough neighborhood, he had settled for ‘chump change’ in throwing a fight that might have led to a title shot. This led to a series of compromises and a season of inconsolable regret in which he felt trapped, in the prime of life, by his previous mistake. The film finishes on a victorious note, in which Terry does “become somebody.” Although he didn’t become a champion fighter, he became a local hero, a leader at work, got the girl, and was mentored by a local priest. Like the thief on the cross (Luke 23:39-43), Terry’s actions proved the axiom, “It’s not how you start, but how you finish.”

Jesus’ brother, Jude, wrote to motivate Christians everywhere to action and to warn us about the eternal cost of living a nominal Christian life. Scripture tells us to cast all our cares upon Jesus, because He cares for us (1Peter 5:7). Proverbs 24:16 says, “A righteous man falls seven times and gets back up.” As God’s children who can never be snatched from His hand (John 10:28) and are entrusted with His truth that will never be broken or pass away (Matthew 24:35, John 10:35), we’ve been commissioned to contend for the faith. We can do this going forward with the unshakeable confidence that our life and work truly matter for eternity and that our past, present and future have been redeemed in Christ!

As Christ’s disciples, whatever our previous track record, we can be encouraged by two key facts.

First, we don’t do these things on our own; we have an awesome Lord who strengthens and cheers us along the way, picking us up and washing us off when we stumble.

Second, it’s never too late to be refined, seek God’s purposes, and finish strong.

Jude exhorts us to share God’s truth, reject falsehood and immoral practices, celebrate God’s goodness, live faithfully, and share Christ’s love.

Let’s begin our implementation focus by looking at the leadership practices which Reichheld’s research determined to be common among companies enjoying the greatest loyalty from customers and employees. Loyalty Rules highlights business practices that read like a C12 playbook, including the Golden Rule, pursuing excellence, simplicity, honesty, fairness, respect, personal accountability, and performance pay. These traits were distilled into six ‘loyalty principles’ to help to shape metrics, compensation systems, organizational development, strategy, and operations. As we review each element, make a mental note as to how your company fares.

Six Pillars of Loyalty

 Play to win/win: Profiting at the expense of partners is a shortcut to a ‘dead end’! Focus solely on opportunities/niches where you can become the best. Align partners around overarching objectives to upgrade the customer experience, and insist on win/win solutions. Shed distractions, sharpen plans and processes, and teach win/win behavior. Paul also taught this, saying, “Let each of you ‘look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.’” (Php 2:4).

 Be picky: Membership is a privilege! Loyalty requires making choices. Cultivate business relationships only when both sides can provide special value or you’ll soon dilute your value and be special to no one. Choose employees, customers, and suppliers carefully, through a win/win lens. Invest in their success and stick with them for the long-term… if they earn the privilege through performance. Loyalty is a two-way street!

 Keep it simple: Complexity is the enemy of speed and flexibility! Clarify the values and rules that govern all decisions. Use small teams to maximize responsiveness, flexibility and accountability. Maintain simple, stable, visual scorekeeping. Reduce overhead ‘interference’ by growing your business without growing HQ staff. Focus on continuous improvement and ‘the future.’ Remember, whatever doesn’t add customer value is waste!

 Reward the right results: Worthy partners deserve worthy goals! Align performance targets so that all partners stretch, together, for worthy goals. Share the benefits while strengthening the company. Don’t confuse long-term value with short-term profits, or loyalty with tenure. Measure the right things and fix ‘misalignments.’ Reward loyalty among employees, suppliers and customers with win/win growth and development opportunities.

 Listen hard, talk straight: Long-term relationships require honest, two-way communication and learning! Loyalty is based on trust, and trust requires reliable and accurate information. Deepen working relationships using feedback tools and joint forums to drive improvement. Listen to input, prioritize issues, and act on what you hear. Shared learning and understanding yields clearer priorities, coordinated actions, and superior results. Nothing magnifies the ‘loyalty effect’ like trust rooted in an open exchange of information and ideas. Confront ‘brutal facts’ in a way that exemplifies the truth being spoken in love (e.g., regular report cards, real-time metrics)!

 Preach what you practice: Actions often speak louder than words, but together they’re unbeatable! Clarify your principles and communicate them with passion. They’re the gravitational center for organization focus and loyalty, enabling your partners to understand, buy in, and become truly loyal. Put it in writing, talk the walk, continually teach and reinforce these practices. Celebrate internal heroes, share edifying stories and illustrative case studies. Continually cast the vision of where we’re going and how we’ll get there, based on mutually earned loyalty.

As leaders prone to pride and works of righteousness, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we’re somehow becoming more Christ-like by our own efforts. Sure, we know we’re saved by grace, but we’d like to think that our works make us more holy. In the heat of the daily battle we can forget that, apart from our identity in Christ, what we bring to the party – even on our best day – is “as filthy rags”(Isa 64:6). By leaning on our own righteousness, we damage our testimony with each offense, and push away many to whom we’re called to minister by our self-righteous behavior. In truth, our holiness depends on faithfully abiding in Jesus, which is made possible by His grace. John Piper recently said, “Grace isn’t simply leniency when we’ve sinned. Grace is the enabling gift of God not to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon.” For believers, God’s grace is active in saving us in Christ, sanctifying us in His image, and bringing us safely home!

Confident in God’s grace, we have the privilege of presenting ourselves, in gratitude, as living sacrifices and His ambassadors! When selfless works flow out of a heart that is grateful for such unmerited favor, others can often begin to see the reality of Christ’s love and gospel. With this truth in mind, let’s consider a few questions:

■Jesus told Paul that His “grace is sufficient” and His “power is made perfect in weakness.” How does this relate to us today as servant leaders and shepherds in the workplace?

■Do we behave or communicate as if “God is fortunate to have us on His team”?How can our ‘righteous’ behavior, often rooted in a misplaced sense of guilt or pride, create a stumbling block to others who truly need to hear Christ’s gospel of grace?

■Practically speaking, what does ‘humble reliance’ look like for us and how can this open the door with others to sharing the hope we have in Christ?