Christian Business Concepts
Christian Business Concepts
Leading With Impact: The Power of Adding Value To Others
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Unlock the power of integrating faith with leadership as we explore how Christian business leaders can make profound impacts by aligning their practices with biblical principles. What if the timeless lessons from Jesus' parables could transform your leadership style and enhance your business success? Join me, Harold Milby, on Christian Business Concepts, where we focus on how adding value to employees, vendors, and customers fosters engagement, a thriving workplace culture, and long-term success. We discuss the transformative potential of servant leadership, ethical decision-making, and fair treatment, not only as drivers of business growth but as a testament that glorifies God.
In this episode, we also explore strategies for nurturing employee growth and wellness through continuous learning and a balanced work-life approach. Learn how embracing challenges, exhibiting integrity, and promoting spiritual, financial, and professional development can inspire your team to greatness. With insights from faith-driven leaders like Truett Cathy and Henry Heinz, we examine how to create a purpose-driven workplace by integrating Christian values, encouraging community engagement, and supporting initiatives aligned with biblical teachings. Embark on this journey with us to see how your work can be part of a greater mission, inspiring those around you to contribute to a transformative business environment.
Welcome to the Christian Business Concepts with your host, harold Milby. Christian Business Concepts is dedicated to guiding companies and business owners in becoming effective, efficient and successful through God's Word and godly principles. Now, here's your host, harold Milby.
Speaker 2:Great job, kelly. Welcome everyone to this week's Christian Business Concepts Podcast. I'm so glad that you've decided to download and listen to this episode and hope you'll become a part of the CBC family on a regular basis. You know, each week I try to apply biblical principles to different business topics to help you find true godly success. I'm your host, harold Milby, and it's always my hope and my prayer that you are encouraged and enlightened and empowered by these podcasts. I also hope that you'll help us to reach one million leaders, business owners and organizational leaders with the gospel and these godly principles. Now, before we jump into today's topic, I want to give a big shout out to Paris, france, for all of their support and downloads. We hope you are blessed through the CBC ministry and hope you'll continue to help us grow by sharing this podcast with others. We ask that you reach out and maybe put it on your Facebook page or put a link to our podcast on your Facebook page or your LinkedIn page either one or both if you have both. So anyway, we do appreciate every single one of you. I'm humbled every week when I look at the numbers and I look at the countries around the world that are participating, at what we're trying to do, and so I'm just so thankful for you all.
Speaker 2:Well, let's jump right into today's topic. You know Christian business leaders have a very unique opportunity to impact their employees, to impact others, by integrating biblical principles into their leadership. You know most of all of the parables that you read in the Bible that Jesus spoke. Most of them use some form of a business to get his point across. Business was a very big part of the day back then. You either were in business for yourself or you worked for a business. So business was very big back then. But business, you know, if you owned a business whether you were, you herded sheep or whether you had cattle or camels or crops or whatever you had a lot of influence over your employees. You can see that in the New Testament, where whole households gave their life to Christ under the leadership of the owner of the business. When the Bible talks about in the Old and the New Testament, when it talks about a household, that also meant the servants and the employees and the family, so it meant everyone, and so if you really look at that in the Word of God, it really dealt a lot with business, which is why we have a heart here at CBC to do what we're doing, and so this business leader, a business leader's role. It extends beyond just overseeing the operations and driving profitability. If you're going to be effective, effective leadership really involves adding value to employees and other stakeholders, where you foster this environment of growth and motivation and mutual success you know the Bible talks about in 1 Thessalonians, 5 and 11,. It says therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing so.
Speaker 2:Today we want to talk about how you add value, the importance of adding value and how that affects other people's lives and even your own life. Hal Elrod said one time always seek people who will add value to your life and bring the best in you and, of course, be that person for others. So we should always be looking to add value to people's life. Whether you're a leader, whether you're a manager, whether you're an employee, you always want to look for how you can add value to other people's lives. Now, why is that important in business? Well, when you add value to people around you your employees, your vendors, your customers, when you try to add value, what happens is number one you have better employee engagement and you retain your employees. You know when they feel like, when employees feel like they're valued, they just become more productive and they're more likely to remain within your organization. So you don't have to hire new people all the time and train people all the time. The next thing is you have an enhanced workplace culture. So then you begin to have a culture of appreciation and growth. And what does that do? Well, that leads to a more positive work environment. You have people that are collaborating, and then the next positive thing is that you get improved performance. You know, when people and employees receive consistent support, they get consistent development opportunities. They tend to perform at a higher level. Then you also have reputation, your reputation and business growth. You know, a leader who invests in their team fosters a very strong employer brand. It becomes part of your brand, and we'll talk about some of those companies today. But you'll also attract the top talent, which is what you want to in your business. And then when you do that, you're really when you do these things you're really creating more of a long-term success success. So that's why adding value is important.
