GEO Principle Blog

Look for God when times are good if you want to see Him more clearly when times are bad

Earlier this week in my state, there was a hearing at the Capitol featuring several bankers. They told their stories. I want to share a little bit of it here because I think it provides fodder for thought about where God might be in our lives. Consider these two situations:

 

The owner of a bar and restaurant wanted to expand his business in 2005. The town had a major employer –- a company that employed 1,200 people who worked all three shifts. At the end of each shift, many of those employees would stop into the bar/restaurant; business was good. It seemed like a good time to expand. Based on 2005 cash flow and modest growth projections, the owner obtained a loan from a local bank to construct a new building.

 

The banker explained that since then, the major employer has reduced employment to 200 people. No one stops into the restaurant after their shift anymore. The owner’s cash flow is no longer sufficient to cover the loan payments on the new building. Needless to say, he is behind on the loan.

 

In a second example, the banker introduced us to a husband, who worked at the major employer, and a wife, who ran a daycare center in their home. The housing market was strong in 2005 when they decided to move into a bigger home. The bank qualified them for a loan based on his income and her daycare revenue. Today, the banker explained, the husband is without a job and uncertain about when or if he will be called back to work. The wife’s daycare business is off substantially because many of the children she used to care for had parents at the major employer. Many of them have been laid off, too, so they no longer have need for daycare services. The couple can no longer afford to make mortgage payments.

 

A lot of people are suffering in these examples: 1,000 people who were laid off; a restaurant owner who wanted to expand, a couple that wanted a nicer home, and a banker who made loans that went bad. Nobody wins in these situations. Yet, during this recession, these kinds of scenarios are playing out all across the country.

 

God is in Every Occupation; where was God when the restaurant owner decided to expand? Where was God when all those people got laid off from the major employer? Where was God when the couple decided to buy the bigger house? And where was God when the banker made these loans? It is very difficult to answer these questions for someone else, but I think if we find ourselves in a difficult situation we need to answer the question for ourselves. The answer might not be obvious, but there is an answer. God is always there; but He is not always easy to see. The better we know Him, the easier He will be to see. Sometimes, we begin to look for God only after things in our life have fallen apart. God's place in our life can usually be seen more clearly if we also look when things are going well.

 

The economy is very difficult to predict. Times change. There will be good time and bad times. We will do a lot better if we focus on what is constant rather than on what changes.

9/11 changed the workplace forever

A week has passed since the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, giving us time for the meaning of the tribunes and commemorations to sink in. It was a horrible day that Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, when the airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania, killing more than 3,000 people. You probably remember where you were when it happened.

I remember some of the conversations that took place in the office during the immediate months after the attacks. There was a real sense of empathy for the people in the World Trade Center. These were just regular workers, like people in the labor force all over the country. These were moms and dads, single people and older people, who came to work on time, like any other day. They were doing their jobs, and then -- bam -- it was all over. The planes hit and that was it. Especially for those people in the tower struck by that first airplane, there was no warning. There was no opportunity to set your things in order, to say goodbye to loved ones, nor to prepare in any way.

Sudden death for so many people in an office setting got people thinking about big picture concepts in the context of the office. In my own office, many questions came up -- how could God allow this to happen? Is there an afterlife? What is the meaning of life if it can be taken away so suddenly? Was 9/11 some kind of punishment? These are great and important questions for anyone to ask themselves and to ask trusted friends, whether those people are family members or colleagues in the office.

Post 9/11 America is different from pre-9/11 America in a lot of ways. One small way that it is different is that I think we are now freer to talk about life's big questions in the office. This historic attack shows how vulnerable we are and how precious life is -- and this was shown in the context of the workplace, the office, not on the typical desert or jungle battlefield. I don't think you ever have to wonder whether it is okay to bring up a question about God in the break room at work. People are now more aware that life-altering events happen at any time. This opens the door to talk about the meaning of those events at almost any time.

It takes lots of faith to succeed in work world

I have been told that I am trying to force a square peg into a round hole. In other words, others have told me that you can't force faith into the work world. The thinking is that faith and work are really two entirely separate things and that it is unrealistic to talk about the two as if they can be integrated, or as if they go together.

But I maintain that faith and work go together, naturally and beautifully. They are not from two different worlds, but I am convinced they both come from God and they should both point us back to God; ideally, they will do that together.

Consider all the faith it takes to make it in the commercial world. You study for years in school, devoting a lot of money and time to learning, all because you have faith that the market will value your acquired knowledge and reward it with work in the form of a good-paying job. There is no guarantee that a college grad will get a job; those college students are acting on faith -- even more so today as they rack up thousands of dollars in debt to do so.

The entrepreneur really acts on faith. An entrepreneur looks around and tries to figure out what society will value more than the money it has. When an entrepreneur thinks he has figured out an answer, he invests his own time and money into creating that new product or service. Then, he offers it to the world, on the faith that the world will respond. The entrepreneur does not know to what extent the public will respond, but he has faith that it will be sufficient to make his effort worthwhile.

