Faith Driven Entrepreneur

This is a special episode for us. One, we think, definitely worth hearing. Why? Well there are few things more important in our lives than effective story telling. There are few better people (maybe no one??) that do a better job at helping people tell their stories than Nancy Duarte from Duarte Design. They help CEOs of Fortune 100 companies tell their stories, and maybe something more impressive: they are the “go-to” firm to help TED presenters tell their stories well. As you might imagine, they’ve got a great story, one based in their faith and firmly rooted in Scripture. We think you’ll like it and that it will be a blessing for you. Also, we did something a bit different this time through. William and I (Rusty was on the East Coast) took the podcast on the road to the offices at Duarte Design.

God needs our success and our money to do his work on earth, right? What is the most important question for us to answer: How to give, where to give, why to give? How do we define "net worth"? There may not be a more important topic for a Faith Driven Entrepreneur to tackle, than how to think about generosity. We worship a generous God who has given to us generously, and we, as do all Christ followers, have an opportunity to respond. How should we do it as entrepreneurs? How do we think about ownership? How do we think about giving? How do we think about God? In this episode I share my "born again-again" story. If my depiction of how God worked through my life as I struggled with how to think about 90/10...80/20...0/100. We talk about finding a finish line, and we each share a bit of our own stories and those that have been an inspiration to us. You'll note that I refer to the Alan Barnhart story which has made such an impression in my life. You can find the short version of his giving story here, or the longer one (to include how he thought through structures on how to strategically title his business here.)

In this episode, Henry, William, and Rusty explore the topic of expressing gratitude in the workplace. They discuss how we can be more intentional with showing our thanks and appreciation to others as leaders. A starting point for this outpouring is finding a way to be grateful ourselves. When we do this, it resets our perspective and causes us to be grateful for others, their work, and their contribution. Time and time again, employee surveys would show that they feel unrecognized, and unappreciated. This need to be changed as leaders should continually be thinking of creative ways to express gratitude in the workplace. Tune in this week to hear some normal and abnormal ways to do this (including an appearance by mass quantities of rubber chickens). As Christ followers, we should have an unfair advantage because Christ is our model, and his gratitude extended into death on the cross. Join us to hear more thoughts and as always, please send us yours!

In part two with Vic Ho of Fivestars, Vic expands his thinking with regards to how faith and work come together in his life. We discuss Vic's observance of the Sabbath and how it transformed his personal and professional life. How he changed from a constant worrier to a man of peace that knows God has Fivestars' destiny in His hands - the successes and the failures. Then, stay tuned as Vic describes how he thinks Gideon is the best biblical story concerning customer acquisition (worth the price of admission alone here!). Vic's personal journey reminds us that God’s yoke is easy and his burden is light. Additionally, he needs nothing from us but surrender of all things, including our work! Join us to hear the rest of Vic's story, I am highly confident you will be challenged and encouraged.

This week we are honored to sit down with the man, the myth, the legend, Vic Ho, Co-founder and CEO of Fivestars. Vic is a long-time friend of both Henry and William, so it's true joy to have him on the program. What's the lifeblood of a business? We would argue that customers are on the top of this list. Well, that's what Vic focuses on day in and day out. Customer acquisition and customer retention. What else is on the top of that list? Finding unique ways to integrate God on the journey. Vic covers more of this in Part 2 coming out next week, so stay tuned. Vic worked at Goldman Sachs and McKinsey prior to starting Fivestars, and it was there that he discovered the value of customers. He worked on building customer loyalty programs and then a landmark study came out showing it was six times more expensive to get a new customer than it was to hold onto a current one. From there, Fivestars was born, an innovative software platform that helps small businesses (currently over 13,000 of them) retain their current customers and find new ones. Their goal - "turn every transaction into a relationship". Join us to learn from one of the masters about how to do just that. Also, come back next week to learn how Vic's faith ultimately guides him in his role as the CEO of Fivestars.

