Ten Lessons For Every Business Leader

As I was shaving this morning, the thought came to me. What are the ten foundational lessons that I have learned as a business owner? What ten things would I write in concrete for a young entrepreneur? So, over the last few weeks I have massaged this list several times and am now ready to share with you. I hope that you will consider these options and incorporate one of two of these ideas into your workplace.

1. Keep your spouse informed and include him or her in every major decision, especially the key personnel issues, including hiring. Make family time and vacation time a priority. Get alone regularly to think, have some weekends with your spouse, and enjoy time with your children before they grow up and afterwards. (Proverbs 19:14)

2. Gather an Inner Circle or “Counsel of Advisors” around you that have your best interests at heart, are not involved in your business, and will ask you the hard questions. Choose people who will be there for you in times of stress when you need wisdom and encouragement. (Ecclesiastics 4:9-12)

3. Treat your employees like family and be genuinely concerned for their welfare. Hire slowly and fire quickly. Remember that attitude is far more important than ability. Get the right people into the right spots. Find out what each person is passionate about and find the right fit for him or her in your company. The best way to attract the right people is to create a strong company culture. Relationships provide the true foundation for all of your success in the marketplace.(I Kings 7:14)

4. Get out of the office and visit your customers. Take advantage of conventions and trade shows. Listen to what your customers want and need. Solve their problems, and they will make you successful. Keep your promises to them whatever it costs. (Ecclesiastics 7:5)

5. Respect your vendors and develop true partnerships with them. Pay your bills on time and do not take advantage of them. They can become key allies with you in getting new customers. (2 Kings 4:7)

6. Make timely and accurate accounting a priority. Understand your margins, break even points, and fixed and variable expenses. Keep a close watch daily or weekly on your cash flow. Become an expert on pricing. Build your business on profits and prudent use of debt. (Proverbs 27:23)

7. Put all agreements with your fellow shareholders and executives in writing. On one page you should be able to clarify the key points of your understanding. Clear understandings at the beginning will help you to avoid most lawsuits. Settle all disagreements as quickly as you can without the time and expense of going to court. (Luke 12:58)

8. Make friends with your competitors and learn from them. You will be a better business leader if you are watching and learning from them. They may become useful acquisitions or alliance partners. (2 Samuel 7:1)

9. Be generous with your profits, particularly with your employees and your community. Help your employees to save for the future and share in the rewards of the company’s success. Caring and generous leaders attract followers. (Proverbs 11:25; 22:9)

10. Value input from other leaders. Be involved in a regular small group of business owners or executives from which you can learn much and be held accountable. Practice the habit of continual learning and give your life to the next generation of leaders. (Proverbs 19:20)

Conclusion: Regardless of your service or product, these ten foundational truths will help keep you on the right path as a leader. Without values and peer relationships, you as a leader will not survive the challenges of the marketplace. But, with a strong foundation and peers who care, you will be able to withstand any attack upon you as a leader or upon your firm.

Kent Humphreys has been a business leader for over thirty years. From 2002 through 2007 he was president of Fellowship of Companies for Christ International (FCCI), an organization that equips and encourages Christian business owners who desire to use their companies as a platform for ministry. He now serves as a worldwide ambassador for FCCI.

Under Promise-Over Deliver

As I sat at lunch with the young insurance executive, he raised a question.  He had an exclusive contract with an insurance company to sell only their products, but his agents wanted to sell a competitive product as well.  My friend wanted to know if it would be morally right to do this through another company in which he had a vested interest.  I reminded him that he had made a covenant, a promise.  His word or reputation was the most valuable possession he had.  Short-term gain would lead to long term broken promises and pain if he pursued this course.  I asked him to consider the intent of the contract, not just the letter of the law.

Business is about relationships and relationships are built on long-term commitments and established trust.  Most of us violate promises every day on the job.  We commit to be at meeting, or to get a report completed by a certain time, or to deliver a new product, or to ship by a certain date, or to pay within terms.  Most inefficiency in business is caused by broken promises and lack of meeting deadlines.  For example, the customers may not give a shipping order when promised.  The custom goods sit on the dock awaiting shipment.  Everyone makes little promises that are not kept.  They meant to give the purchase order, or ship the part on time, or make the service call promptly, but intention was not fulfilled.  What would happen if we did not “over promise” to get the business or “under deliver” after we got the job or the order?

Broken contracts, unpaid bills, strained relationships, overtime hours, late shipments, missed deadlines, and delayed orders seem to be the norm in business today.  In a day of “just in time” inventory, some companies seldom deliver as promised.  In two businesses in which I am involved, key customers and suppliers have a track record of broken promises.  These must be confronted and dealt with or the business will not survive. Let me share some specifics:

Bill is the CEO of a manufacturing firm that produces certain products.  His firm is just now starting to recover from three years of recession in capital expenditures by their industry.  A key customer is constantly pressuring for rapid fulfillment but seldom delivers the purchase order on time.  Bill must encourage his customers to keep their commitments or his firm is not efficient and not profitable.

Joe runs a distribution firm in which their exclusive supplier is constantly raising prices due to lack of communication, poor marketing research, and little long term planning.  Due to these poor business operational practices by his key supplier, Joe cannot keep his customers accurately informed.  These broken promises lead to millions of dollars of lost profits for Joe, his supplier, and his customer.  In each of these cases, Bill and Joe need to show their customers and suppliers that when business partners keep their promises, the results are trusting relationships, smooth running operations, and long-term profits.

In a day in which these types of situations are expected, we as believers in business must be the exception.  First of all, we should not make rash promises to get the account or the order.  We must instruct our sales team to under promise, not over promise. They should over deliver, not under deliver.  God takes promises very seriously.  In the Bible promises are called vows, pledges, covenants, or commitments.  God warns us to not enter into agreements that we cannot keep.  In Old Testament times, a handshake or a given word was the contract.  Regardless, whether you have a written contract or not, you must keep every promise that you or your staff makes.  The Bible tells us that we must keep that promise even if it hurts (Psalm 15:4) or if it was a mistake (Joshua 9:21).

God made many promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and to us.  He keeps every promise (Joshua 23:14). He keeps His word for a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7:9). Will we keep ours for a month or a year?  We need to be very careful about the vows that we make to God (Deuteronomy 23:21; Ecclesiastes 5:4). It is better not to vow than to not keep that vow.  We need to be careful about the people with which we make agreements.  They may become a snare to us (Exodus 23:22).

So, today, ask yourself what promises you have made that are not being kept?  Are they with your customers, vendors, employees, banker, or spouse?  How can we seek to impact a world when we do not keep our word?  When Christian business leaders become “promise keepers” then we will begin to impact and transform our cities and our society.  Make it your goal this month to “under promise” and “over deliver”.

Kent Humphreys has been a business leader for over thirty years. From 2002 through 2007 he was president of Fellowship of Companies for Christ International (FCCI), an organization that equips and encourages Christian business owners who desire to use their companies as a platform for ministry. He now serves as a worldwide ambassador for FCCI.