"Strategic Actions: Partnering with God."

IS BUSINESS YOUR CALLING FROM GOD?

Are you doing the work of God?

Os Guinness wrote in his book The Call that there is a primary and secondary call from God. The primary call is that we are called by God, to God and for God. Our secondary call is applied everywhere, anytime and in everything we do. So this allows a person to believe that they are called by God to work in the business community. We acknowledge that business is a worthwhile and honorable vocation to pursue. When we genuinely believe that we are fulfilling God’s purpose by working in the business community, we are doing the very work of God.

DO YOU EXPERIENCE A SUNDAY-TO-MONDAY GAP (SMG)?

The Sunday-to-Monday Gap refers to the disconnect from Sunday worship to one’s Monday through Friday work. For some, this does not pose a problem as they see separate and distinct areas of life. For others, they seek to integrate their faith and their work. We see a continuum of different beliefs between these two perspectives. There are five types of different individuals when it comes to integrating one’s faith with one’s business:

1. The first group sees no spiritual dimension to life, especially having no relevance to the world of work.

2. The second group accepts the spiritual dimension, but will proclaim “business is business and church is church, and they do not mix.”

3. The third group accepts the spiritual dimension of Christianity, but does not see how it can be applied to work.

4. The fourth group sees the possible application of Christianity to work, but does not know how it can be.

5. The fifth group is comprised of those who actively seek ways to integrate their faith and their work.

HAVE YOU PARTNERED WITH GOD?

We see God initiating relationships in both the Old and New Testaments for the people to start an effort in that God will bring about the results:

• Noah was told to build an ark, but the people of the land had never seen an ark before.  Noah took over a hundred years to build it and was faithful even though he was mocked for his effort.

• Abraham was told to uproot his family and moved to a new land that God would show him. Abraham had to follow God’s guidance all along the way until he reached the Promised Land.

• Moses was protected as an infant and as a child. Then as an adult he escaped to the wilderness. While in the wilderness, God called him back to Egypt to save his people. There are many discussions between Moses and God about what God wanted Moses to do. Reluctantly, Moses was faithful in carrying out all that he was instructed and God did save the Israelites.

We see these covenants throughout the Old Testament as a form of a partnership agreement between God and the human race. Each covenant is different, but it still carries the promise of God’s involvement, protection and provision for the people.

In the Bible, the idea of God being the potter and we are “his clay” reveals how God is forming us into a vessel to be used for God’s purposes. Since God is the creator of the whole universe and of us (His followers), He has a purpose for our lives. This purpose includes equipping us with the desire, capabilities and skills to fulfill His plan.

Another form of partnering with God is prayer. There are many different forms of prayers. There’s just a general conversation that we have with God so we can get to know Him better. There’s interceding for others, asking God to provide, protect and/or heal them. Then there are our prayers for our needs.

Partnering with God illustrates that God will use us when we make ourselves available to Him.

CAN THERE BE AN INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND BUSINESS?

Since 1990, over fifteen hundred Christian ministries have come into existence to address the issue of integration of faith and business. Numerous articles, books, seminars and conferences have addressed this issue. The majority of the writers focus on Bible studies and the issue of character and integrity. These are all critical issues because they provide a witness of the power of God in every aspect of life.

Within the Workplace Ministries there are two strategic roadmaps being implemented – individual and the community/organizational. The overwhelming majority of the ministries focus on the individual strategic roadmap. Strategic Action draws on both, but has greater focus on the community/organizational strategic roadmap.

Ready to download your free copy of

So You’re a Christian, but is Your Business? How integrated is your faith and business?

WHO IS DR. JACK WILSON?

My work experience includes over forty years covering a broad range of employers and professional positions. I have worked for General Dynamics, GTE, Colgate Palmolive and Johnson & Johnson. In addition I have worked for several startup companies. The positions included director of implementation, project manager, executive education manager and internal consultant. In all these positions my focus was on execution and implementation.

My educational experience includes three earned degrees: Bachelors in History, Masters in Counseling and a Doctorate in Applied Behavioral Science. My focus with the doctorate was on organizational psychology. I also did postdoctoral studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, where I focused on two topics - leadership and organizational change, and character and wholeness. I focused on integrating organizational psychology with Biblical theology.

I am a member of the American Psychological Association, Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology division, and the Psychology of Religion division. Professional membership also includes the Academy of Management; Management, Spirituality, and Religion division; Entrepreneur division; Management Consulting division; and Organization Development and Change division.

WHY AM I GIVING THIS AWAY FREE?

I read a lot of books, articles, newsletters and blogs to stay current. In always looking for fresh approaches to the practice of both business and spirituality, I come across a wealth of valuable information and a lot of “dud” information. My free newsletter and the accompanying free report is full of valuable information for you.