In this week’s episode, one of our listeners, Marty, asked "how do you discern your calling". This is an incredibly light and easy to answer question that barely impacts an entrepreneur's journey, so this will be short. Of course I'm kidding, this is something we have all asked ourselves, and is something that is incredibly difficult to navigate alone ... so we had to phone a friend. We are super super lucky to have Dave Blanchard from Praxis join us on the podcast to help our listeners think through this issue. Dave and cofounder Josh Kwan started Praxis, which is a business accelerator with an aim to advance redemptive entrepreneurship. Currently in its seventh year, Praxis is designed to help entrepreneurs build a community, create mentorship, and provide discernment for building ventures. And wow, they are GOOD at it! Dave and Josh have been an incredibly blessing to us personally and to the broader faith and work movement. The accelerator has helped 150 entrepreneurs from 150 different countries (both for-profit and non-profit). Talk about reach and impact. They also developed the Praxis Course, an incredible resource for entrepreneurs. You can go through it alone or even better with a group of like-minded folks. Additionally, through the Praxis academy a couple hundred college entrepreneurs (from 80 different schools) spend their summer working with Praxis to start learning about redemptive entrepreneurship. All this to say that Dave has had to think about calling a LOT both personally by choosing to start Praxis and professionally as he aides countless entrepreneurs on the journey. On this podcast he will explain his own journey and speak about others he has mentored. Lastly, on a more practical note, Dave gives several resources for budding entrepreneurs. Sit down and draw a simple Venn diagram with three circles where all three overlap in the center. One circle is “ Love to do”; the other “Good at doing it”; and the last one name it “Could be paid to do.” In the intersection, you will begin to detect what your calling may be. Indeed, sometimes God may call us to be multi-vocational. Other resources are Dave Evans’ book “Designing your Life” and “Visions of Vocation” by Steven Garber. Please join us to hear his wisdom!

In the week’s episode, Henry, Rusty, and William discuss how we can love on our team members through performance reviews. As entrepreneurs, it’s highly likely that you are overseeing a team. As Christ followers, how do we display Christ in the performance review? To set the stage, our resident HR expert, Rusty, advises that performance reviews are designed to help people to become better. With this motivation in mind, it’s important to not look backwards, but to look forward. The manager should set goals with the employee. Do not wait six months or twelve months to give feedback. It’s important to give continuous feedback to team members. Like a coach leading an athlete, continuous feedback is superior to just periodic encounters. Henry observed that different people seem to have different needs in this area. Some crave feedback, while some do not crave it all that much. According to Rusty, we should remember that one size fits one, not one size fits all. To display Christ during this process, Rusty would first make sure he understood the personal and professional dreams of each employee. Because “to be unclear is to be unkind”, (Dave Ramsey) being clear with team members as to performance expectations and goals is one of the most important things an entrepreneur can do for them, and for the company. While some employees don’t care for continuous feedback, Rusty reminds us that they still want to know where they stand. The worst thing is for an employee to wonder and have to ask, “how am I doing?” A performance review is merely tool, of which there are many. Some companies are moving away from performance reviews, opting for a “continuous coaching” paradigm, while others use extensive 360 degree feedback tools. All have pros/cons, but the aim is to grow people. Let’s tell them that we care. Rusty then introduces a potential new paradigm, one in which companies break pay increases from performance feedback. Performance and pay do not always have to go together. Performance is the baseline such as making sure the employee is doing her job. Next, is she exceeding her job? Separately, pay is market-driven especially for in-demand jobs. As a result, there’s room to divorce the two. The market is the market. And performance can be discussed separately. Ultimately, feedback is key. Remember the golden rule, such a good one! Treat others as you would want to be treated, can't go too wrong :) Last piece of advice, for entrepreneurs who do not really report to any one, Henry advises that they would do well to seek out counsel externally in order to get constructive feedback. Boards and partners are great, but they have blindspots from being too close.

In this week’s episode, we have a SPECIAL GUEST! Missy Wallace, Executive Director at the Nashville Institute for Faith & Work (NIFW) joins us and gives us her insights into the convergence of faith and work. She tells us a bit about her own journey, how she developed her theology of faith and work, the founding of NIFW and how she is equipping entrepreneurs today. One unique takeaway is that Missy noticed how in Genesis, we see that God basically brought structure from chaos. Similarly, Missy observed that in the marketplace entrepreneurs' job is also to bring structure from chaos. Throughout the interview, Missy will tell us of stories of various entrepreneurs who have been part of NIFW's entrepreneur support group and how they have grappled with the ups and downs of their chosen career path. These stories range from an entrepreneur coming into a 7-figure event being scared of wealth, to an entrepreneur wrestling with a bankruptcy, to a woman who knew she was called to elderly healthcare from the age of 16. The program is a 12-week closed group where participants agree to a 90% attendance rate. The program includes a video curriculum with faith and work theology. However more than anything else, the group provides a place where the masks can come off; participants can process the anxiety/stress with running a company; they can stop posturing and practice honesty with one another. In redefining success (from a worldly one to a Kingdom one), Missy has found that these entrepreneurs find more peace in their work. For the faith driven entrepreneur, it’s not about the score all the time. Like raising children, the parent can’t just singularly focus on results; they should enjoy the process of their child’s growth as well. In sum, the NIFW provides a great resource to support entrepreneurs who need community and spiritual encouragement. And, Missy is a great storyteller ... join us to hear more!

