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...
Over the last two years, we have laid out a model for moving toward what we call Integriosity®--faithfully "doing right" through business an better way. It is time to pause, take a breath and look back over the last 101 posts. We believe these last 100 posts have honored our promise to you from post #001. Integrous is here to help...
One bigger WHY of work and business is the "SO THAT" that gives the biggest WHY to every other WHY. RESTORE is the fourth and final step in the path of Integriosity.® It is about seeing the bigger WHY's of work and business materialize and manifest in an organization that has been RE-IMAGINED and RE-ALIGNED with Biblical beliefs, values and...
We believe beautiful was God's design when He created everything and declared it "very good", but business as usual and work as usual are often accompanied by an ugly cost to God's creation, including people. RESTORE is the fourth and final step in the path of Integriosity.® It is about seeing the bigger WHY's of work and business materialize and...
RESTORE is the fourth and final step in the path of Integriosity.® It is about seeing the bigger WHY's of work and business materialize and manifest in an organization that has been RE-IMAGINED and RE-ALIGNED with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities based upon a RENEWED understanding of God's purpose for work and business. One of those bigger WHY's is Humanizing...
Integrous Founder Paul Michalski was interviewed by Darren Shearer on his Christianity in Business podcast. The episode was released on December 2, 2021 and the topic was "Moving Beyond Faith As Usual in the Marketplace"....
RESTORE is the fourth and final step in the path of Integriosity.® It is about seeing the bigger WHY's of work and business materialize and manifest in an organization that has been RE-IMAGINED and RE-ALIGNED with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities based upon a RENEWED understanding of God's purpose for work and business. It is the narrow "ancient...
RESTORE is the fourth and final step in the path of Integriosity.® It is about seeing the bigger WHY's of work and business materialize and manifest in an organization that has been RE-IMAGINED and RE-ALIGNED with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities based upon a RENEWED understanding of God's purpose for work and business. It is the narrow "ancient...
RESTORE is the fourth and final step in the path of Integriosity.® It is about seeing the bigger WHY's of work and business materialize and manifest in an organization that has been RE-IMAGINED and RE-ALIGNED with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities based upon a RENEWED understanding of God's purpose for work and business. It is the narrow "ancient...
RESTORE is the fourth and final step in the path of Integriosity.® It is about seeing the bigger WHY's of work and business materialize and manifest in an organization that has been RE-IMAGINED and RE-ALIGNED with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities based upon a RENEWED understanding of God's purpose for work and business. It is the narrow "ancient...
After building the essential bridge of a RENEWED mind that allows us to move from business as usual to business a better way, exploring how to use that RENEWED understanding to begin to RE-IMAGINE an organization in a way that leads to faithfully "doing right" through business a better way, and then actually implementing change by RE-ALIGNING the organization with...
The process of Integriosity® should not (actually, cannot) be rushed. The first step of RENEW is not about knowledge--it is about "mind-shifts" that lead to "heart-change" that leads to "culture-change", and heart-change and culture-change usually doesn't happen overnight. The second step of RE-IMAGINE--prayerfully dreaming up a Re-Imagined Purpose, Re-Imagined Values and a Re-Imagined Culture that align with Biblical beliefs, values and...
Prayer is essential in equipping leaders to face the spiritual challenges of leading an organization to faithfully "do right" through business a better way in a fallen world dominated by business as usual, and it is one of the six Covert-Overt Continuums of Integriosity®. The Prayer Continuum should always be the very first one addressed by leaders pursuing business...
The world--and business as usual--teaches organizational leaders to Trust principally in two things--"impressive" people and "secure" money--but we believe that is misplaced Trust. Business a better way requires re-directing that misplaced Trust in line with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities. Leading an organization to faithfully "do right" through business a better way requires Trust in God, and Trust...
An organization will not faithfully "do right" through business a better way without Intentional Leaders. One of the four important aspects of the Intentional Leadership required to lead an organization to faithfully "do right" through business a better way is a commitment to Authenticity. Authenticity is the embodiment of the "wholeness" of Integrity, which is at the core of...
An organization will not faithfully "do right" through business a better way without Intentional Leaders. One of the four important aspects of the Intentional Leadership required to lead an organization to faithfully "do right" through business a better way is a commitment to cultivating a Re-Imagined Culture. There are no "magic beans", "magic formulas" or "quick fixes" to realizing...
An organization will not faithfully "do right" through business a better way without Intentional Leaders. One of the four important aspects of the Intentional Leadership required to lead an organization to faithfully "do right" through business a better way, while avoiding the pitfalls of faith as usual Side Roads, is commitment to a bigger WHY. As explained in prior...