Speaker 2:And why should business leaders Christian business leaders, you know why should they create value? Well, first of all, you have a biblical mandate for servant leadership. You know Jesus exemplified servant leadership, you know, in Mark 10, 45, he says for even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve. So Christian leaders are called to follow Christ's example. You need to prioritize service over your own self-interest. And true leadership is really about lifting up others and fostering this spirit of humility and stewardship there within your organization.
Speaker 2:Number two reflecting God's love and business. You know that doesn't make you a pushover. But you know, when you demonstrate compassion and integrity in your business, it aligns. It aligns with the word of God. Matthew 5 and 16 says let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. And part of reflecting this God's love in business is your ethical decision-making, your fair treatment of employees. See, this all creates a testimony that attracts others not only to your business but attracts others to Christ. You know, employees and customers alike are drawn to businesses that operate with authenticity and that operate with biblical principles, even though they may not understand exactly what you're doing, but they notice that you have a different company and a different culture. And then, number three, you're fulfilling the Great Commission through your business. You know, christian leaders have this unique opportunity to share their faith by how they conduct their business and treat others. It's in your actions and workplaces can become a mission field. I mean, you know, and that way your employees, your clients, they see firsthand the impact of faith-driven leadership. Colossians 3.23,.
Speaker 2:You've heard me say it many times before whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters. It's important that what you're doing right now in your business, you're doing and you work for the Lord and for God's glory, and that is part of your purpose, or should be part of your purpose. So what are some of these areas? That's what I want to talk about. What are the main areas that you can add value to people in your life? What are some of the areas where you can add value? Well, first of all, there's mentally, and when I mean mentally, I mean your personal growth, a person's personal growth and mindset. You know you're encouraging self-improvement, you're helping them to become confident, You're helping them with emotional intelligence and you're helping them to have a positive mindset, and when you do these things, you can help people grow and really I would consider to be the best version of that person and the ways that you can add value mentally through personal growth and mindset.
Speaker 2:Number one is to encourage continuous learning. You need to provide training, maybe have some mentorship, development opportunities. So that's one thing. Another is to promote this growth mindset. So how do you do that? Well, you help your employees to embrace challenges and help them to learn from mistakes and setbacks. Next, it's you model, model integrity, model, ethical leadership. And to do that, you lead. Lead with example, lead by example, be honest, have humility and a servant's heart. And then you need to inspire. Inspire with a faith-based encouragement. Faith-based encouragement. Offer words of wisdom, give them biblical encouragement during meetings and interactions. You don't even have to quote scripture. There's plenty in the Word of God that talks about how you can encourage others and you can instill wisdom and knowledge into them, and you should do that. You can offer training programs to help them to just enhance their skills. And another big thing is encourage work-life balance. You know, don't encourage your employees to put all their energy into work, but help them to have a good balance between work and life. Employees to put all their energy into work, but help them to have a good balance between work and life. That's important. And then support them when they want to get further and additional education or maybe some certifications. You know, help them. Help them with those efforts, support them with those efforts.
Speaker 2:You know Truett, cathy, who was the founder of Chick-fil-A. We all know about Chick-fil-A being a Christian business, but you know, cathy, you know he focused on faith-driven business practices. You know he. You know faithfully, still to this day they're closed on Sundays. He established scholarship programs for employees and contributed to various youth and family charities and his company provides very strong values, a lot of leadership training and servant leadership training. So he is a great example of that.
Speaker 2:But you want to invest and you want to add value mentally. Next, you want to add value physically, that's their health and their well-being. So you want to be supportive of physical, mental and emotional health through good habits, through fitness and nutrition, being mindful of their bodies and self-care, and some ways to do that and to add value. That way is, again, you want to support this work-life balance. Don't just talk about it, but I mean be serious about it. Do something, you know encourage flexible work schedules, encourage reasonable workloads and taking on the right amount. Then you can promote physical and mental wellness. You know you can provide wellness programs, mental health resources, encourage healthy habits. You know a lot of health insurance companies out there right now have all kinds of programs to help people to quit smoking, for example, and they will help you reward your employees for that, and so there's some things like that that you can do and look into and then you just create this positive work culture, create an environment of trust and respect and encouragement. That way they'll believe in what you're trying to help them with and then pray for and with your employees. There's nothing wrong with that. That's not against the law. If they want you to pray for them, you certainly can. You can offer prayer and support for employees in times of need. There's companies out there who provide chaplains. You know there are people that hand out prayer cards at the beginning of every week. Those are collected and given to the owner or to some of the leadership and those people pray for those employees, you know, throughout the week.
