INTEGRITY IDEA: Close the Gaps COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): People COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Overt STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees "Close the Gaps" is about organizing or facilitating study groups, or making available resources, that help employees get across the three "gaps" that can keep them from experiencing work as God intended it and that can make it...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Keep Controversy Within Your Mission COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Policies COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Kingdom We don't mean that an organization should have a controversial mission. "Keep Controversy Within Your Mission" is about putting in place policies and practices to ensure that the organization is prepared to take positions on...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Be Trustworthy 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, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community, Kingdom Americans trust in institutions, including businesses, has declined. "Be Trustworthy" is about putting in place policies and practices to ensure that the organization's stakeholders feel they can trust the organization and its people. ...
Does Easter shape the WHY of your work, business and investing? Easter is important for every worker, business leader and investor who follows Jesus because it serves as a vivid reminder of a bigger WHY and a sacred relevance for our work, business and investing rooted in God's Restoration plan for His Kingdom. Believing that Easter is the beginning of...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Clean Your Chain 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, Owners, Community, Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Clean Your Chain" is about putting in place policies and practices to ensure that your supply chain does not...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Terminate with Gold 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. When we say "Gold", we are not talking about money. "Terminate with Gold" is about taking extra care in applying the Golden Rule...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Re-Imagine the Box COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Practices COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Owners, Employees, Customers/Clients Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Re-Imagine the Box" is about re-imagining the traditional "Suggestion Box" by putting in place practices to ensure that the ideas, wisdom,...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Create a Cue Card 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. "Create a Cue Card" is about literally creating a pocket-sized card that helps employees remember values, principles or practices critical to ensuring...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Give "Horizontal" Thanks 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 toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. While faithful leaders should always give "vertical" thanks to God, "Give Horizontal Thanks" is about faithful leaders taking the time to express their...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Don’t “Toolify” Humans 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 toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. “Don’t Toolify Humans” is more fundamental, because it is a reminder of the most important priority shift needed for an organization to align...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Set Integrity Boundaries 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. "Set Integrity Boundaries" is about faithful leaders identifying, establishing and communicating the integrity lines the organization will not cross in how...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Identify Your Beauty COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Products COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Owners, Employees, Customers/Clients, Suppliers/Vendors, Community Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Identify Your Beauty" is about identifying and communicating to stakeholders how the organization's products and services Beautify the World. ...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Recall Your Faithful Purpose COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Practices COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert or Highly Overt STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Recall Your Faithful Purpose" is implementing practices to remind your stakeholders about your WHY--your organization's Re-Imagined Purpose...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Take Steps to PPP COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Practices 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. “Take Steps To PPP” is about taking steps to Protect your Purpose from Profiteers. Part of implementing a bigger...
Most faithful leaders are not CEOs or business owners--they are leading from somewhere in the middle, whether they are leading a division, department, business unit, team or project, supervising many people or one person, or simply leading by example as part of a team. But God's call to faithful leadership and faithful integrity is not limited to owners and CEOs. ...
Giving generously from wealth is a very good thing both for faithful leaders personally and for the businesses they lead, but faithful integrity and business a better way demand more. Many organizations do important and excellent work helping faithful leaders understand the importance of being generous with their wealth. However, by itself, the message of "give generously" can draw a...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Thank Your Temps 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. "Thank Your Temps" is about acknowledging the contributions of, and thanking, your temporary and freelance workers at year-end. It's not complicated--theologically or...
Sometimes good-intentioned faithful leaders sprinkle faith "reindeer dust"--overt faith symbols and practices--believing that it is faith/work integration. It isn't bad, and it can be very good, but by itself it is not leading with faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing. By itself, sprinkling "faith" reindeer dust without transforming how the organization actually does business is what...
While you were paying attention to Time naming Taylor Swift their "Person of the Year", you might have missed Merriam-Webster's naming their "Word of the Year 2023"--Authentic. "Authenticity", both at a leadership and organizational level, is a key aspect of leading with faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing. An organization pursuing faithful integrity through business a...
Over the last four years, we have been laying out and expanding on a model for moving toward what we call Integriosity®--leading with faithful integrity through business a better way and toward Biblical flourishing. It is time to pause, take a breath and look back over the last 200 posts as we did after 100. We hope this is a...
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"...
Integrous "helps faithful leaders lead with faithful integrity toward Biblical flourishing". Our belief is that the bigger WHY of an organization aligned with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities should be to maximize flourishing (rather than profit) by Humanizing People, Beautifying the World and Glorifying God, properly positioning profit as a necessary means to that end. When we talk about flourishing,...
Are you in (still in? always in?) a Thanksgiving mood! Get ready for a silly but hopefully meaningful 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...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Tear Down Those Walls 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. "Tear Down Those Walls" is not about Ronald Reagan, the U.S. border, dismantling offices, or moving to open-plan seating. It is about...
A faithful leader who wants to lead with faithful integrity in alignment with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities must avoid "doing an Ahaz". You might be asking, "Who was Ahaz?" The better question is "What's 'doing an Ahaz'?" The best question is "How do I avoid 'doing an Ahaz'?" Ahaz was one of those "did not do what was right...
