Integrity is far more than honesty or incorruptibility—it means complete and undivided. Leading faithfully through business a better way requires a faithful leader to live a congruous life of “faithful integrity” in which all they do at work is informed, guided and part of their faith. At the core of faithful integrity is an alignment of organizational purpose, values and...
As a faithful leader seeking to lead faithfully, you face a foundational choice between two starkly different options with profound implications. One option is business as usual — business in "the way of the world" or, more precisely, according to "the kingdom of this world." We call the other option business a better way — business aligned with Biblical beliefs,...
ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Banish "Bribery" COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Policies COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Banish Bribery"...
As faithful leaders enter 2023, we want to share the four "first things" to "keep first" in leading faithfully--they are actually captured by the word Integriosity itself. In our last post, we described the first two. In this PART 2, we will describe the second two. A key element of the RENEW step of Integriosity is re-ordering disordered priorities, because...
As faithful leaders enter 2023, we want to share the four "first things" to "keep first" in leading faithfully--they are actually captured by the word Integriosity itself. In this PART 1, we will describe the first two. In our next post we will cover the second two. A key element of the RENEW step of Integriosity is re-ordering disordered priorities,...
ESSENCE: If you are a faithful leader leading an organization, the start of 2023 is a great time to begin being more intentional about leading faithfully. In fact, the best time is always "today". A key element of the RENEW step of Integriosity is re-ordering disordered priorities by looking at Biblical principles for work and business. It is important to go back to first principles by...
There will come a time when a faithful leader who has been leading an organization faithfully in alignment with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities is ready to leave. "Leaving faithfully" is an essential element of "leading faithfully". It is a critical aspect of stewardship, and it an aspect of stewardship that sets Biblical stewardship apart from worldly stewardship. Biblical stewardship requires...
ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Use Tech "WHYsely" COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Policies COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Use Tech WHYsely" is...
Hopefully, Thanksgiving is still recent enough to offer a silly analogy. If Thanksgiving was your business, what would "profit" represent in the Thanksgiving preparation and meal? Remember, profit is NOT bad, and the creation by business of economic prosperity is good. Profit in a business is necessary for good stewardship of the business, which means it is necessary for the...
ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Listen to a Life COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): People COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients, Suppliers/Vendors Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Listen to...
The Faith Driven Entrepreneur blog featured an article by Integrous Founder Paul Michalski. The title of the article is "Succession or Secession: The Unique Test of Faith-Driven Stewardship"...
ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Pick the Right "Peter Principle" COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Practices COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Pick the Right...
ESSENCE: From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. We are calling these Integrity Ideas. INTEGRITY IDEA: Remember the Fourth COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Proclamation and Policies COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Overt to Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees Most...
ESSENCE: From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. We are calling these Integrity Ideas. INTEGRITY IDEA: Understand Your "Real" Culture COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Practices COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees Most Integrity Ideas are practical...
As businesspeople or investors of faith, we face a choice much like Neo’s in the film The Matrix—two starkly different options with profound implications. The blue pill is business as usual — business in "the way of the world" or, more precisely, according to "the kingdom of this world." The red pill we call business a better way — business...
From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. We are calling these Integrity Ideas. INTEGRITY IDEA: Hire the Unhirable. COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Practice COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Community, Kingdom "Hire the Unhirable" is about...
Does faith/work integration require Overtly faithful practices? Leading an organization faithfully through business a better way in alignment with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities, requires a continual prayerful balancing of the call to be Courageous through Overtness and the need to be Wise through Covertness. Both the idolization of Overtness and the fear of being Overt may lead to poor...
ESSENCE: From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. We are calling these Integrity Ideas. INTEGRITY IDEA: Celebrate Impact COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Practice COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions...
Business has the potential to beautify the world--or uglify it. “Beautiful” was clearly God's design when he created everything and declared it "very good", and “beautiful” is the word that comes to mind as you read the description of the New Jerusalem that is coming--God's Kingdom on earth. In between the beauty of a garden and the beauty of a...
The Faith Driven Entrepreneur blog featured an article by Integrous Founder Paul Michalski. The title of the article is "Does Your Business Beautify or Uglify: The Call To Create With Beauty."...
There are two basic choices when a faithful leader who has faithfully shaped the purpose, values and culture of an organization no longer wants, or is no longer able, to continue to lead the organization—succession or secession . But we are not talking about who fills the leader’s seat—we are talking about what happens to the HEART of the...
ESSENCE: From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. We are calling these Integrity Ideas. INTEGRITY IDEA: Culture Coordinator COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Practice COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees,...
The new viral concept of Quiet Quitting is about doing just enough at work to get by--minimizing "work" in order to maximize "life". We believe Quiet Quitting is "unhuman" and a consequence of business as usual. God made us to flourish through work, and we are less fully human when not reflecting our God-given creativity and productivity through work that...
From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. We are calling these Integrity Ideas. INTEGRITY IDEA: Intercessory Prayer COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Prayer COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Very Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community, Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas...
From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. We are calling these Integrity Ideas. INTEGRITY IDEA: Group Prayer COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Prayer COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community, Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas are...
From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. We are calling these Integrity Ideas. INTEGRITY IDEA: Personal Prayer COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Prayer COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Very Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community, Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas...
