29 John 3:16 NIV No company operates in a vacuum. There is always an end-user of the product or service that your company provides. There is a real, live human on the other end of the transaction.
That goes back to what we established earlier: business is not all about sales figures—there are people involved, and that is how you plug love into business. We really have to develop the mentality of loving people then transfer that love to projects.
As an employer or manager, loving your employees and taking good care of them will benefit everybody. When you care for your employees, they will feel valued and will therefore transfer the same love and care to your customers.
This transfer will create customer loyalty, resulting to an increase in revenue and profits. When the company is doing well, the employees are rewarded well, and the customers are happy—everybody wins.
Purpose at work So much has been written about the subject of finding your purpose. Often, when most authors talk about “purpose,” they say your purpose is defined as “doing something you enjoy doing.”
There is some truth in that. However, there is another part of the truth, which most authors are not talking about. It is this: your purpose will sometimes require you to do things that you do not like to do, in order to get desired results for your customers.
Most people conclude that if you work in a job that you don’t like, then you are in the wrong job. That is not absolutely true. There are many times when you will have to do what you hate in order to achieve the results that you love to see. Let me give you a clear example that I think you will recognize.
The purpose of Jesus was to come and demonstrate the love of God by reconciling us back to God. Now, the fulfillment of His purpose required Him to go to the cross of Calvary. Clearly, Jesus did NOT enjoy the process of going to the cross.
That is why He prayed three times in the garden of Gethsemane, praying in effect, “Father, if it is possible for these people to be saved without me going to the cross, take this cup away from me because I don’t really want to endure the pain and suffering of the cross.”30(Paraphrased)
I’m sure that, in His encounter with Father God through prayer, He discovered that the only way mankind was going to be saved was through the cross. So, He committed Himself to do something He did not like, so that the people He loved would experience freedom.
30 Luke 22:39-46 So there are times when you have to do a job you hate, in order to enable the people you love (your customers) to get good results.
When it comes to business, I know a lot of business people (including myself) who do not like to create a plan, but they love the results that planning generates. Like a lot of business people, I hate to plan because it is time-consuming, it requires deep thinking, it requires energy—a lot of people in business don’t plan, because of the above reasons.
There are even people who plan and then get a loan from the bank, but after they get the loan, they don’t follow the plan. They leave it on the shelf to collect dust.
The results that planning brings to any business makes it a worthwhile exercise. So even though I don’t like to get up in the morning and plan my day, I enjoy the results, so I allow the love I have for myself and my customers to motivate me to plan. I force myself to go through that activity because the results will benefit me and my customers.
The purpose of every business is to solve an existing problem. In solving a problem, you will sometimes be doing activities that you don’t like to do. Because you like the result that the solution you provide will produce, you will go ahead and carry out that activity.
A wise man once said, “If GOLD is your desire, then the FURNACE must be your passage.”31 To achieve the great things you want, you will have to make some sacrifices.
You will have to go through fire—there is no way around it. It is like saying that you want to win the Olympic gold medal in swimming, but you don’t want to touch water or practice too hard. That doesn’t make any sense, does it? Loving your customers requires some sacrifice.
Jesus had to go through suffering in order to fulfill his purpose. Using our previous definition of business, we can see that Jesus was filling a need— he was solving an existing problem. He was solving the greatest problem on earth—iniquity.
It was an existing problem—iniquity was and is still a big problem. The solution to that problem was salvation, so he needed to go through pain and suffering to bring the solution to mankind. His main motive was love.
Here is the secret of doing work that you don’t like, in order to serve the people you love. When you are motivated by love, you will easily overcome the pain of the process. The joy of seeing your product bringing positive results in the lives of people erases the suffering. Let us look at a scripture from the book of Hebrews:
31 Unknown author “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” - Hebrews 12:2 NIV
Focus on the joy—the joy you get when you help your customers accomplish their goals, the excitement of seeing their problems solved. That excitement and joy should enable you to go through any process of pain or suffering, in order to serve your customers with love. That is the kind of love Jesus demonstrated on the cross.
We can apply this principle in a lot of different ways. Every business person has certain things they don’t like to do. It can be cold calling, follow-up or writing sales letters. However, if you focus on the desired end result, you will be able to go through the process and complete the activity successfully.
What activities do you hate, but must do to serve your customers? I used to hate sales and marketing because I was of the opinion that selling was nothing more than manipulating people to buy stuff. One day, God opened my eyes to see sales and marketing in a new light. He enabled me to understand that marketing and sales are simply a process of finding people who have a problem and persuading them to buy your solution to solve their problem.