My point is, those who succeed in business have to have faith. You have to have faith in your own ability to deliver, and you have to have faith in others to value what you have to offer, whether that be in the form of a company that hires you or in the form of the public that decides to pay for your work.

The first step to believing in God is to believe in something outside of yourself. Believing in God means believing that the world is about more than just you; it means seeing yourself accurately in the world and understanding, at least somewhat, what your role is in the world. In order to succeed in the job market, to succeed in the business world or to succeed as an entrepreneur, you need to understand others and you need to believe in others, plus you need to know yourself well enough to identify your role in the world. This understanding puts a person well on their way toward establishing a relationship with God.

The benefits of smoking and drinking

David Zach, the Milwaukee-based futurist I wrote about last week, concluded the presentation he delivered to 200 business people with a few suggestions about how to get more out of life. His top to suggestions: start smoking and start drinking!

He was kidding, of course, and his suggestions drew a big laugh from the crowd, but these two tips were not without their point.

Smokers, he said, take breaks, and that's a good thing. Too many people work all day without ever taking a break. In fact, some people even boast about never taking a break, but the fact is, we all need to take breaks. Even if only for two or three minutes, a break refreshes, it gives you a chance to stretch, it rests your eyes. If you go outside, the fresh air surely will do you good.

Furthermore, Zach noted that people who smoke bond with other people with whom they would otherwise never mingle. In the break room or outside the back entry to the office building, you may  find the CEO or other high-level manager chatting with an entry-level employee as they both smoke a cigaret. 

With respect to drinking, he encouraged it in the context of a mid-day meal. He said people should go out to lunch more often. "The average American spends less than 15 minutes having lunch, and people usually eat lunch alone at their desk," Zach said. Most people spend far more time with their computer at work than they do with another person, Zach observed.

The point is, make time to visit with other people. Don't discount the pleasure of a good meal. Take time to enjoy the beautiful things in life, including good food and conversation. Furthermore, make an effort to enjoy these things in the company of others. "Go out for lunch," Zach encouraged. "When you break bread, you break barriers."

Etiquette is about respecting others

We all know that we are supposed to "love our neighbor;" the GEO Principle contends that includes people at work. Your work colleagues are as much your neighbors as the guy who lives next door.

So how should we love our work colleagues? It is easy to say we should love our colleagues but what does that actually mean? Well, this article posted at Career Builder, is a pretty good start. There are no shocking insights presented, just common sense suggestions for getting along. But each suggestion in the article is a good reminder.

Etiquette is about respecting those around you; respect is the basis of any loving relationship. If you are going to love your neighbor, including those at work, you need to start with basic respect.

Loving someone at work ultimately means wanting what is best for them, even if it means a little less for you. It might take a while to get to that point in a relationship with a work colleague, but a basis of respect is a great starting point.

Consider seriously the concerns others bring to you

Bringing God to work means loving those around us; let me give one example of how to show those around you at work that you love them: take their concerns seriously. 

Do you know what it is like to have a concern and have others dismiss it like it's not important, as if it's no big deal? I think we all know when it has happened to us. Here is a very small example. I go to a store to buy a pair of pants. They fit okay but the legs are too long. The salesperson says, "no problem, just hem them up." The salesperson dismisses my concern about the length of the pants. Inside, I'm thinking "Where am I going to get them hemmed up? How do I do that? I don't have a tailor. I can't do this myself." The salesperson didn't solve my problem, he dismissed it -- and me in the process.

Or I think about a recent experience I had buying a refrigerator. The salesperson encouraged us to get one of those models that automatically makes ice cubes. I asked how that works and the salesperson said a pipe connects the refrigerator to a water pipe in the house. I know little about plumbing and this sounded complicatedto me. I was concerned about how I would connect to my home's plumping. I shared my concern but the salesperson dismissed it as insignificant. "It's simple," he said. "There are written instructions included." I ended up going somewhere else for the refrigerator.

In both these cases, the salesperson dismissed my concerns, which I admit may have seemed trivial to them. To me, nonetheless, they were serious concerns. I was the one who would have to take care of the problem, and I was the one who would have to live with the results. If I connected the refrigerator to the wrong pipe, I am the one who would be stuck fixing yet another problem. In both examples, I would have felt much better if the salesperson had discussed my concern at greater length and then offered real solutions to help me, not solutions that merely made it obvious he wanted to complete the sale and move on as quickly as possible to the next customer.

These are sales examples, but I am sure most of you reading this can think of examples in your work setting -- perhaps with a boss or colleague -- where you have been earnestly concerned about something and the other person does not take your concern seriously. This attacks your dignity. This makes you feel bad, a little less human. Knowing what it feels like to have your concerns ignored or dismissed provides motivation to fully consider the concerns of those around you. You do not want to make others feel as you might feel when your concerns are dismissed.

When someone brings a concern to you, you cannot always solve it. But what you can do is let the person tell you about their concern, listen patiently, try to understand the concern as thoroughly as possible, even if you don't think the concern is particularly serious. Don't tell them their concern is unimportant. If the concern seems unimportant to you, then share the information you have which mitigates the situation. But share the information in a manner which comforts them, not dismisses them.

