ESSENCE: Oswald Chambers asks the question, "Suppose God tells you to do something that is an enormous test of your common sense, totally against it. What will you do? Will you hold back?" It is a challenging question for a faithful leader of an organization because business as usual—business in the way of the kingdom of the world—is often the...
ESSENCE: If you don't follow legal industry news, you probably missed a recent and rather extraordinary court order that sanctioned a prominent law firm and detailed how the culture of an organization can blind people to the point that they convince themselves something clearly wrong seems right. The purpose of this post is not to shame, judge, or expose the...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Faithfully "Applefy" Your CultureFollowing the announcement that Tim Cook would be stepping down as CEO of Apple, the Wall Street Journal asked him what advice he would pass down to his successor. Cook’s answer offers two leadership principles that are worth receiving—but also worth redeeming. "Faithfully Applefy Your Culture" is about a faithful leader taking steps to implement...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Don't Fake It to Make It"Don't Fake It to Make It" is about faithful leaders resisting the pressure and temptation to mimic, adopt, or rationalize business as usual practices in order to "succeed" personally in their career or for the organization they lead to "succeed" in the marketplace. It recognizes that fear and wisdom are very different motivators,...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Banish the BurnRecently Fast Company published a series of articles on a growing crisis of manager "burnout". "Banish the Burn" is about a faithful leader putting in place practices to identify potential manager burnout, understand its sources, care for managers experiencing burnout, and cultivate an organizational culture designed to minimize the causes of and proactively protect against burnout. ...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Pour a FoundationA few people have asked if we were planning something special for the 100th Integrity Idea. We weren't. What arrived, though, may be the most important of all 100. Integrity Idea 100 is about when a faithful leader should ignore the first 99 Integrity Ideas–at least for now. "Pour a Foundation" is about pouring a foundation...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Take a WalkOur last two posts focused on communications by faithful leaders that prioritize relationships, community, human dignity, and flourishing—saying "Good Morning" and "I'm Sorry." "Take a Walk" is an equally free way to facilitate informal communication. It is about a faithful leader taking the time to walk around the workplace—whether it's a store, office, or factory—to listen,...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Ace ApologiesIn our last post, we talked about faithful leaders taking the time to say, "Good Morning". This post is focused on an equally free and even more important communication. "Ace Apologies" is about a faithful leader saying, "I'm Sorry." A sincere apology is not as simple as a sincere greeting, and the consequences of a bad apology...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Morning Manners Matter"Morning Manners Matter" is about as simple—and free—as an Integrity Idea can get. It is about a faithful leader taking the time to say "Good Morning" to employees they encounter when arriving at work. "Morning Manners Matter" recognizes the power of words and embraces the power of encouragement. It says to people, "I see you", "I...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Choose Counselors with CareEvery leader receives counsel. The only question is whether that counsel reinforces conviction or erodes it. "Choose Counselors with Care" is about ensuring that a faithful leader is getting advice and counsel from people who have the wisdom to offer sound judgment, the integrity to give disinterested guidance, the courage to speak hard truth, and...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Flip the Tip"Flip the Tip" is about faithful leaders changing their business model to "flip" tipping, returning it to an opportunity for customer generosity rather than an expected customer subsidy for inadequate wages. It recognizes that it is the employer's Biblical obligation to ensure that employees are fairly compensated and that the current model of tipping in the...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Go Beyond a Tree at Christmas"Go Beyond a Tree" is about faithful leaders displaying tasteful faith-inspired objects, such as a nativity scene or Advent wreath, in the workplace at Christmas rather than just a Christmas tree. It recognizes that the Christmas has been widely secularized and neutralized, symbolizing a season of consummation rather than contemplation. It also recognizes...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Goldplate Your Offboard Auto-Replies"Goldplate Your Offboard Auto-Replies" is about applying the Golden Rule when creating policies for the form of e-mail auto-reply used when a human being is "offboarded"--leaves an organization, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. A simple auto-reply may feel trivial, but small acts accumulate into a culture. It recognizes that faithfulness in little things matters, and that...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Encourage "Pinocchio Marketing"Confused? Don't worry--we are not advocating deceptive marketing that causes a faithful leader's nose to grow. "Encourage Pinocchio Marketing" is about faithful leaders cultivating a marketing culture with a heart for the qualities that allowed Pinocchio to become a real boy--bravery, truthfulness and unselfishness--and a nose capable of detecting potentially deceptive or manipulative marketing before it...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Whisper, Just Don't Dilute"Whisper, Just Don't Dilute" is about a faithful leader being courageous in sharing as TRUTH (and not merely as "wisdom" or "tradition") the faith that informs their leadership and inspires the bigger WHY of the organization, even if the leader has discerned that it is wiser stewardship for the organization to "whisper"--operate at the covert...
