» David Roth

Who Cares?

David Roth — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:37:46 +0000

I love today’s blog post from Seth Godin! Especially this point…”Caring, it turns out, is a competitive advantage, and one that takes effort, not money.” One of our Core Values at WorkMatters is Excellence. It is also one of the Seven Pillars of Faith at Work. Excellence is so often found in the details. Enjoy Seth’s wisdom below:

Unless someone does, things start to fray around the edges.

Often it’s the CEO or the manager who sets a standard of caring about the details. Even better is a culture where everyone cares, and where each person reinforces that horizontally throughout the team.

You’ve probably been to the hotel that serves refrigerated tomatoes in January at their $20 breakfast, that doesn’t answer the phone when you call the front desk, that has a shower curtain that is falling off the rack and a slightly snarky concierge. This is in sharp relief to that hotel down the street, the one that costs just the same, but gets the details right.

It’s obviously not about access to capital (doing it right doesn’t cost more). It’s about caring enough to make an effort.

If we define good enough sufficiently low, we’ll probably meet our standards. Caring involves raising that bar to the point where the team has to stretch.

Of course, the manager of the mediocre hotel that’s reading this, the staff member of the mediocre restaurant that just got forwarded this note–they have a great excuse. Times are tough, money is tight, the team wasn’t hired by me, nobody else cares, I’m only going to be doing this gig for a year, our customers are jerks… who cares?

Caring, it turns out, is a competitive advantage, and one that takes effort, not money.

Like most things that are worth doing, it’s not easy at first and the one who cares isn’t going to get a standing ovation from those that are merely phoning it in. I think it’s this lack of early positive feedback that makes caring in service businesses so rare.

Which is precisely what makes it valuable.

Generous

David Roth — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:12:25 +0000

gen~er~ous: adjective 1. liberal in giving or sharing; unselfish.

Why are people generous? What makes someone want to give? Is it how they were raised? Or is it in their DNA? Is it because they have excess riches? Or is it a product of their heart?

I don’t pretend to know the answers to these questions, but I have experienced first hand the incredible blessings of generosity.

WorkMatters has been a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization for eight years. We have had the opportunity to help bridge the gap between faith and work for thousands of people largely due to the generosity of people in northwest Arkansas and across the US. Each year we faithfully share our vision and our needs…and you give. Each year we are challenged to live by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

On November 1, 2011 WorkMatters launched One Day at a Time to pray and work to raise $120,000 by December 31. Because of the faithfulness and generosity of many of you, we not only achieved the goal, we exceeded it! We now begin 2012 with great confidence to continue to grow and impact more leaders through the marketplace.

Thank you! We are incredibly grateful for each of you who prayed and invested in this mission and vision. Lives are being impacted, culture is changing.

2012 Challenge

I want to challenge you to make your faith at work a priority in 2012. Don’t compartmentalize your faith. Explore what it means to take whatever faith you feel you have, and live it equally in your work.

WorkMatters can be a powerful and valuable asset in your journey. Study the Seven Pillars of Faith at Work. Determine where you need to concentrate first. And let us know how WorkMatters can impact your life and work in 2012.

Blessed and excited,

David

Proverbs 11:24 – One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

The Intention in Influence

David Roth — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:44:10 +0000

We have been teaching, writing and talking about Influence this month, one of the Seven Pillars of Faith at Work. As leaders, walking (sprinting is more like it) through the end of 2011 and into a fresh new year, Influence has to be omnipresent.

I am reading Leadership is Dead: How Influence is Reviving It by Giant Impact CEO Jeremie Kubicek. Jeremie says “great leaders with true influence build relationships by serving the needs of those within their spheres of influence, even as they serve the needs of their businesses.”

It is the “even as they serve the needs of their businesses” phrase that we should consider. There are certainly numerous opportunities for us to have influence in our personal lives. What about work? In the busy lives that we lead today, how can we be more intentional about influencing in the flow of our day at work?

Here are a few suggestions for you to consider.

Encourage – take the time to share with someone what you see in them. Their gifts, their skills. It doesn’t have to be a long discussion. It can follow a meeting where you simply pull that person aside and say, “you are really good at…”
Mentor – a big, sometimes scary word. That man or woman 5, 10, 20 years younger than you? Their watching. Show them the way. Maybe you can take them to lunch one day. Pour a little of what’s in your cup, in their cup.
Serve - we are pro’s at hiding when we are hurting, especially at work. When you see or hear that someone in your work is going through a difficult time, there is no greater time to serve. Maybe it is an encouraging private word. Maybe it’s an email. Maybe it’s a cup of coffee. Remember those people who came along side of you in your time of need? Now you can use your experience to serve another.

Lord, slow us down enough to notice. Plant the seed in us to be intentional with the influence that you give us, especially in our work. Amen

“You’re here to be light…If I make you light-bearers…shine! By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God…” Matthew 5:14-16

Do you have Markers in your Life?

David Roth — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:33:46 +0000

Eight years ago today, I became the first employee of a start-up marketplace ministry called WorkMatters. It was a leap of faith that only God can orchestrate. The challenge, camaraderie and income of my VP, Sales and Marketing job at J.B. Hunt Transport was now fully in my rear view mirror. The excitement and fear of this incredible new journey was now front and center.

It has been an indescribable eight years at WorkMatters. Everything about it has been new. Everything about it has stretched me. Everything about it has tested and pushed my faith.

It is such a joy to reread some of my journal notes early this morning from September and October of 2003. To reflect, just for a moment, on this day eight years ago.

What about you? What are the markers in your life? Do you write them down? Put them on your calendar as recurring every year? This is more than birthday’s and anniversary’s. These are life changing moments.