From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. We are calling these Integrity Ideas. INTEGRITY IDEA: Provide Humanity Resources COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Proclamation and Practices COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Overt STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions...
From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. We are calling these Integrity Ideas. INTEGRITY IDEA: Fund an Employee Fund COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Practices COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions...
From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. We are calling these Integrity Ideas. INTEGRITY IDEA: Promote an ERG COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): People COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions that...
From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. We are calling these Integrity Ideas. INTEGRITY IDEA: Pay Today COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Practices COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients, Suppliers/Vendors Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions...
Integrous Founder Paul Michalski was interviewed by Chad Burmeister on his Living A Better Story podcast. The episode was released on July 9, 2022 and the topic was "Moments of Realization"....
ESSENCE: From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. We are calling these Integrity Ideas. INTEGRITY IDEA: Proclaim a Faithful Purpose COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Proclamation COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert or Highly Overt STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Kingdom Most Integrity...
From time to time, we are devoting posts to describing specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. We are calling these Integrity Ideas. INTEGRITY IDEA: Hire a chaplain to be available for employees COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Prayer COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): ...
From time to time, we will now begin describing specific actions a leader can consider during the Re-Align step of Integriosity®--actions that will begin to Re-Align the organization with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities. We will call the posts "Integrity Ideas". The Integriosity model organizes "heart change" along six Covert-Overt Continuums, and breaks the Covert-Overt Continuums into six gradations that...
A life of faith is a life of choices. For a faithful leader, one of those choices is the "O" that drives their leadership. There are two options--obedience or outcome. It is a choice between the kingdom of this world and the Kingdom of God. It is one or the other--business as usual or business a better way. It is...
Faithful leaders seeking to lead faithfully can get detoured from the ancient path toward business a better way. We call those detours Side Roads when they substitute a lesser "good" for transformational heart-change in the organization--transformation of its WHY. In prior posts we identified six: Agonizing, Individualizing, Monetizing, Cosmeticizing, Prosperitizing and Interimizing. We recently encountered a situation that is leading...
Understanding Imago Dei is central to changing the heart of an organization to align with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities. Understanding that every human being is created in the image of God has important implications for work and business. It is through understanding Imago Dei that we recognize every person is more “fully human” when engaged in meaningful work that...
Sadly, "capitalism" has become a four-letter word for many people. Just as there are dozens of ways to define capitalism, there are dozens of terms people have come up with to describe the problems with capitalism that have made it a four-letter word and dozens of terms people have come up with to prescribe ways to move capitalism out...
We believe the mass exodus of workers being called the "Great Resignation" can more appropriately be called the "Great De-Humanization", not only for what caused it but also for what it is causing. A recent study concluded that "toxic work culture is the single best predictor" of which organizations suffered the most attrition. It seems people left organizations with busines...
It is impossible to talk honestly about the WHAT, WHY and HOW of business in alignment with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities without addressing how profit fits in. Profit is NOT bad, and the creation by business of economic prosperity is good. Profit in a business is necessary for good stewardship of the business, which means it is necessary for...
We believe words are important and powerful. Words (and disordered words) can either support or undermine efforts to move an organization's culture toward faithfully "doing right" through business a better way. Disordered words can affect how leaders shape an organization's culture and view its WHY--the heart of the organization. For example, "integrate your faith into your work" is just one...
For a leader seeking to lead an organization to faithfully “do right” through business a better way, or a person seeking to "work" in alignment with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities, WORDS MATTER. We believe words are important and powerful. The culture of the world is filled with words that blind us to God’s purpose for work and business. Even...
Profit is NOT bad. In fact, we believe PROFIT IS NECESSARY for an organization (other than a non-profit organization) to be obedient to the Creation Mandate, because it is necessary for sustainability, for the flourishing of owners and to further the bigger "WHY" of the organization. However, in order to faithfully "do right", an organization must put profit in the proper...
We believe investors of Biblical faith wanting to invest in alignment with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities need to think BIGGER in a new way--prioritizing "significance" over "size". If they don’t, they are at risk of undermining not only the faithfulness of their own investing but also the ability of faith-driven entrepreneurs and business leaders to run their businesses...
In a recent post we looked at a seeming anomaly--a secular business that appears to be faithfully "doing right" through business a better way (i.e., business as God intended in accordance with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities) seemingly without being faith-driven. In this post, we will highlight an example of what some cynics might say is an oxymoron--a law firm...
Recently, the CEO of BlackRock, Inc., Larry Fink, came out with his 2022 "letter to CEOs". In his 2022 letter, Fink focused on "stakeholder capitalism". We thought it would helpful to compare stakeholder capitalism and what we call business a better way. In many ways, they can look and feel the same, but they are not. You will not be surprised...
In our last post we looked at why Biblically faith-based non-profits can have cultures that stray far from God's design for work--good work on the outside with unhappy people on the inside. In this post, we consider the other end of the spectrum--secular businesses that appear to be faithfully "doing right" through business a better way (i.e., business as...
In this post we look at some special "culture" challenges that can lead Biblically faith-based non-profits down a seemingly business as usual path. These organizations are born with "faith-work integration" but can have cultures that stray far from God's design for work--good work on the outside with unhappy people on the inside. People tolerate unhealthy cultures in faith-based...