Compounding

Anyone who has ever taken an economics class or attended a Dave Ramsey seminar will tell you that compounding is an extremely powerful tool for multiplying the value of your efforts. Very simply, compounding is the cumulative effect of taking the outcome of your effort and reinvesting it back in as input. The result is the yield of your effort creates its own yield, which in turn creates its own yield… the cycle builds upon itself ad infinitum. Cool, right?

But like all strategic tools, the compounding phenomenon can work both to the benefit and detriment of your organization. A lesson that most companies (and people) learn the hard way.

A quick analogy.

Right now, there is infection in five of my toes. I’ll spare you the details but know this: IT HURTS. ...

Business as Mission Methodology – Business Organization and Resource Coordination (part 1)

The following is another excerpt from the BAM Survey 2007 Report. The BAM Survey 2007 Report is an in-depth assessment of the state of the Business as Mission movement based on survey responses from 497 people in 38 countries. You can purchase an electronic copy of the BAM Survey 2007 Report for $14.99 here.

Business as Mission Methodology – BAM Business Organization and Resource Coordination (part 1)

Defining the Business as Mission Movement

The following is an excerpt from the BAM Survey 2007 Report, an in-depth assessment of the state of the Business as Mission movement that I wrote while developing the consulting services division of EC Group International. The report is based on survey responses from 497 people in 38 countries.

Though based on data collected in 2007, many of the insights contained in this report are valuable in understanding the state of the Business as Mission movement at the beginning of 2010. That is why over the course of the next several weeks I will be posting excerpts from the report on this blog. Additionally, you can purchase an electronic copy of the BAM Survey 2007 Report for $14.99.

Whether you are a BAM practitioner, a church or missions organization that supports Business as Mission, or an individual who is ...

Have you ever seen a broken heart?

In life, in missions, in business it’s important to be reminded why it is that you do what you do. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work out of my house and it’s a wonderful motivator to be able to spend time during the day with my amazing family. When I was leading strategic research projects for Fortune 500 companies, the highlight of the engagement was always to see the client face to face and to provide new insight into their business challenges. As an Elder of my church it is an honor to sit and tearfully bring praise and pleading before the Lord with the men and women I worship with.

As the body of Christ we are Christ’s envoys to the world today. His rescue mission is our rescue mission. Tonight I got a first hand look at a broken, shriveled, and hardened heart. The kind of heart that only the pure and perfect love of Jesus can heal.

Motivations for BAM as a strategy (part 2)

In part 1 I discussed how global trends are leading missions organizations to pursue business as part of their missional strategy. In part 2 of this three post series, I talk about how Business as Mission is appealing in the face of many of the challenges facing those in the missions field today. In part 3 I’ll conclude with a discussion of the benefits of Business as Mission that missions organization look for and shine some light on to how to avoid being blinded by optimism.

2. Business as Mission as a means for addressing challenges facing the organization

According to my work at Unconventional Method developing Business as Mission programs for global missions organizations, some of the top challenges facing both field missionaries and organizational leadership can be classified into five (5) categories:

• Lack of strategic focus
...

Business profit and the Parable of the Minas

“The Parable of the Minas” (Luke 19:12-27) teaches a number of principles that should shape how profit is considered in the Business as Mission context.

1. Profit is good.

During the settling of accounts, the master responds positively to the servants who had earned profit by:

• Saying “Well done!” – the master views their efforts as good.
• Calling the servants “good” and “trustworthy” – the master expected his servants to pursue profit.

2. Profit is not the motivation. (more…)...