The first step on the ancient path from the "as usuals" of business as usual, work as usual, and faith as usual to "a better way" is RENEW, and the first step of RENEW is reordering disordered priorities to "Keep First Things First". The last of the four first principles embedded in the word Integriosity is Humility, and it is the key to understanding the...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Fortify Family COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Practices COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees/Community/Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Fortify Family" is about adopting practices and benefits that are specifically designed to encourage and support healthy employee families. It recognizes that God created...
ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Provide "Plain" Pricing COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Practices COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Customers Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Provide Plain Pricing" is about...
Don’t worry--this is not about the U.S. Southern border, Eastern European borders or Middle Eastern borders. It is about the border between the kingdom of the world and the Kingdom of God. Kingdom border protection is trickier than geographic border protection because a faithful leader resides in both kingdoms and the border exists in the heart of the leader and...
ESSENCE: The first step on the ancient path from the "as usuals" of business as usual, work as usual, and faith as usual to "a better way" is RENEW, and the first step of RENEW is reordering disordered priorities to "Keep First Things First". When "all the Law and the Prophets" depend on the commandments to love God and love your...
ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Adopt a "77" Policy COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Policies COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Overt STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Adopt a 77 Policy" is...
The first step on the ancient path from the "as usuals" of business as usual, work as usual, and faith as usual to "a better way" is RENEW, and the first step of RENEW is reordering disordered priorities to "Keep First Things First". If a faithful leader or an organization is committed to "seek first the kingdom of God" (Matthew...
The first step on the ancient path from the "as usuals" of business as usual, work as usual, and faith as usual to "a better way" is RENEW, and the first step of RENEW is reordering disordered priorities to "Keep First Things First". The Bible says unequivocally that "Righteousness" is one of the "First Things" we are meant to...
The first step on the ancient path from the "as usuals" of business as usual, work as usual, and faith as usual to "a better way" is RENEW. It is the start of a four-step process called Integriosity® to help a faithful leader navigate the journey on the ancient path toward leading faithfully with faithful integrity through business a better way. Each step...
You are probably wondering "What is an RYR?" "RYR" stands for a "Rich Young Ruler". Don't stop reading just because you are not "rich" or not "young" or not a "ruler"--being an RYR is not about status or circumstances. It is about your heart as reflected in your primary identity. "Are you an RYR?" is a question every faithful leader must...
ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Catalyze "Kindness" 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, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Catalyze Kindness"...
ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Encourage "Biblical EQ" 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, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community, Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger...
ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Create a Team "Humanbook" 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. "Create a Team Humanbook"...
ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Embrace "Biblical ESG" 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, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community, Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the...
ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Embrace "Biblical DEI" 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, Suppliers/Vendors, Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Embrace Biblical...
Side Roads are detours that substitute a lesser "good" for the "best" of transformational heart-change in an organization--transformation of its WHY. They are detours off the ancient path of faithful integrity through business a better way in alignment with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities. Side Roads are not inherently bad--in fact, they are better than doing nothing at all. Well-intentioned...
Many well-intentioned, faithful leaders never find the right path to faithful integrity through business a better way, or stumble off it, because of good-intentioned "faith" messages or approaches that send them in the wrong direction--"bad theology" or, at least, poor communication of good theology which create stumbling blocks that substitute the "good" for the "best". We have identified five common...
Faithful leaders seeking to lead with faithful integrity can get detoured from the ancient path toward business a better way. The world--and our culture--does not want a faithful leader on the ancient path. But the world and our culture are not the only stumbling blocks that can lead a faithful leader with the best of intentions to "miss...
Words are important and powerful, and some words can inspire. In 2011, the simple phrase "All In" inspired the N.Y. Giants to turn around a dismal season and win the Super Bowl. This past weekend the world was introduced to a new inspirational phrase likely to go viral--"Play Big". It is the phrase that carried Wyndham Clark to...
ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Keep Your Word 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, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Keep...
Words are important and powerful, and the culture of the world is filled with words that blind us to God’s purpose for work and business. In particular, the concept of "retirement" from "work" is built on a deception about the very nature of "work" and why we were created. Not only does "retirement" rob a person of their God-given purpose...
ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Reward Rest COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Policies 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. "Reward Rest" is about instituting policies...
ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Optimize Compensation 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, Owners, Community, Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. "Optimize Compensation"...
Organizational cultures that are broken through the toxic assumptions and motivations of business as usual lead to "work" in those cultures becoming something far from God's good and life-giving design in Genesis. There are four key aspects of toxic work as usual that flow from the attributes of business as usual: Idol and Identity; Money and Power; A Burden; and Unhealthy...
Understanding the challenge of leading faithfully through business a better way and the existential threat of AI both require understanding "priorities". Implementing business a better way in an organization requires recognizing the nature of priorities as well as common "priority problems", assessing the real "priorities" in an organizational culture, identifying and implementing priorities that align with business in accordance with...