Life’s Work

Life’s Work – Business – Discipline

Be Diligent

When in the work setting you should make goals for yourself and make a commitment to follow through with your plans. Creating good habits with your work ethic helps you reach your full potential as a faithful servant of the Lord.

Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters”

Develop Business Plan

You can begin with the next step of developing a business plan. The business plan is simply your corporate mind and thoughts on paper. A business plan serves four primary functions:

1. an action plan
2. a road map
3. a reason for investors to invest
4. a sales tool.

Developing a business plan will help initiate action by breaking down seemingly insurmountable tasks into many smaller, less intimidating pieces. It also functions as an invaluable tool to help keep you and your employees focused and moving in a positive direction. This also helps others to clearly understand the goals, direction, and purpose of the company, defining the limits for those involved. Most importantly, the business plan can function as a sales tool to help convince investors and to gain outside funding and support. Find more information and step-by-step help in our book I Never Thought of That!

Seek Advisors

When starting or leading a business, many people will act according to their own beliefs or desires. The truth is, no single person has all the answers, therefore, it is important to seek council in areas in which we are not fully knowledgeable. As Proverbs 15:22 informs us, “Plans fail for lack of council, but with many advisers they succeed.” Contact Centerpoint Stewardship, Inc. for strategies and expertise in all areas of your business.

Develop Skills

The Bible tells us in Romans 12, I Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 that every believer is blessed with specific spiritual gifting’s in order to advance God’s kingdom on earth. Each gifting allows us to glorify God through our work in ways that are specific to our personal skill sets. Karen Semon explains each of these gifting’s in detail and tells us that knowing these gifts will help you understand your strengths as an individual and allows you to be most effective in your work and your ministry. Working together using our different skills allows us to have the most potential for success.

To find out what spiritual gifting’s you have, visit spiritualgiftstest.com.

Study Trends

As we see in I Chronicles 12, the men from the tribe of Issachar, “…Understood the times and knew what Israel should do…” The “Sons of Issachar” were able to use their knowledge to provide Godly leadership for Israel.  We can use this example for similarly interpreting our times and applying that understanding to benefit our societies, or more specifically, our businesses.

Because of recent technological advances, times are changing faster than ever. Staying current on trends within the market is crucial to a business because company success is dependent on people’s demand for its goods and/or services. Therefore, maximizing potential growth, implementing proper marketing techniques, communication, and preparing for changes that could hinder proper development of your business is key to success.

Generational Trend Changes

• Government Regulations – (advertising, employment, EPA, privacy).
• Technology – (cell phones, social media, communication, internet, demand for labor).
• Transportation – (logistics, mass transit, efficiency).
• Job Market – (education, occupational demand, wages).

Study Best Practices

W. Edwards Deming was a well-respected business leader who outlined fourteen key principles in his book, Out of the Crisis, for management leaders to follow in order to increase business success. For a condensed version of these points, visit: deming.org/.

An effective method for staying up to date with business tactics, practices, and techniques is to attend seminars given by other experts in your field. Many seminars are free and are beneficial because they are presented on a personal level. While in attendance, prepare to listen with a critical ear while having an open mind on new philosophies. A comparative analysis of different strategies can result in better work practices and can strengthen your companies ability.