The second key ingredient (after flexible approach) needed for successful execution of a Re-Imagined Purpose, Re-Imagined Values and a Re-Imagined Culture is Intentional Leaders. An organization will not faithfully "do right" through business a better way without Intentional Leaders. The four important aspects of the Intentional Leadership required to lead an organization to faithfully "do right" through business a...
The third step in the path of Integriosity®--RE-ALIGN--is when a leader and an organization begin actually implementing change and alignment rather than just learning (RENEW) and dreaming (RE-IMAGINE). The first key ingredient needed for successful execution is a flexible approach. Faithfully "doing right" through "business a better way" requires alignment with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities, but it...
After building the essential bridge of a RENEWED understanding of God’s purpose for work and organizations that allows us to move from business as usual to business a better way and exploring how to use that RENEWED understanding to begin to RE-IMAGINE an organization in a way that leads to faithfully "doing right" through business a better way, it is...
A Re-Imagined Culture aligned with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities can have important implications for the very nature of an organization's activities, including how people are treated. God created humans to create organizations to organize humans to work together in relationship to create products and services that serve humanity. Because organizations are about people, organizational Culture needs to about people. A...
A Re-Imagined Culture aligned with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities can have important implications for the very nature of an organization's activities, including matters of governance such as ownership, leadership and internal structures and policies. A leader wanting to faithfully "do right" through business a better way must understand their role as the steward of an organization owned by God, including...
A Re-Imagined Culture aligned with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities can have important implications for the very nature of an organization's activities, including how it understands, assesses and utilizes "capital". A leader wanting to faithfully "do right" through business a better way must understand their role as a steward of all forms of capital (natural, social, human and financial) that drive the...
Just as a Re-Imagined Purpose and Re-Imagined Values drive a Re-Imagined Culture for an organization (assuming they are the real Purpose and Values of the organization), a Re-Imagined Culture can have important implications for the very nature of the organization's activities, including the products and services it offers. If a Re-Imagined Culture aligned with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities...
Just as a Re-Imagined Purpose and Re-Imagined Values drive a Re-Imagined Culture for an organization (assuming they are the real Purpose and Values of the organization), a Re-Imagined Culture can have important implications for the very nature of the organization's activities, including the products and services it offers. If a Re-Imagined Culture aligned with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities...
Faithfully "doing right" through business a better way requires an alignment of Purpose, Values and Culture arising from a commitment to Biblical beliefs, values and priorities that leads a person or organization, instinctively, to do the right things, in the right ways and for the right reasons. We believe such an alignment must result in a Biblical organizational Culture...
Faithfully "doing right" through business a better way requires an alignment of Purpose, Values and Culture arising from a commitment to Biblical beliefs, values and priorities that leads a person or organization, instinctively, to do the right things, in the right ways and for the right reasons. Purpose is the cornerstone and Values are the foundation that must define...
Once a leader, armed with a RENEWED understanding of God's purpose for work and business, RE-IMAGINES the Purpose and Values of the organization they lead, the final (and most difficult) step is to Re-Imagine Implementation of that purpose and those values throughout the organization by re-imagining its organizational Culture. Re-Imagined Purpose forms the cornerstone of the organization and Re-Imagined...
Once a leader, armed with a RENEWED understanding of God's purpose for work and business, RE-IMAGINES the Purpose of the organization they lead, the next step is to Re-Imagine Values. Re-Imagined Purpose forms the cornerstone of the organization, but Re-Imagined Values complete the foundation. Values in an organization are critical because they serve to translate the purpose into...
When a leader, armed with a RENEWED understanding of God's purpose for work and business, begins to RE-IMAGINE the organization they lead, the process must include Re-Imagining Profit--the most difficult and most important element of Re-Imagining Purpose. It is the most difficult because Profit as Purpose is at the core of "business as usual". It is actually...
When a leader, armed with a RENEWED understanding of God's purpose for work and business, begins to RE-IMAGINE the organization they lead, the process must include Re-Imagining People--the role and treatment of the people in the organization. Re-Imagining People requires leaders prayerfully to discern what the organization could look like if flourishing, dignity and community became priorities. It flows from,...
When a leader, armed with a RENEWED understanding of God's purpose for work and business, begins to RE-IMAGINE the organization they lead, the process must begin with Re-Imagining Vision--the organization's WHY. Re-Imagining Vision requires leaders prayerfully to discern a WHY that expresses the heart God desires to implant in the organization and captures the hearts of the organization's people, inspiring...
The core of Integriosity® is ALIGNMENT--aligning the organization's purpose and values with core Biblical purpose and values, then cultivating an organizational culture of Shalom that is aligned with, and reinforces, the organizational purpose and values. The RENEW stage of Integriosity provides the tools for Re-Alignment--a renewed understanding of Biblical purpose, values and priorities for work and business. But...