Over the last six 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 toward Biblical flourishing. It is time to pause, take a breath and look back over the last 300 posts as we did after 100, 200 and 250. We hope this...
ESSENCE: "Faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing." It is by far our most repeated group of words. Particularly for readers new to this journey, that phrase deserves unpacking: what does it really mean? As we reach post #300, it seems fitting to do a little refresher on the three key concepts embedded in that phrase. The word...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Re-Align LoyaltyLoyalty is usually seen as a virtue, but the brokenness of business as usual can misalign loyalty--attaching allegiance to the wrong objects, the wrong purposes and the wrong priorities. "Re-Align Loyalty" is about implementing practices to ensure that the overriding allegiance of leaders, managers and employees is to principles rather than people--toward the bigger WHY of the...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Support the Supporters"Support the Supporters" is about implementing practices to support, care for, and recognize the employees who keep "stars" looking good, keep initiatives moving forward, and keep teams working together. They are the account managers, program coordinators, team leaders, service partners, mentors, encouragers and connectors who may never seek the spotlight but without whom the lights would...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Purge Profanity"Purge Profanity" is about implementing policies and practices that discourage employees from using vulgar, obscene, or profane language while working or representing the organization. The Bible is very clear in warning against profanity, but this is not about purity, prudishness, or legalism. It recognizes that words have power to bless or curse--the power to give "life" or...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Nurture NathansWhile many Biblical characters remain obscure, Nathan is pretty well known. He was the friend who courageously spoke truth to King David and held him accountable. But Nathan served several other important roles in David's life. "Nurture Nathans" is about a faithful leader identifying and empowering trusted friends and advisors who will speak truth to them--holding them...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Start a "Relevant" Bible StudyWhile all studies of the Bible are "relevant", because the study of God's Word is always relevant for the lives of his image-bearers, some can be more relevant for guiding us in certain aspects of life. "Start a Relevant Bible Study" is about faithful leaders starting, facilitating or encouraging a Bible study that is...
Faithful integrity is more than "doing good". In fact, "doing good" is not enough for a faithful leader. It is not enough because "doing good" is always a WHAT. God also cares about HOW and WHEN, but God particularly cares about WHY. Sometimes "doing good" is not enough because it has no substance. Just as the emperor in the fairy...
It is time for people who profess a Biblical faith to Re-Imagine Labor Day. One problem with "Labor Day" is that it was created to celebrate what has now become a minority of U.S. workers. Flowing from the first problem is a bigger problem--the meaning of the day has been all but lost to the average person. It is less...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Shun Sorcery in Business"Shun Sorcery in Business" is about faithful leaders looking to prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in making decisions, including hiring decisions, rather than turning to modern "sorcery". We are not talking about consulting Ouija Boards and Magic 8 Balls in the boardroom. The temptation to rely on astrology, numerology, handwriting analysis, psychics,...
A recent Wall Street Journal article about workforce reductions highlighted the dehumanizing effect of Profit as Purpose. It highlighted leaders boasting about workforce reductions. We suspect that those leaders are not actually proud of eliminating "people". They are proud of eliminating "headcount". Terms like "headcount" and "full-time equivalent" turn people into numbers. Once people are dehumanized into numbers, it is...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Provide Praiseworthy Packaging"Provide Praiseworthy Packaging" is about delivering your products and services in packaging that glorifies God. It’s about making packaging more intentional. It recognizes that how you deliver your product or service can speak as loudly as what you deliver. "Provide Praiseworthy Packaging" recognizes that one of the most straightforward commands in Scripture is to do everything...
ESSENCE: We trained ChatGPT on Integriosity® and asked it to write a short story about the journey of Faithful Leader in the spirit of The Pilgrim's Progress, focusing on the seven Side Road detours of what we call faith as usual. Here is ChatGPT's summary:Faithful Leader’s journey is the call of every leader entrusted with work under the reign of...
This is the third and final post in our theme of "turning". The first message was to turn with all your might to God when your eyes have been opened to the truth of God's purpose for work and business. The second was about not getting turned back to business as usual or faith as usual by the forces of...
When a faithful leader's eyes have been opened to the truth of God's purpose for work and business and that leader turns with all their might to transform the heart of the organization they lead through the pursuit of faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing, the forces of the kingdom of the world will try to turn...
When King Josiah’s eyes were opened to the truth of God's commands, he didn’t respond with mild reform or token gestures. He responded with wholehearted action. He "turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might". That same posture is needed today by faithful leaders whose eyes have been opened to the...
When you read the question, "What kind of impact investor are you?", you might be thinking "I'm not one of those people." A truth many faithful investors overlook is that if you invest, you are one of those people, because all investing is "impact investing". The important questions for an investor who professes a Biblical faith are what kind of...