If someone brings you a concern, suggest solutions. Offer to be a part of the solution, if you can. Don't downplay the cost of the solution. The refrigurator salesman told me I could get a plumber to set up the icemaker in my new appliance for "a few bucks." Hiring a plumber always costs more than a few bucks. Downplaying the cost of a particular solution is just another way to dismiss the concern.

My point is, take the time to work through concerns when people bring them to you. If people take you seriously enough to bring a concern to you, then the best way you can respect their human dignity is to consider their concern seriously enough to help them truly resolve it.

Authenticity, a key to business success, starts on a personal level

I had the opportunity to listen to B. Joseph Pine talk about customer service recently. He has this new book out, in which he describes the importance of delivering authentic experiences. People can easily detect insincerity and if they detect it in your business, they will choose to go elsewhere.

I found his argument compelling. Pine was talking about authenticity from an organizational perspective, but my experience is that authenticity has to start on the personal level. An organization cannot deliver authenticity unless its employees are doing so on an individual basis. This is where the GEO Principle is essential.

Authenticity starts with knowing yourself, and I will contend that you cannot truly know yourself without knowing God first. As a person grows in faith, he develops a relationship with God that allows him to see himself more accurately. Personal relationships blossom when people present themselves sincerely and honestly. If a company can do the same, I have no doubt its business will blossom as Pine suggests.  

Don't wait for disaster before calling on God

Captain Brian Udell tells a tremendous story. He was a pilot in the Air Force who ejected from his fighter, which was speeding toward earth at 780 miles per hour. His instruments went bad on him during his night flight out over the Atlantic Ocean. It was a training mission and when he lost control of the aircraft, he ejected -- less than a second before the aircraft made impact with the water.

He survived the ejection, although sadly, his co-pilot was killed. Captain Udell now holds a world speed record for successful ejection from an aircraft. You can hear more about Captain Udell's story here.

I got a chance to listen to Captain Udell talk about his amazing ordeal at a business meeting recently. After ejecting, he was lost at sea. He was severely injured and it was really a miracle that a Coast Guard airplane spotted him and was able to facilitate his rescue. 

I share this story with you because Captain Udell told the audience that he prayed while he was floating in the cold ocean water than night. He said he did not consider himself to be a particularly prayerful person, but that night, in that situation, he found meaning in his faith and he prayed. And God answered his prayers.

Sometimes it takes a life-threatening situation to make God meaningful in your work. But let's hope that's not true for most of us. Let's not wait until we are facing death before calling on God for help. He wants to help us all the time. Whatever you do for work -- whether that's flying an airplane or cooking meals or teaching or writing or anything else -- invite God along to your work.  

Take ownership of your work

"A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep." -- John 10:12-13.

We know we should take ownership of our work and this verse from John's Gospel gives us insight about why. If you think of yourself as a hired hand, you may not take your work as seriously as you should. If you think you are only there to make the easy money, you aren't likely to stick around when the going gets tough.

But the world needs people who will stick around when the going gets tough. The world needs people who take ownership of their work. Doing your best means doing work that you are proud of, so proud that you would be happy to own it, that you would be happy to put your name on it. If you are just showing up for the money and really don't care what you do while you are on the job, we can bet the quality of the work will be lacking.

Certainly the story about the Good Shepherd is about more than putting in a good day's work, but the fact that Jesus uses a work analogy to make His point says something about work. Your work is important. The same way that you care for the things you own -- a home, a car, a prized possession -- care for your work.  

Want to help out the rookie in the company? Do what Barnabas did.

One of the readings at church this past weekend included the story from Acts of the Apostles (Acts 9:26-30) where Paul wants to talk to the disciples after his dramatic conversion experience. The disciples were understandably weary, recalling Paul's zeal against them earlier. One of the disciples, Barnabas, knew Paul and understood that his conversion was for real. He understood that they no longer needed to fear Paul, but could actually learn from him. So, Barnabas talks to he fellow disciples about Paul. He introduces Paul around to the different disciples and gives him a vote of confidence. This goes a long way with the other disciples and they come to accept him as a true disciple of Christ.

I like this story because it provides a useful example of how we might help others, especially people who might be new to our company or industry. If you know someone who is largely unknown to the larger group, take the time to introduce the new personaround to the established members of the group. Network on his or her behalf. If you know someone's work to be excellent, tell others about it so they can eventually benefit from that work themselves. Barnabas is good at networking and he used his skill to help out a colleague.

Furthermore, Barnabas was probably a pretty good evangelist in his own right, but it turns out his most important job in history was to help make the way for perhaps the greatest evangelist ever. Barnabas probably understood Paul's potential; he knew Paul would probably go on to much greater success than Barnabas ever had himself, yet he still helped Paul. He didn't allow his ego or pride or jealousy to hold him back. He showed Paul around, got him the "in" he needed to get started, and let Paul go from there. This is a good model for us at work. When someone new joins the company, we can show them around, help them get started, give them every advantage we can to help them succeed, and then let them do the rest.