Speaker 2:You know a lot of people know Heinz Heinz Company. It's a big, mult-billion dollar company. But Henry Heinz, the founder of HJ Heinz Company, he had a lot of faith-based business practices. You know he was a devout Christian. He founded the Heinz Company with a commitment to quality and integrity because he felt like that's what he owed the Lord. He attributed his success to his faith, with a commitment to quality and integrity, because he felt like that's what he owed the Lord. He attributed his success to his faith and he implemented a lot of Christian principles in his business operations. He had a great employee welfare program. He was known for really treating his employees with respect and fairness and providing a lot of amenities like free medical care. He had recreational facilities, educational opportunities, even in the community. He engaged a lot in the community, where he actively participated in the World Sunday School Movement, and he emphasized the importance of moral education and community involvement, of moral education and community involvement.
Speaker 2:Now, the next area of a person's life that you can add value is what I call the interpersonal part, which is relationships and social life. So you're helping people build stronger connections, improve their communication skills and to know how to nurture and have a meaningful relationship with family, with friends, with co-workers and with other people. That's the interpersonal part that you can add value. How do you do that? Well, again, you lead with servant leadership. Prioritize serving your team rather than exercising power over them, encourage teamwork, encourage collaboration. You foster a culture of this and it creates a lot of unity, it creates cooperation. And then be a mentor, be a role model. You don't have to do that with everybody, but you should have someone you mentor in your life, guide and support employees beyond just their work responsibilities.
Speaker 2:I know that the person that I worked for for over 23 years or 22 years is a person that I highly respect, and he was not, you know, I didn't agree with everything that he did, but one of the things that he did for me that I was so appreciative of is that he helped me and there were times that I got a lot of good advice from him for personal things, not just work responsibilities, but personal things. He really helped me in my life in some critical times in my life and you know he was just tremendous in that way and he was a great mentor. You know, to me Never found anybody like that since, to be quite honest. And then you want to engage in community outreach. You know, organize some charity events, maybe some mission trips or any kind of service initiatives to give back to the community. You know David Green. He was the founder of Hobby Lobby. You know Green built Hobby Lobby based on Christian principles. Again, they closed on Sundays. That was a big thing to them. He insured fair wages for employees and he's donated hundreds of millions of dollars to Christian ministries and mission work. And his leadership really reflects servant leadership and he believed in adding value to employees and customers and it was much more important to him than the profits.
Speaker 2:Now, the next area of somebody's life that you can help develop and add value is financially. You know we're talking career and finances. By providing guidance on professional development, help them with financial understanding, you know, help them to understand how finances work and maybe help them to understand entrepreneurship and wealth building to help them create a stability in their life and help them create success. So how can you do that? How can you add value in that area? Well, you can invest in that employee's growth. You know you can pay for some leadership training. There's also, you know, promotions when it fits it, when it fits the situation, but you want to have some professional development opportunities. You know Ken Blanchard, a great business leader. He said leadership is not about you, it's about investing in the growth of others, and I believe that. I believe that's one of the reasons we're here on this earth.
Speaker 2:The other thing that you need to do is offer some fair and very ethical compensation. Make sure that your employees are paid fairly and they're treated with dignity. And then teach people stewardship. Teach them how to understand, like I said, understand finances and support innovation. Empower your people. Empower your employees with the resources and the knowledge to start, or grow, maybe their own business. That sometimes is harder to do because you don't want to let go of a good employee but you don't want to hold them back. You don't want to hold them back. And then be sure to support charitable initiatives. Let the employees see that you do that. Encourage employees to volunteer. You know I have a niece that works for a large power company and that company really encourages their employees. They don't demand it, they can't, but they do really encourage their employees to be a big part of charities, and so you can do the same thing. You know Rich DeVos.
Speaker 2:He was the co-founder of Amway, which he believed in value driven leadership. As a Christian, devos infused his faith into Amway's corporate culture. He promoted principles like integrity and responsibility and stewardship. He focused on empowering individuals through entrepreneurship, because Amway was like having your own business. Actually, I knew a couple of people who became very wealthy through Amway and he believed in providing a lot of opportunities for financial independence and personal growth, which is one of the reasons that he even started Amway.
Speaker 2:And then the next area of a person's life that you can add value to is their spiritual life. You know, we're talking about spirituality, we're talking about purpose. Help them to find a deeper meaning in life, to help them to find fulfillment and a sense of purpose through faith and personal values or contributing to something that's bigger than themselves. You know, john F Kennedy said efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction. So how can we add value in this area? Well, you can encourage faith in the workplace. You can create optional Bible study groups. You can have prayer meetings, daily devotionals. Folks, let me tell you, that is not against the law. Actually, it's protected by law. As long as you don't demand that those people attend those things, as long as you're not unfair that those people attend those things, as long as you're not unfairly giving promotions to those who do and then not to those who do not go and attend, you can't do that, but you can make them available. You can even participate in them, but you are protected by law doing those things, and so I just want to encourage you.