There are four stages in the process toward Integriosity®, each of which lays the groundwork for the next--RENEW, RE-IMAGINE, RE-ALIGN, RESTORE. Jumping into RE-IMAGINE or RE-ALIGN before RENEW would be like going out on the field before you learned the rules of the game or the fundamental skills. Jumping into RE-ALIGN before RE-IMAGINE would be starting the game without a...
The fifth key "mind-shift" of business a better way through Integriosity® captures a new way of thinking about the WHEN of faith-work integration--it is getting at the PRIORITY of "business a better way" in the organization being stewarded by faith-driven leaders. The critical thing to remember about Mind-Shift #5 is "THE TIME IS NOW". Once a faith-driven...
The fourth key "mind-shift" of business a better way through Integriosity® captures a new way of thinking about the HOW of faith-work integration--it is getting at the PRACTICE of "business a better way" through actually implementing a "heart" change in the organization being stewarded. The critical thing to remember about Mind-Shift #4 is "SYMBOLS ARE SECONDARY". In the...
The third key "mind-shift" of business a better way through Integriosity® captures a new way of thinking about the WHY of business--it is getting at the PURPOSE that flows from, and supports, an organization faithfully "doing right". The critical thing to remember about Mind-Shift #3 is "GREED IS NOT THE CREED". It is the most important--and...
The second key "mind-shift" of business a better way through Integriosity® captures a new way of thinking about the WHO of leaders pursuing faith-work integration--the kind of PERSON needed to faithfully "do right". The critical thing to remember about Mind-Shift #2 is "YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU DO". Mind-Shift #2 is about seeing yourself first in terms of...
The first key "mind-shift" of business a better way through Integriosity® captures a new way of thinking about the WHAT of faith-work integration--the very PRINCIPLE that defines faith-work integration. The critical thing to remember about Mind-Shift #1 is "FAITH CAN’T FIT INTO WORK". Faith-work integration is about integrating work into faith, not faith into work. Integrating faith into work suggests a VERY SMALL view of...
A leader can't align the purpose and vision of an organization with God's purpose for work and business until that leader has a sound understanding of work and business from a Biblical perspective, which is the purpose of the RENEW step of Integriosity®. Until an organization's leader(s) is ready to abandon business as usual thinking and adopt business a better way thinking, the second step...
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 asking what the Bible tells us are the keys to everything else. The key Biblical principles that form the foundation of Integriosity are embedded in the word...
The last of the four first principles embedded in Integriosity® is Humility, and, in addition to being the key to understanding the "HOW" of the other three "first things" (Righteousness, Love and Kingdom), it is a key to Wisdom. Pride, on the other hand, can keep the leader of an organization in an information and wisdom silo. Humility by a leader can lead to...
The last of the four first principles embedded in Integriosity® is Humility, and it is the key to understanding the "HOW" of the other three "first things", including Kingdom. Humility in pursuing the Kingdom flows from knowing who we are in relation to God--it means recognizing the "smallness of our greatness" and returning to the childlike qualities of dependence and trust on God in making...
The last of the four first principles embedded in Integriosity® is Humility, and it is the key to understanding the "HOW" of the other three "first things", including Love. Humility in Loving Others flows from knowing who we are in relation to other people. By embracing Imago Dei, Humility leads us to treat others with dignity, respect and kindness because of WHO they are. Humility also...
The last of the four first principles embedded in Integriosity® is Humility, and it is the key to understanding the "HOW" of the other three "first things", including Righteousness. Humility in Righteousness flows from knowing who we are in relation to God's creation and His plan. In fact, living sacrificially--a key to Righteousness--is not possible without Humility. In order to lead an organization in a way that sacrificially...
The last of the four first principles embedded in Integriosity® is Humility, and it is the key to understanding the "HOW" of the other three "first things"--Righteousness, Love and Kingdom--and it is a key to Wisdom. In fact, we believe leadership without Humility is antithetical to leading an organization to faithfully "do right". Humility is knowing who you are in relation to God's creation and His plan,...
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...
Love is the first "Generosity Priority" embedded in Integriosity®, and we have seen how the generosity and service aspects of Love lead us to the purpose of work and business (maximize flourishing by Humanizing, Beautifying, Glorifying), but there are also respect and sustainability aspects of Love that are inherent in the Creation Mandate. Biblical sustainability is about faithfully "doing right" by caring for all God's creation as its STEWARDS. It is motivated by obedience to the Creation Mandate--not by fear...
Putting together the puzzle pieces of the last several posts, we see that the first principle of Love leads us to the same purpose for business as emerged from the first principle of Kingdom--the BIGGER purpose of work and business is to HUMANIZE people, BEAUTIFY the world and GLORIFY God by serving internally and externally in a way that maximizes the...