I had to go through the painful process of learning how to overcome objections and rejections. I had to learn how to focus on the problems of my target customers and be determined to offer them a solution.
If you have an excellent product or service, and you are not persuading people to purchase from you, it is like having the cure for cancer and hiding that cure from people who are suffering from cancer. If you have the cure for cancer, and you know that people are dying from cancer and you love those people, wouldn’t you persuade them to use your product or service to receive healing?
Now when you begin to see sales and marketing as offering a quality solution to people who have a problem, then it takes away the feeling of manipulation. In fact, it makes it a MORAL OBLIGATION for you to get the word out about your product or service. If you have a solution to an existing problem, and you don’t present it to the people who have the problem, you are being selfish.
Building The Business System That Never Fails requires you to market and sell to your customers enthusiastically. When you are marketing and selling a valuable solution to solve an existing problem, you are demonstrating love.
Selling and marketing are a blessing, and every child of God who is in business should embrace them because they are simply the presentation of a solution. In fact, if you have a genuine product or service of high quality, you should be proud to offer it to your customers. You should be excited to offer it.
The key word in selling to others is the conditional word “if”, meaning if you are selling because you are motivated by love.
The most powerful motivator is love. You don’t have to manipulate people to purchase from you if you have a genuine product or service with great value. I understand some products in the market are not of good quality, which is the reason we are exploring The Business System That Never Fails. This system is based on you offering genuine products and services that are solving problems for customers—problems that keep them awake a
t night. Train yourself and your staff to market and sell with love and you will build The Business System That Never Fails.
How can you love and serve your employer? Now that we have talked about loving the customers who use your products, I want us to explore loving your employer as the customer. Let's talk about how to love your employer and serve him or her. When you serve your employer as a customer, it implies that you are in position to be a blessing to him or her; it implies that you are in a higher position than he or she. This is the opposite of the norm, where an employee tends to see himself or herself in a lower position than his boss or employer.
Jesus said, “The greatest amongst you should be a servant.”32 So when you are in the position of service, you are actually in the greatest position.
The secret of promotion at work that never fails Some employees go to work with an attitude of an entitlement. Instead of being productive, they spend time criticizing aspects of the company they do not like. This attitude does more harm than good.
Some of them see their bosses as a necessary evil— no! See your employment as a blessing. As a matter of fact, when you obey your employer, you are showing honor to authority, as well as obeying and honoring God.
So you have an opportunity to help your employer to solve the problems internally and externally. It is good to have a grateful attitude as an employee. However, here is one of the major complaints I hear from employees when I talk with them:
“Benson, I have been working in this company for a long time. Why am I not receiving a raise or promotion?”
If you find yourself in this situation, I encourage you to focus on solving more problems for your employer. Why? When you focus on solving more problems for your employer, your company will be able to produce more innovative products and
32 Luke 22:26 NIV
services for their customers. As a result, the company’s revenue will increase and, voila, your employer will be in a better position to give you a raise or promotion.
So focusing on solving more problems and adding value is a win-win-win situation for everybody. Your employer wins, your customers win and you win. This type of business system will never fail.
To illustrate this point, I called some of my friends who are working in different companies and I gave them impromptu interviews. Here is an excerpt of the first interview:
Me: How are you doing today?
Friend: Fine. Me: Do you have five minutes to answer a few questions for me?
Friend: Sure. Me: I know you were recently promoted. Why did your company promote you?
Friend: Because of my skill set and the leadership piece Me: Are there people in your company that have not been promoted for a long time?
Friend: Yes, I was one of them for a long time, but things have changed. I now spend a lot of my time trouble-shooting and solving problems.
Me: So you have been adding more value to your company?
Friend: Yes. Me: Thank you very much. I asked you these questions because I am currently writing a book and want to illustrate with a real life example that solving problems and adding value are key to receiving promotion.
Friend: Wow, I did not know this was for a book. I am glad this was impromptu.
Me: Thank you for your time. Talk to you soon. My friend’s answers were revealing. Weren’t they? I want to prove this principle further. The Bible says; in the mouth of two or three witnesses, a matter is established.33 With this understanding, I decided to call another friend who was not aware I was writing a book. Here is the excerpt of the second interview:
Me: Do you have five minutes to answer some questions for me?
Friend: Yes.
