Keep First Things First Tag

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...

INTEGRITY IDEA: Grow Gratitude "Grow Gratitude" is about implementing practices to help employees experience feelings of gratitude. It recognizes that feeling gratitude has been shown to enhance flourishing and wellness in people, which should be a priority in an organization pursuing faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing. In a world filled with negativity that promotes...

INTEGRITY IDEA: Set Some Ebenezers "Set Some Ebenezers" has nothing to do with Ebenezer Scrooge.  It is about the faithful leader of an organization following the example of Samuel and creating tangible reminders of times God has helped the organization and its people.  It recognizes that most people easily forget (and some people never even know or comprehend) God's interventions and...

INTEGRITY IDEA: Share the Spoils "Share the Spoils" is about prayerfully considering compensation and recognition practices that recognize the contributions of all employees to the success of the organization.  It is following the example of King David when he defeated the Amalekites, following their raid of the city of Ziklag.  "Share the Spoils" recognizes that senior executives, top salespeople and big...

We are continuing a tradition with a silly but hopefully meaningful analogy. If Thanksgiving was your business, what would represent the turkey--the centerpiece of the table?  In business as usual aligned with the beliefs, principles and priorities of the kingdom of the world, the turkey is usually profit.  In business a better way aligned with the beliefs, principles and priorities...

Over the last five 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 250 posts as we did after 100 and 200. We hope this is...

INTEGRITY IDEA: Seek Horizontal Counsel "Seek Horizontal Counsel" is about a faithful leader actively seeking counsel from faithful advisors as well as from the people they lead.  It is rooted in humility and requires a leader to understand who they are in relation to others and to recognize that that they do not have all the answers. "Seek Horizontal Counsel" affirms...

INTEGRITY IDEA: Seek Vertical Counsel 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 "Seek Vertical Counsel" is about a faithful leader praying, either privately or with a small group of other leaders in the organization, for wisdom and guidance in every decision. It...

Regardless of what is posted on a website or promulgated in policies as an organization's formal purpose, values and culture, stakeholders will experience, and respond to, what they perceive to be the real purpose, values and culture of the organization.  A recent news story exposed real culture seemingly out of alignment with stated culture at a major financial institution. Aligning the...

With an increasing number of organizations and leaders pulling back from, abandoning, or coming out "against" worldly DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) initiatives, the search for an alternative acronym to embrace and be "for" has led to some highly visible leaders promoting MEI--"merit, excellence, intelligence". They argue that diversity will be a natural by-product of MEI. For leaders...

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: 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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: 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...

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...

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...

ESSENCE:  Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way. INTEGRITY IDEA: Buy Tickets COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action):  Practices COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt):  Overt STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers, Suppliers/Vendors, Community, Kingdom Most Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization.  "Buy Tickets" is...

Leading faithfully through business a better way is a journey. Leading an organization in alignment with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities requires finding the on-ramp, getting on, and then not stumbling off an ancient road of Jeremiah 6:16. We have developed a four-step process called Integriosity® to help a faithful leader navigate the journey, each of which...

Are you on the path that leads to where you want to go? Every faithful leader is on a path of some sort, but leading faithfully requires getting on, and staying on, the right path. There are really two main paths--business in alignment with the kingdom of the world and the ancient path of business in alignment with the...

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,...

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...

“Faithful vs willful” really is a daily choice that a "faithful business-leader" must accept and wrestle with in order to lead faithfully. Even the phrase “faithful business-leader” seems to hold the tension of the “faithful/willful” dilemma. A “faithful” person wants to put God first. A “business-leader” is expected to be ruthlessly “willful” in their effort to achieve increased profits...

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--words that reinforce work as a burden to be avoided rather than a blessing of God's creation.  Disordered words that embody the world's priorities rather than Kingdom priorities infect our thinking, which ultimately infects our heart.  For...

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...

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...

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...