In this episode, Henry, Rusty, and William tackle questions from our valued listeners. Marty asks, "how do we keep a Christ-centered attitude while growing a business?" For Henry, It’s about identity. It’s almost impossible when the goal is solely financial success. We should seek God first. If there’s frustration at work, it’s an opportunity to pray to God. Rusty brings a tactical point of view, and recommends starting the day prepared. Spending time with God is top priority. We should boot up with God first in order to avoid crashes, or at least minimize them. William reminds us that we can’t forget our first vocation; we are beloved children of God. Our friend, Mike, asks "As a founder, how do i shift work responsibilities over to new employees as I get overwhelmed and simply can't do it all anymore?" For Rusty, it goes back to trust. His litmus test for delegating work is to 1) assess if he himself is good at it; 2) is it routine? and 3) does he like to do it? If so, he will typically delegate those tasks to empower his teammates even though it seems counterintuitive. This allows for employees to grow in his/her capacity which is of paramount importance if you want a long-term employee. Adam, asked "how do we make remote team-members feel engaged and offer them a meaningful culture?" Rusty admits that this is one of the hardest questions. In many ways, culture creates itself. Rusty recalls that at Electronic Arts they had employees all around the world. Rusty sat with the CEO and proposed that they create a one page roadmap for team members to provide a clear picture of the company’s values. This way everyone could align with the most important goals of the company - Rusty is happy to share his framework with anyone. Rick asks "how do we offer to pray for someone at the workplace? What about corporate prayer?" Recalling his own experience, Henry offered that at Bandwidth he would conduct a corporate prayer at picnics and dedicate them to families. In the first 8 years, when an employee was in a crisis Henry would offer to pray for him but he slowly realized that a Corporate Chaplain was a better approach. Henry also shared a story involving an American Express executive. She was in the legal department. She got permission from higher ups to do a corporate prayer. Eventually, she had 150 people in the lunch room meeting to pray. The AE executives came back and asked her if she and her group would serve as a focus group to see how the Christian community would respond to certain products and services. What an incredible witness within a larger organization. Rusty mentioned that he thought it would be an incredible testimony to have a corporate prayer, so we wrote ONE!!! See our blog to check it out. Finally, in responding to Jeffrey’s question on seeking out a Christian business networking group, Henry and William shared about the “Inklings,” a group of Christian entrepreneurs here in Northern California who would gather together to encourage each other in a positive way.

In this week's episode, we discuss how we should view the “40-hour work week” in relation to our faith, family, and overall balance of life? When we unwrap this topic, it touches on issues of prioritization, and leadership. As entrepreneurs, we are wired to work, and work a lot. It’s almost romantic to admit that we work 50-70 hours per week (or much much more :). But at what cost? We must recall that there are at least two groups of people whom we affect with how much we work: family/spouse, and employees/teammates. From the employee’s perspective, they see what we do. We are modeling to them all the time. If they see us working long, ridiculous hours they will feel compelled to do same. If we send emails at 2am, they will think they need to be ready to respond at 2:01am. Remember, the shadow of a leader is large. The second group of people that we impact with how much we work is of course our loved ones. Rusty shares with us a personal experience during his early career. In 1998, he and his wife moved to California so Rusty could join Electronic Arts. After a year or so, his wife suggested that she should move back to New York because Rusty didn't spend much time with her anyway - he might not even notice she left. Bam - that was a wake up call. As a litmus test, William chimes in with a story he heard recently about seeking the “fellowship of the unimpressed.” No matter how big of a deal you are at work, your kids, your spouse or your best friends will just never be that impressed with you. No matter if you are William Norvell or Warren Buffet. If you find yourself in a situation where everyone at work can't stop talking about how wonderful you are while simultaneously your friends and family are giving you criticism, it might be time to pause and reflect. In short, it pays to remind ourselves of our motives. As faith driven entrepreneurs, we should promote the motive to know God, As opposed to looking at “work-life balance,” we should adopt the “work-life priorities” model. As the late Dr. Stephen Covey said, “we should never put ahead what matters most with what matters least. “

n this episode, Henry, Rusty, and William tackle the very difficult issue of when a coworker or a colleague feels that he or she has been wronged. One of our listeners from Northern California asked the question, “How do I deal with burned relationships with former founders, employees, or colleagues, who are also Christians?” As Faith Driven Entrepreneurs, we of course all try to keep Christ and scripture at the center of our work. When conflict arises, what framework can we look at to help us process conflict and reach a Godly resolution? William suggests a three part framework in this area: forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration. It should be noted that forgiveness only takes one person, while it takes two to reconcile. Lastly, it takes maturity to restore the relationship after tough trials, and this is a step often forgotten. Rusty offers that it is best to address the conflict quickly while Henry suggests that we have to check our motives and make sure our actions give God glory. What happens though when it doesn't work out - when a leader has exhausted all options, then what? When this does occur, we have to consider a range of compassion with regards to personal relationships and practical realities - i.e. severance or letters of recommendation. It's also important to remember that no matter what you do to try to reconcile two people, there are sometimes unresolved feelings that cannot be worked through (at least they can't be worked through on earth). Ultimately, we all must patiently await the renewal of all things in heaven.