Speaker 2:I love to hear, when I hear, things about businesses who have these Bible study groups and prayer meetings. The other thing that you can do is you can lead, lead with biblical principles and share. Maybe the reason that you're making a change in the business is because you know the Bible talks about this or the Bible talks about that. Again, you're protected to share those kinds of things, and so they can see that those decisions that you make reflect Christian values like honesty, like kindness and generosity, and then foster a culture of purpose. Help your employees see their work as part of a greater mission and a greater calling, because we're all called. We're all called I've said this for years we're all called to be ministers, but we can be called to minister to other people in our jobs and through a lot of other areas and ways, and then support charities, support mission work, allocate some of your company resources or profits towards some causes that really align with Christian values.
Speaker 2:You know Tim Tebow, nfl football player, who is also the founder of the Tim Tebow Foundation. Though he's not really a traditional business leader, tim Tebow has actually created a foundation that helps children with disabilities and it really is attacking this human trafficking. So he helps the survivors of that, he works with orphans and his leadership has really inspired businesses and individuals to use their business, their platform, for good. So these are the areas that you have that you can actually help. Now, you know, the other thing that you need to do when you're adding value is you need to go beyond the workplace, you know, get into the community, become involved in the community and partner with some local things and local charities and sponsor community service projects. You know there's some good community projects and charities that are out there that are not necessarily church-oriented or even Christian-oriented in that way, but they're doing and they're acting upon Christian principles, whether they know it or not, and like a lot of the food banks, those are great charities to work with and then go and maybe be involved in evangelism.
Speaker 2:So how can I do evangelism? Well, first of all, just be Christ-like in your behavior. Well, first of all, just be Christlike in your behavior and you don't have to be aggressive towards people and preach at them or anything like that, but just be open to have these conversations about your faith and lead by example through ethical and compassionate. Be compassionate towards others. Be a compassionate leader. John Maxwell, who is a great leadership expert and author, he's globally really he's around the world. He's recognized as a great leadership speaker and he teaches Christian-based leadership principles. He's trained millions of business leaders to lead with integrity and servant leadership and purpose, and he uses his platform to support faith-driven leadership development globally. He has one ministry in particular where they go into other countries and they meet with the government leaders to teach them Christian leadership principles, and that's something that they do. They don't charge the governments for it and it's all a volunteer group of people that go, and so I just want to encourage you to go outside the four walls of your business and be involved in some other things, and that I think you can do and I think you'll be successful at it.
Speaker 2:You know, matthew 5, 14 through 16 says you are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a candle and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house In the same way. Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. One of the most fulfilling things that you will ever do in this life is to add value to others. Fulfilling things that you will ever do in this life is to add value to others. The quickest way to get to the level that you want to be at is to help other people get to their next level, and that starts by adding value. So just try to imagine an organization that is taught this and that has this kind of culture.
Speaker 2:And if we had businesses, thousands of businesses like that around the world, what would our world be like? It would definitely be different than what we see today. You know, luke 6, 38 in the Amplified Bible says give and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, with no space left for more. For with the same standard of measurement you use when you do good to others, it will be measured to you in return. That's important for us to understand.
Speaker 2:Lord, I come before you in the name of your son, jesus, and I ask that those who have listened to this podcast Lord, I pray even as myself. Lord, as we see our worlds, lord, help us to see the world that we live in, lord, as these great spheres of influence. Lord, so help us to see it as fertile ground. Lord, that we can add value to others, not merely as opportunities to get where we want to go. But, lord, help us to not be selfish in our ambitions and help us to raise others. Help us to raise others higher, lord, to lift them up in ways that we can help them find your success in their lives. And, lord, I pray that in the name of Jesus, amen.
Speaker 2:Well, thanks again for downloading and listening to this podcast and for being a part of the CBC community. Be sure to go to the CBC website at wwwchristianbusinessconceptsorg and you can check out some of the free resources that we have available to you. Just click on the resources tab and you'll see them. So thanks again for helping us reach a million business leaders, owners, managers and others find true godly success by sharing this podcast again with four or five other people and on your LinkedIn and Facebook pages. We love you, we appreciate you and we appreciate what God is doing in your life. May God bless you and keep you. Well, that's all the time we have for this week, so until next time. Remember Jesus is Lord and he wants you blessed.
Speaker 1:Thank you for tuning into this week's Christian Business Concepts podcast. Go to christianbusinessconceptscom for more information and resources. Be sure to check out other podcasts that will help you take your business and your personal life to a whole new level of success.