If the answer is yes, take the time to meditate on those days when they arrive. Some are incredibly exciting, some are heartbreaking. All are a major part of your life, who you are, how God is moving you closer to Him.

If the answer is no, maybe now is the time to get started. Think back about your life markers. Put them on your calendar. Maybe it’s time to buy a journal. Keep it with you. Jot down the moments worth remembering. Use it to see what God is doing in your life.

Last…thank you, thank you, thank you for being a part (large or small) of this WorkMatters marker in my life. It has been an extraordinary blessing to be used by God in the marketplace!

For Him@Work,

David

Are You Courageous at Home and Work?

David Roth — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:59:29 +0000

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of one of the most important days of my life. On October 5, 1991, Theresa and I said “I do and I will”!

In honor of that day 20 years ago, we spent the entire day together just having fun. We reflected on the past 20 years. We looked at old pictures, we told stories, we laughed, we questioned why on a few things that have happened in our lives. We shared two fabulous meals. We visited the site of the soon to open world renowned Crystal Bridges Museum.

And then we went to the movies. But this was not just any movie. This was a movie about life. About the very fabric of why we are here. About our marriages, our children, our work, and our faith. About being COURAGEOUS in living with great purpose in each of those arenas of life.

You may be familiar with the organization that also brought us the movies Fireproof and Facing the Giants. These are powerful examples of using media to impact our culture in positive ways.

For men and women, but especially Dad’s, take the time this weekend to see this movie. I find it impossible to believe that your life at home and at work will not be profoundly impacted.

Proverbs 22:6

Who Gets the Credit?

David Roth — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:19:36 +0000

Each of us have been given a specific role in our work. For some of us, it’s clearly defined. For others, it seems to change every day. But we each have our gifts and abilities that we bring to the job.

Some of us are really good at what we do. Our impact is real. Maybe even visible. And it’s human nature to be proud of our accomplishments. We may even be tempted to make sure our accomplishments are known. To make sure…we get the credit. Why? We have ego’s. We have house payments. We have goals and aspirations.

But our friend Paul, gives us a great visual image of how that needs to look if we are focused on our Relationship with God at work. He encourages us to plant. He encourages us to water. But he is very clear about who makes things grow!

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 1 Corinthians 3:6-8

In our self-centered world, it’s hard to do our jobs with excellence, then give God all the glory. If we are to “succeed”, we need some of that glory. And indeed, this story tells us that we will be rewarded! That reward may not be what we expect it to be, but we will be rewarded nonetheless!

Let’s PLANT. Let’s WATER. And let’s let God GROW.

“How To” Tips for Relationship with God at Work

David Roth — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:04:11 +0000

For those of you that could not attend the WorkMatters Eight to Five event in early September, here are some tools to help you on your faith@work journey.

This month we are focusing on the first and most important of the Seven Pillars of Faith at Work – RELATIONSHIP. Here are seven simple “how to” tips to help you be successful in abiding with God at work:

Morning bible reading and prayer - include your work!
Wear a wrist band as a reminder to “think God.”
Meet weekly with trusted co-workers to discuss/pray for your work.
Ask God for his peace in your work. Start watching for it.
Crazy but…the privacy of the bathroom makes an awesome prayer room.
Over lunch one day, fast and serve in a food kitchen or homeless shelter.
Be intentional with the Seven Pillars of Faith at Work.

What suggestions do you have?

Inspiration for Relationship with God at Work

David Roth — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:09:21 +0000

We are blogging this month on the first of Seven Pillars…Relationship. Specifically, how we can walk with God all day, every day, but especially in our work. But it’s hard, isn’t it? The menial tasks. The grind. Deadlines. Worry. Money…and the list goes on.

But God calls us to see it differently, doesn’t he? He calls us to see our work as a blessing, not a curse. To understand that our work is a mission, or at least it can be if we let it. To treat our work as worship to Him.

Do you need some inspiration to see a higher purpose in walking with God at work? Watch this video. Watch it to the end because it’s the last five minutes that really matter.

Now…what do you do with what you just witnessed?

How can your life and your work have deeper meaning?

What does your relationship with God look like now?

It’s up to you…

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ Matthew 25:23

Why Don’t I Abide with God at Work?

David Roth — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 02:00:15 +0000

As we discuss the Relationship Pillar and this idea of abiding with God at work, the first question has to be…why don’t we do it?

We talked about this question in several discussion groups at last week’s Eight to Five event. Here are some answers:

Fear - it could cost us something… relationship, $, promotion, job!
Busyness - #1 reason? We are going 100 mph all day long.
Enemy - you think?
Guilt – can’t live up to it; I don’t need that remorse.
Don’t think about it - literally, we just don’t think about God at work.

What do you see in yourself or others that keeps us from abiding with God at work?

Be thinking about this powerful truth:

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me [abide] and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

Seven Pillars of Faith at Work

David Roth — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 22:25:32 +0000

“But, how do you do it? I understand intellectually living my faith at work, but what does that really mean? And how do I do it?”

That question, asked in a variety of different ways, is the most often asked question of WorkMatters. Last Friday, we launched a new flavor of our Eight to Five marketplace ministry focused on answering that question!

Each month we will focus on one of WorkMatters Seven Pillars of Faith at Work.

The first and most important Pillar…RELATIONSHIP…was our focus on Friday. Our relationship with God at work is crucial and it is foundational to the other six Pillars!

Join hundreds of your peers as we go deeper this month on abiding with God at work. We will talk about it here, and we will be introducing additional tools and resources to help you on your journey.

Tomorrow…we’ll discuss what keeps us from abiding with God at work.