It is amazing to see people around the office that will step up and serve when the time calls for it.  We all have talents and gifts that can be used in powerful ways if we will just decide that serving is a priority and open our eyes to the opportunities that present themselves all over the workplace.  These opportunities can come from all kinds of directions.  Let me share a story with you about someone I work with who was a real inspiration to me in this way.

We all remember the tornado that went through Joplin, MO last year as if it were yesterday.  It was one of those moments in life you will always remember what you were doing when you heard about the devastation so close to home.  The next day at the office, so many people were asking, “what can we do”?  Several wanted to immediately drive to Joplin to help with the recovery effort, yet nobody was really sure how to get started or what to do.  After listening quietly to all the concern throughout the day, one of our associates, John, asked if he could talk to me in my office.  John lives in Monett, MO, very close to Joplin, and had served as a Missouri State Trooper in a previous career.  In a very short amount of time, John showed me a plan he had put on paper of how many volunteers we would need around the clock to feed emergency workers in downtown Joplin.  The plan included supplies, location, emergency phone numbers, vehicles, and everything else that would have us serving food within a couple of hours.  Once the plan was in place, the volunteers were assembled and a schedule was put together allowing us to serve food in Joplin for the next two weeks.

What started as concern and a lot of uncertainty, quickly turned into action when one person stepped up with a plan.  Over the next two weeks, our entire office staff had taken time out of their schedule to serve emergency workers in Joplin.

Many times in our day-to-day routine, it just takes someone to step up and provide the leadership necessary to make something happen.  So many people around you want to help serve others, yet they don’t know where to start.  As you start to respond to these opportunities, your co-workers will be inspired by the example you set and serving others can become a common part of your workplace experience.

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.

1. 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…”
2. 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.
3. 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

More likely, our landmines look like small choices made every day; how do I report my business results and how they were achieved, or should I expense this or that.  In office environments our landmines are often temptations that take us away from our work.  Maybe it’s fantasy football, endless web surfing, or bidding for that primo iPhone 4 on eBay.  Often these landmines seem very small and insignificant, but that’s EXACTLY where we get blown up.

If we agree that the small things are the most likely to challenge our integrity, what can we do to protect ourselves and bolster our decision-making all week-long?  Here are a few practical tips for navigating the minefields at work:

1. Follow the manual. Nearly every employer has a handbook of sorts. If they don’t (or even if they do), use Proverbs 11 as your guide.  It’s all spelled out there!
2. Weigh the consequences.  Sad choices can ruin careers.  Are a few extra bucks in your pocket or praise you didn’t earn worth risking your career or reputation?  Not likely!
3. Ask “what if Jesus was watching me?”  If you had to submit your reports to Jesus, would they stay as-is? Hey, He knows the truth anyway…

Truthfully, the real landmine damage is actually done to your fellowship with God.  He wants all of you at work and wants you to experience all He has planned for you.  Remember that “…God tests the heart and is pleased in integrity…” (1 Chronicles 29:17) and that He has your back at work.

Honor Him with your eight to five and He will honor you for a lifetime.

In the minefield with you, Steve

This is a guest post by Steve Toth. He is a husband, father of two wonderful children, and the business unit leader at Novar. He was the marketplace teacher at our recent Eight to Five event focused on INTEGRITY, one of the Seven Pillars of Faith at Work. His teaching is available to you now in Video, Podcast, and Executive Summary formats.

This past weekend, I was watching a college football game, when a coach was asked at halftime, “How does the loss of your starting quarterback affect you?” The coach answered quickly, “nothing changes,” and walked away.

Maybe that coach was not completely honest, maybe he was. But the thought did occur to me that we often find the value we place on something, after it is gone. If that is true, how would you answer this question if asked at this point of your life:

“If there was no Jesus, how would it affect you?”

Would anything really change? Would how you live your life be altered at all? Other than a possible weekly routine of going to church, would your life really be different?

Before rushing to a quick answer, think about it… If there was no Jesus available for the rest of your life, would it really make a difference? Or would your  answer be just like that head coach’s…”nothing changes”?

If that starting quarterback truly was a difference maker, and that coach was able to be completely honest in his answer, you would expect the response to be something other than, “nothing changes.” You would expect words like:

• Everything is different,
• he was our hope,
• our leader,
• our difference maker,
• everything we did was centered around him,
• if we don’t have him….we really have no chance,
• we could afford to lose anything else, but not him.

A coach would never say that on national TV for obvious reasons, but I have to think at times, that would be their honest, authentic response.

