Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 296 – A small act of resistance Last week we spoke about choosing between ‘good and good’. Let’s continue to develop our decision-making rigour in business. Recently, Dr Maya Shankar and Dr. Laurie Santos reflected on our society’s penchant for distraction, something that can quietly enter even the best-run organisations. To counter this, they commended a simple but powerful triad articulated...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 295 – The Choice between Good and Good One of the common traits many of you share is this: you are busy. And most often, you are busy doing good. That, however, creates a dilemma. How do we choose what to do, and when to do it, both in the moment and over the long term? When my children were young and faced decisions, they often found themselves in the same place. Choosing between good and bad...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 294 – Decrease, Increase, Increase My wife Terri put on a remarkable 70th birthday celebration for me last month. As I looked around the room at the friends, co-workers and family, I saw flourishing.  I have always been a fan of ‘decreasing so others can increase’. In business, I loved to give my young colleagues the technical know-how, then let them have at it. In ministry and...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 293 – Margin View this in your browser I was running, slipping through the snow, late again for another appointment. A section of the sidewalk had been closed so snow could be cleared and I had to detour the long way around, making me later still. As I was muttering at my ill fortune, it dawned on me that the problem was not the workers. It was me. Once again, I had not given myself...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 292 – The faithful craftsperson  My father-in-law, Marty, was a cabinet maker of the highest order. He knew wood intimately. Tools sang in his hands. He came back to mind recently as we prepared to move an armoire he built from my eldest daughter and her husband’s house to my younger daughter and her husband’s farm. As I readied it for the move, I had time to really look at it again. I...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 291 – Service over Sales I want to share a recent experience that illustrated the power of service over sales, and how genuine service builds trust and loyalty. It takes a bit to tell the story, but it is worth the read. The specific technology does not really matter. It is the ending that does. Terri was having trouble accessing our server from her iPad. Files were disappearing or being...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 290 – Stalled hearts This may be the first devotion you have read inspired by a traffic jam. I was on the highway from Calgary to Edmonton when traffic came to a shuddering halt. What should have been free-flowing lanes turned into a parking lot. The reason? The sheer number of cars exiting toward CrossIron Mills, a large shopping centre. I felt a mix of emotions. On one hand, I was grateful,...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 289 – The Next Faithful Step We have been busy rebuilding our strategy in ReGen.Global. In business, strategy decks, roadmaps, five-year plans, and dashboards are expected and important. We are trained to distrust anything that does not show the destination. The bible often counters that logic. Scripture rarely gives the whole plan, though it does say how things will end. Instead,...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 288 – Forgiveness, Part 2 View this in your browser I love receiving comments from you, fellow pilgrims. Several thoughtful responses came in following the devotion on Forgiveness. I would like to quote one remark below and build on it. Joseph said, when addressing those that have caused him damage, “May you be judged by God’s love, and may restitution and restoration be the reflection of this...

Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 287 – Forgiveness We have spoken about shalom and flourishing. We have spoken about justice. I would propose the third leg of the stool of hope that allows us to sit quietly and work at our vocation with that inexplicable peace : forgiveness.  “The sins of the entire world get drowned in the sea of God’s love like a stone thrown into water. So, there can’t be any space for despondency,...