April 2008: Volume One, Number Four

What's Wrong With American Business?
An Interview with Ron Jenson

I have found this interview with Ron Jenson to be interesting and relevant to the mission of BelieversinAmerica.  I have extracted excerpts and, with permission, present it for your information.
-Bill Weaver, Founder, Believers in America® 

Ron Jenson is an internationally known author, speaker and executive consultant. He is chairman of MaxLife – a company providing educational programs, products and services for personal development. He is also chairman of High Ground – a worldwide association of leaders in business, government, academia, the professions and entertainment, which is committed to leadership education programs internationally. He holds a masters in education and a doctorate in the area of leadership development. Jenson has devoted much of his career to the study of leadership and success , serving in his role as life coach and consultant to leaders throughout the world. His book, Make A Life, Not Just A Living (Thomas Nelson), was released in 1995 and is the culmination of this process and lays the foundation for a new success ethic.

QUESTION: Where do you see American business today?

American business is facing some new and significant challenges.  Certainly there are economic and technological trends that have resulted in the downsizing of many companies. Furthermore, the trend is moving rapidly to the establishment of decentralized entities though tele-commuting, home businesses (one started in the U.S. every six seconds) and the growth of strategic alliances via the virtual corporation.

However, the biggest trend is the destabilization of the personal lives of the employment force.  America established and sustained its productivity and influence based on the foundational principles that people based their lives upon – kindness, honesty, solid work ethic, etc. Alexis de Toqueville, the French statesman, commented to his colleagues after studying American during the founding years, “America is great because she is good. If she ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.” Today America and the American workforce are ceasing to be good.  Much of the fruit that we enjoy today stems from our original goodness. As that goodness wanes so does the fruitfulness. This is the crisis facing businesses in specific, and the culture at large.

QUESTION: Is the “bottom line” still the prevailing ethic?

Clearly, profitability is the prevailing ethic in  many businesses. Yet, I see growing attention being given to the “top line.”  That is the contribution the company is making to its various constituencies.  This is reflected in proactive employee training in professional and personal growth areas, community service and a renewed commitment to a principle-centered work ethic.

QUESTION: How does the marketplace become a mission field for Christian business people?  What are the dangers and the opportunities?

The workplace is the mission field for most of us. We spend most of our time there. And since all of us are witnesses and are to be salt and light, this is where we must focus.  One of our problems is that we have tended to see ministry as activity overseas or as something that only happens in the church. However, ministry is a way of life. I am encouraged to see the growing number of people, and particularly business leaders, who are beginning to take the high ground at work and are becoming much more proactive in “ministering” to their people in appropriate ways. My company, MaxLife, is now working with various groups to place biblically consistent, but not religious-sounding tools for personal leadership development into the hands of leaders in various companies and organizations to help them elevate the core principles for “goodness” in appropriate and effective ways.

We have discovered that we can teach core-value skills – like building a value system, developing team unity, handling stress, establishing a solid work ethic, etc. – in a non-religious way. Furthermore, we have worked to develop training tools for life coaches. These are individuals in a company who work to mentor the employees in core personal life and leadership skills. All of our tools are targeted at the broad-based secular audience. However, there is a fascinating dynamic that is developed between the life coach and the employee as they talk through the skills being developed.  Oftentimes, the spiritual side of life is elevated in a non-threatening, non-offensive, need-oriented way. That is powerful ministry!

QUESTION: How do Christians become salt and light in the marketplace to reveal Christ in the workplace?

Beyond assertively elevating truth, as I have mentioned earlier, we can winsomely expose people to our own lives.
If we are in intimate connection with the Lord, the fruit will be visible and powerful.

QUESTION: Are Christian-owned businesses any different than other businesses?

They should be.  As Christians we ought to reflect our values assertively though our companies. How we treat people, spend our money, develop policies and relate to the community should all flow out of our commitment to Christ and His heart.

QUESTION: What would you tell the person who has a strong faith in God who feels he may be “selling out” by staying in the marketplace rather than seeking full-time Christian service elsewhere?

First, I tell people that every Christian is in full-time service.  The only question is where they get their income.  So often, committed, growing Christian business people want to be more engaged in Kingdom work, and they feel that they must leave the business environment and go to seminary to pastor or join a full-time parachurch entity. God may want that.  But, more often than not, they need to focus on “blooming where they are plannted.” We need to leverage the positions and resources God has given us right now. 

That means we should see all life as ministry, get proactive at work in elevating truth by exposing people to biblically consistent training, personally minister to those around us as a way of life (life coaching is a great way to do this), pray for opportunities to move people toward Christ and reflect God’s value system right where we can.

Finally, I see a very exciting, growing trend on the part of business people to provide leadership for Kingdom work.
For many years business people have sat back and waited to be asked to fit into a ministry at a church or parachurch group. This, again, is needed, but a subtle thing has happened:  this seems to be changing. God is moving men and women to be what I call “Kingdom Kings” – Daniels, Davids, Abrahams, Ruths, etc. In the Old Testament it was these Kingdom Kings who led in much of the work of the Kingdom, not the Kingdom priests, the full-time “professional” ministry people. Also, the New Testament leaders were by and large tent  makers who did Kingdom work. So, too, God is moving many business leaders to be much more proactive in initiating and developing Kingdom ministries. This is a whole other discussion for another time, but it is very exciting to me.

My company focuses on helping people maximize their personal and professional growth through development of personal life and leadership skills. We have found a huge need for this training. We resource businesses and institutions to build their greatest asset --  their people. We do this through products, books, audio and video tape, training manuals, etc.  We also provide training through seminars, keynote speeches, personal life coaching and in-house training.  Finally, we equip in-house life coaches to develop the staff within their own companies. This training covers life changes.  Content helps, but people change in the context of relationships and mentoring/discipling/coaching. New skills must be developed for lasting impact to be made. Our commitment is to highly resource life coaches so their impact will edure.  As lives are changed toward fundamental “goodness,” then companies will change in the same direction. Good management is always based on self-management.  As companies begin to change, not only will they become more profitable on the bottom line, but also on the top line. This will permeate the culture.  What greater legacy could we leave?

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Believers in America®

Believers in America® is committed to offering exciting and uplifting real life testimonials from various individuals who have successfully incorporated their faith into their workplace environments and is an answer to a calling that has filled my heart as a Christian entrepreneur. This WebMag endeavors to provide tips, encouragement and support for those experiencing a similar desire to "live their faith" at work.

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Bill Weaver, President
Weaver Associates
www.weaverassociates.com

Established in 1976, Weaver Associates is a graphic design and creative development studio based in the metro Atlanta area. Our mission is to provide innovative solutions for clients relying on technology to grow their businesses. Our clean approach to our clients’ design challenges has been integral to their success throughout the years.

Mr. Weaver also serves as President and Founder of Believers in America®.