After last week's post about horses (and chariots), you might be wondering if we are starting an animal series. We aren't. This post is about choices, and it is inspired by Jesus casting demons into a herd of pigs and then being asked to get out of town. Faithful leaders of today can learn from the business choices found in...
"Don't Bet on Horses (or Chariots)" is not about the Kentucky Derby or the Roman Coliseum. It is about faithful leaders aligning with the declaration in Psalm 20:7, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." The world and business as usual teach organizational leaders to trust in what...
"Slippery slopes" are rarely considered a good thing to be sliding down unless you are skiing or sledding (in control). An organization can face various slippery slopes, but we are talking about the slippery slope of a "Can We" culture. This is an organizational culture in which ends justify means and ethics or the law are seen as the only...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Start a Bank (a "Leave Bank")"Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)" is about creating a "leave bank" into which employees may deposit unused PTO (and the organization may make matching or supplemental deposits) either to be drawn by co-workers facing an emergency or disaster or donated to charity. It recognizes that many workers do not fully utilize their...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Don't Settle for "Gold""Don't Settle for Gold" is about cultivating an organizational culture in which people are motivated and equipped to go beyond the Golden Rule in human interactions. It is helping people recognize the Imago Dei in others and live the commandment to love others as God has loved them, not merely as they would like to...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Color Your World (With Intention)"Color Your World (With Intention)" is about enhancing the wellness of employees through the intentional use of color in their workspace. It recognizes that color is powerful and, in workspaces, can have a positive impact on employee well-being. It also recognizes that an organization pursuing faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Let There Be (Better) Light"Let There Be (Better) Light" is about enhancing the wellness of employees by taking steps to improve the quality of the light in which they work. It recognizes that the light in which people work can have a positive or negative impact on their health and well-being and that an organization pursuing faithful integrity...
The news has been filled with stories about institutions (e.g., universities and law firms) being forced to examine and act upon their priorities. The priorities of an organization's leaders will shape its behavior, which means understanding those priorities should itself be a priority for a faithful leader seeking to lead with faithful integrity through business a better way toward...
In prior posts we have emphasized that leading with faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing requires a continual balancing of the call to be courageous and the need to be wise in determining "HOW" to integrate faith and work, with the most faithful balance being courage tempered by wisdom. "Wait, Just Don't Delay" is about the...
Leading with faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing requires getting across four "gaps": Sunday/Monday, Sacred/Secular, Knowing/Doing and Safety/Surrender. Unfortunately, because of business as usual pressure and faith as usual detours, many well-intentioned leaders get stuck, never "hopping" or "leaping". The first three are "wisdom" gaps, and the journey across those "gaps" starts with RENEW--renewing the faithful...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Whisper, Just Don't Hide"Whisper, Just Don't Hide" is about a faithful leader being willing to share and explain the faith that informs their leadership and inspires the bigger WHY of the organization, even if the leader has discerned that the organization's pursuit of faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing is best done at the...
INTEGRITY IDEA: Implement Human AIAlthough "Implement Human AI" may sound like an oxymoron, we recently learned about a type of "AI" that appears to be both humanizing and consistent with the pursuit of faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing. It doesn't involve powerful computer chips, large data centers, massive energy consumption, or the threat of robots...
ESSENCE: Fasting is one common Lenten practice, and Pope Francis has written "Fasting involves being freed from all that weighs us down." "Give Up Sinatra" is about faithful leaders (and the employees they steward) being freed forever from the burdens and brokenness of business in accordance with the lyrics of Sinatra's famous song "My Way". "Give Up Sinatra" is about...
In the words of the Wall Street Journal, a recent Presidential Executive Order "put the brakes on a law that forbids U.S. companies from bribing foreign officials" as a matter of national security. For faithful leaders of organizations operating internationally, the bait has been placed and the trap has been set. An organization pursuing faithful integrity through business a better...
Recent headlines have highlighted a number of organizations that we think have been operating "in the Twilight Zone" of business as usual--business in the way of the world. (Our reference is to a famous TZ episode in which aliens were exposed as wanting people for an entree rather than as dinner guests.) In God's design, work is a vehicle for...
Gallup recently announced that we are in the middle of what they are calling "The Great Detachment". Like the Great Resignation, we believe at the heart of the Great Detachment are organizational cultures that are dehumanizing. 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...
You could call this post the third in a "Safety/Surrender" series. It is about encouraging faithful leaders to trust God enough to answer the call of stewardship, and embrace fully the potential, of the Creation Mandate by crossing the Safety/Surrender Gap. We believe it is a call to lead with faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing,...
A faithful leader seeking to lead an organization with faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing must remember "DDD"--"Don't Do a Demas." You might be asking, "Who is Demas?" The better question is "What's 'doing a Demas'?" The best question is "How do I avoid 'doing a Demas'?" Demas was a Biblical character who didn't finish well. ...