Many people in the business and professional world work extremely long hours, sometimes seven days a week, ignoring their need for personal refreshment. They ignore this paradox of being able to accomplish more if we work less, setting aside time for much-needed rest.
Do your employees know what it takes to be a good leader? When you’re hiring or promoting for a leader role, do you know exactly what qualities you’re looking for?
Engaging in work, parenting, personal hobbies or some other activity, there are two extremes for how we do what we do. We can adopt the “good enough is…good enough” mindset, trying to get by with a relative minimum of effort. Or we can choose a very different approach, that of perfectionism, a fixation on attempting to do things exactly right.
Gathered together were admirals, generals, captains, colonels, corporate CEOs, medical doctors, professors. Influential men of various ranks and professions. None of their successes and failures were apparent, however, for without their uniforms they all looked the same. The gathering was a trip down memory lane, our U. S. Naval Academy class of 1961’s 55-year reunion, in 2016. As I looked around the room and recaptured memories of all those young warriors, filled with incredible hopes and dreams and aspirations, all I could think of was, “Where have they gone?”
Who still understands the word “virtuous” today? Its use has long gone out of fashion. The new virtue is more something like Astrid Lindgren lets Karlsson once said “It’s got to go bang, and it has to be fun, otherwise I won’t come!” In other words, it should bang “very” and “a lot”.
How can young Christian professionals build a career – and excel in a competitive business environment – if the secret of their success is their personal religious conviction and their relationship with God? We read about this in the story of Daniel and in the narrative relating the experiences of the present author, Wouter Droppers.
A character that consists of trustworthiness, honesty, and love of neighbour at work may be the most important success factors in one’s career.
As entrepreneurs, we are often under a lot of pressure. Think of changing revenue models, new technology, new legislation, staff members that do not live up to our expectations, a bank drawing up new cash flow requirements, and other extraordinary economic circumstances such as Covid-19. How do we as entrepreneurs deal with these circumstances and what is the added value of the Christian faith in times of pressure and crisis?
“Radically lonely”. Is there a connection between isolation and radical thinking and acting?
How can we as entrepreneurs contribute to the happiness and well-being of all those involved with our company? Where do we find our own happiness and contentment? The biblical cities of Babylon and Jerusalem form the basis of this first series. They are symbols for two ways of thinking about happiness and business.