Within the ten strategic actions I’ve developed, I highlight how they can be applied to your business and back it up with Scripture references to illustrate God’s thinking. After spending two and a half years at Dallas Theological Seminary as a post-doctoral student integrating Biblical Theology with Organizational Psychology, I was amazed at the amount of organizational concepts found in the Scriptures.

Now, I’ll be totally honest with you… I don’t make any money from you subscribing to my newsletter or from you getting a free copy of my report. I make my money from my executive coaching, consulting and other education materials which I hope you would purchase.

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So You’re a Christian, but is Your Business?How integrated is your faith and business?

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CAN YOU DEVELOP “STRATEGIC THRUST?”

As our company name implies we deal with the strategic element of an organization. Within the business community, we witness three distinct ways of focusing on what to do. The first and most dominant approach is focusing on the tactical element. It is easy to get caught up with the day to day operation and ignore or even fail to plan for the long term.

These individuals become so busy with the daily activities that they cannot find any time to do any planning. They will struggle to find new customers. The second approach is the opportunistic focus. These individuals respond to whatever opportunities emerge from their daily encounters. The disadvantage of this focus is a hit and miss approach to finding business. Opportunities emerge that do not draw on your strengths and preferences. Failure and disappointment along with inadequate profit margins may occur. The third approach is a strategic one. This does not require volumes of pages and lots of time. It does require you to think through key issues:

• What are our strengths?

• What value do we give our customers?

•  Who is our ideal customer?

•  What differentiates us from our competitors?

These are just a few of the important topics to be examined from a strategic perspective. There are other issues that also have to be addressed. Examination of the nine strategic drivers and their impact on the future of your business is a major one.

ARE YOU ACTION-ORIENTED?

Current organizational research illustrate that 90% of the Fortune 500 fail to implement their strategic plans. There are many reasons for this failure. One of the biggest reason is a failure to execute the plan. At some point it is important that one executes the strategic plan and follow through to ensure that it is being done. There are two levels of this execution. The first is that the organization must align every group with the plan to minimize internal conflict. The second level is that the individual has to align themselves with the plan and see how they will contribute to the success of the strategy.

WHAT ARE THE 10 STRATEGIC ACTIONS TO PARTNERING WITH GOD?

For the past four years I have read books and articles, attended seminars, searched the Scriptures, drew upon my forty plus years of work experience and finally developed a practical approach to help Christians to grow their business profitably. As I pursued a specific business theme, I would do in-depth analysis of the Scriptures and books by other Christian authors to see what God’s word had to say about that specific topic. For some topics, the Scriptures provide a great number of verses, while other topics have only a few verses. I developed 10 categories that provide a way to increase organizational and financial success.

• Create Purpose-Driven Business – This is a foundational category that will influence living out values, creating a sense of purpose, assist with decision making, time and stress management and increase employee involvement.

• Create Purpose-Focused Business – This category determines the degree of focus the organization and individuals will have. The greater the focus the higher the possibility of success.

• Steward Organizational Resources – Systems Development – Every organization needs to have either a manual or computerized system to handle the complexity of work. Failure to have a good system can lead to poor customer relations and poor financial records.

• Steward Organizational Resources – Business Process Development – Along with having a system every organization needs to define how the work process will get done. For many tasks they need to be replicated by all those involved.

• Connect with Your Customer First; the Money Will Follow – Marketing -- The world of marketing is changing. Failure to market and failure to implement the new approaches will doom you to failure.

• Connect with Your Customer First, the Money Will Follow – Sales – Along with marketing the old sales techniques are rapidly dying. New approaches are needed to meet the changing customer base.

• Navigate the White Waters of Rapid Change – Innovation – For the past two decades companies tried to increase profitability by cutting cost. It had limited impact on many organizations. The new approach is to look for ways to increase the company’s innovative efforts.

• Navigate the White Waters of Rapid Change – Change Management – One of the constant factors in the world of business is change. Many organizations handle change management poorly. This does not have to happen. There are many approaches that can be used to successful bring about the desired changes.

• Act on Faith and Just Do It – Organizational Culture and Leadership – Every organization develops it own unique culture. This culture determines how successful and ethical the organization will be. One of the keys of any culture is the leadership. Without effective leadership the organization can muddle through what they are trying to achieve.

• Act on Faith and Just Do It –Execution -- In the final analysis how successful an organization will be is determined by their ability to execute their plans at the organizational and the individual level.

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I am Dr. Jack Wilson, CEO of Strategic Action.  God has called me into a
ministry of service to executives. Now, how can I help you?