What would be our honest authentic response? Is Jesus really our difference maker, hope, leader? Is everything we do centered on Him? If we did not have Him, would we really have a chance? Could you afford to lose anything except Him?

Take time to think about this question. Then think back over the course of the past 2 weeks. Is there enough evidence in your life to support your answer? Is Jesus more than just another player to you? Or would your answer honestly be, “nothing changes,” and then slowly walk away?

God Bless, Jimmy Dykes

One statistic seems to get lost in the blessings of altering the journey of those between jobs. Over 40 leaders have volunteered their time to teach and inspire hundreds of people between jobs! Today we asked 12 of them to make one last return to coach and challenge and encourage a roomful that needed it.

What has amazed me over the past 2 1/2 years, is how passionate these leaders have been about serving those between jobs. They not only come and speak, but they hand out their business cards and beg people to call them. They ask what else they can do. A leading Recruiting firm’s leader said to me, “our entire company is at your disposal!”

I found it fascinating to watch these 12 influential leaders arrive at 8:00a.m. for breakfast, speak on a panel, then stay and work the room until 11:00a.m.

What does that say to you?

For even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve…  Mark 10:25

One of the great leaders of the Bible was exceptionally good at inquiring of God before he made big decisions. And God so often directed Joshua’s path. But in Joshua 9:14, we learn that in one instance they did not “inquire of the Lord”. And it cost them. They were tricked into signing a treaty with neighbors against God’s directions.

Some suggestions:

1. Read this story of Joshua 9:14.
2. Begin praying in the morning for the “major” decisions you face each day.
3. Write it in your journal.
4. See what God does.

It may feel like you are slowing down in making big decisions, but if you get it right do you care?

The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.   Joshua 9:14

⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.

⁶ Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

⁷ Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people,

⁸ because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

⁹ And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

Ephesians 6:5-9

Recently, the newly appointed President and CEO of J.B. Hunt Transport, John Roberts, had a personal profile in their company magazine. Here is an excerpt:

“I have relied on my faith to guide my way for many years now in my work and in my personal life. I get direction and inspiration from reading the Bible and from my church and friends about how to live out life to the fullest according to God’s plan for me.”

How are you living your “life to the fullest“, especially at work? It’s difficult. It’s complicated. But it’s 50% of your life. Can I encourage you today to find your direction and inspiration to live your faith at work? It’s a daily investment of time, but it’s so powerful to live your life to the fullest.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”  1Corinthians 10:31

Read these excerpts from a recent interview Mike Duke did with The Associated Press in New York:

Q. How do you balance the nitty-gritty of the business with looking at the big picture?

A. If I spend all of my day in the details as a CEO of a company like Wal-Mart, I think it would be trouble, because I wouldn’t really be prepared to speak to the big issues that the country or the world should face. But at the same time, if you spend all of the time at 50,000 feet, (you) really are not out talking to customers and know real people. … I think it’s often the interaction directly with customers in the details of their family and their issues is what inspires me to want to help solve the big issues.

Q. What ideals from Sam Walton do you embrace?

A. (Leadership is) about showing respect to every individual, about humility over arrogance, about listening and getting feedback from a broad array of constituents. It’s about a passion for customers and knowing customers firsthand, not theoretical, not through some data only, but by having personal, passionate communication with customers. And leadership is about striving for excellence. It’s about setting aggressive goals and not being afraid to go after very aggressive goals and targets. I think it’s even better for a leader to set an aggressive goal and come up a little short than it would be to set a soft goal and to exceed it.

Q. What should a leader value most?

A. Integrity and trust. If a leader doesn’t have the trust of associates, of customers, of shareholders, then all the other things, the ability to speak eloquently and to sing and dance and entertain, (don’t) mean a thing if a leader’s not trusted.

Q. Does work ever stop for you?

A. I do spend really focused time with my wife, my kids, grandkids, and so when I’m doing something or on a golf course, work has stopped. I’m not always thinking and working. … I think a leader has to really be a balanced, whole and healthy person personally in order to be the best leader on the job.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” Colossians 3:23

Henry Ho:

“This is powerful stuff that should stir our souls.  While we have made great progress with racial equality since 1963 when this letter was written, it is important to note that we are not there yet.  There is more work to be done.  There are still many other areas of injustice in our communities and in the world that need our involvement as individuals and as a company.  I think this may be something that you would want to share with your spouse/friends.  If you have children, you may want to share these excerpts with them each year during MLK day and talk about it.  This would be like reading the Christmas story.”

Excerpt from Dr. King’s letter:

I cannot sit idly in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was “well timed” in view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word “wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.” We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Councilor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says, “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another mans freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro the wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating that absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.