33 2 Corinthians 13:1 NIV Me: Have you ever been promoted at work? Friend: Yes. Me: Why were you promoted?
Friend: My leadership role and ability to get things done. I was always pushing my team to finish products.
Me: So you were very productive. Friend: Yes
Me: Ok. I asked you these questions because I am currently writing a book and want to illustrate with real life examples that solving problems and adding value are key to receiving promotion.
Friend: Well, I must admit that before my promotion, I had applied for a position within the company and did not get it. I was so discouraged, but had to remind myself that I was working for God. It was not easy to maintain a good attitude, but God helped me to stay committed and to stay faithful. The promotion came about six months afterwards.
Me: Thank you so much for answering these questions. Your answers will encourage some people who have been waiting to be promoted. From the two interviews, it is clear that solving problems, getting things done, being productive and taking initiative as a leader were instrumental to their promotions.
There will be moments when you will do all of these things and not get promoted immediately. Do not get discouraged. Keep a good attitude and continue to be productive. Your promotion will come as it was the case with my friend in the second interview.
“Benson, what if I put in all this effort, and yet I do not receive a promotion?” That is a good question. You should focus on doing your work unto God, and He will ensure that you are promoted, even if it does not happen in your current company. God has many ways to promote you. He can give you an idea to start your own business. He can get you another job with higher wages. The possibilities are endless. The key is to stay committed and faithful where you are. God will always reward you. There is no company politics in God’s reward system.
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:7-9 NIV.
Keep up with the good work. Your reward is on the way....
How to enjoy your work
Take a moment to answer these two questions: Why do you work every day? Do you enjoy what you do? "Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men," - Colossians 3:23 AMP
To enjoy your work every day even during challenging moments, you need to always remind yourself of two important Biblical principles:
1. Your work is for God, not for man. If you are working at Apple Computers, see yourself as working for the Lord at Apple Computers. If you are working in a hospital, see yourself as working for the Lord in that hospital. Working for the Lord is NOT limited to working in the Church or a non-profit organization. When you consciously remind yourself that you are working for the Lord, you will begin to enjoy work. Your work will become more meaningful.
2. Your work is a demonstration of love to the end user. Who is the end user of the product or service you produce at work? If you do not know the answer, please find out.
As you work, think about the end user of your product or service. Work from your core, your heart, knowing that the quality of your work will impact the end user positively or negatively. If you HATE your work, you are indirectly telling the end user, "I hate you."
On the other hand, when you do your work with excellence and love, you are indirectly telling the end user, "I love you and I will do everything I can to serve you excellently."
Work is a platform for you to demonstrate your love for God and for people. Work for God because you love Him and produce quality products and services because you love the end users. Applying these two principles will enable you enjoy your work every day even during challenging moments.
The law of sowing and reaping never fails “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” – Genesis 8:22 NIV
The laws of God govern the earth. One of the most powerful laws of The Business System That Never Fails is the law of sowing and reaping, or seedtime and harvest. This law operates the same way all the time. If you plant an apple s
eed, you will harvest apple fruits.
The law of seed time and harvest operates the same way all over the world. It operates in Africa, America, South America, Asia etc. It operates in any business the same way too. Your seed determines your harvest.
Sow quality seeds where you are now As an employee, sow quality seeds in serving your employer and the company and you will surely reap the fruits of your labor. Let's use Joseph’s example again to illustrate this law. Joseph sowed quality seeds while working in Potiphar’s business. He was a faithful worker. God was with him and he continued to make progress despite some challenges.34
Though Joseph’s next job was in a place he did not anticipate, he continued to sow good seed. Even in prison, Joseph continued to prosper because the Lord was with him.35 Joseph’s relationship with God was a key component of his prosperity. He was properly connected to the first pillar—God.
34 Genesis 39 NIV It took some time for Joseph to reap the fruits of his labor, but the law of seed-time and harvest eventually kicked in and Joseph became in charge of the entire nation.36
This was not an overnight promotion. Joseph had been faithful for a long time, and God was watching.
God is watching all your efforts. As you continue to be faithful with smaller projects, God will put you in charge of more.37 If you plan to operate your own business in the future, you must realize that God is watching what you are doing in your current position.
35 Ibid
36 Genesis 41 NIV 37 Matthew 25:21 NIV As you continue to be faithful, God will give you ideas to start your own business. On the other hand, if your attitude is lackadaisical in your current position, it will be difficult to run your own business successfully.
“And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?” Luke 16:12 KJV
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