Whether it is in personal relationships, marriage, or business, being equally yoked with other Christ followers is no doubt highly advantageous. In 2 Corinthians 6:14, the Apostle Paul said, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” While this passage historically is Paul’s warning against idolatry (as verses 7-18 seem to support), this scripture highlights the question of what are we to do in business relationships when it comes to working with those who may not be Christ followers. In this episode, Henry, Rusty, and William provide their experience and viewpoints on the issue. Henry starts off by providing the evolution in his own thinking about the subject matter. Initially, Henry was focused on hiring or partnering the most qualified and best person for the job regardless of the person’s faith. Over time, he began to see that going through the hills and valleys of business, the person whom you are yoked with is incredibly important. If the person whom you are joined does not share your convictions, faith, and beliefs there may come a time when the institution/business enterprise may be compromised. Rusty observes that it is often very difficult to hire someone who is equally yoked with you. In high level positions, there may be more opportunity to engage in executive searches and networks to identify those individuals. As a whole, given the size of the marketplace it may not possible to be yoked with a fellow Christian. Frequently, one may come into a business headed by non-believers. Interestingly, the Apostle Paul addresses this scenario in the context of husband and wife. In sum, if a husband joins with an unbelieving wife, or vice-versa, Paul warns that you need not divorce. (1 Cor. 7:12-16) The point is we do not know if the unbelieving spouse would actually be saved through the believing spouse. Similarly, in business God can work through the believer and sanctify those who may not believe. At Snocap, Rusty ended up working with a great person, Mr. Ali Aydar. While Mr. Aydar’s beliefs were not readily known at the time, Rusty built a relationship with him. Mr. Aydar now goes to church where Rusty goes; in fact, Rusty teaches Aydar’s kids in Sunday school. No matter the circumstances God seems to be able to work through it for his glory. From William’s perspective, he comes back to his “why.” He reminds that we are guided by God’s word. We need to use discernment. William makes sure he shares his why with others in any venture when possible. In fact, it’s important for your potential business partner to know everything that makes you tick. It is an opportunity to be authentic. To be clear, Henry, Rusty and William all agree that employers in the United States must abide by all employment laws. And as faith driven entrepreneurs, we arguably may be held to even a higher self-imposed standard. We are by no means endorsing any type of discrimination in hiring practices. As faith driven entrepreneurs, we are in the world but not of the world. In business, we are confronted with issues that come with a spectrum of possibilities, i.e., gray area. Through thorough and honest vetting, prospective business partners may opt out if they do not share our convictions. Weaving together William’s point about sharing your “why,” and Rusty’s comment on how the hiring process can be a self selection process, prospects have ample opportunity to pursue the business opportunity or to pass. In the end, as faith driven entrepreneurs we not only abide by the law of the land, but also the word of our God. In the multiplicity of business scenarios, we can be authentic, faithful, and integrous in our work.

In this episode, Henry, Rusty, and William discuss the issue of calling. Many of us have heard God calling us to a particular purpose. Romans 8:28 says “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” To fulfill God’s purpose, we may be individually called to contribute through our lives and work. In the work context, Rusty reminds us that you can be a Faith Driven Entrepreneur in any sector, whether it is in private, public, or the ministerial space. We look for God for drive and direction. How do we know that we are being called? What does it mean to have a calling? Citing Pastor Tim Keller, William gives us a framework, which consists of three elements: Affinity - what are you naturally drawn to Ability - strengths and weaknesses Opportunity - what’s needed of me We all have an affinity towards something, whether it is a particular type of work, or industry. Of course, it is not enough to be attracted to a type of work, we need to play off our strengths while recognizing our own shortfalls. And all the while it is important to identify opportunities that match the two prior criteria. Simply put, for our affinity we should “look out”; our ability - “look in”; and opportunity - “look up!” When we are called God will place a burden in our heart. The burden could be so deep that it occupies a person’s being. By analogy, in the venture capital world the person seeking funding has a type of conviction and hunger fuels entrepreneurs during lean times and when investors say “no.” Now, God may not speak to us audibly. The calling should not violate scripture or what God represents. This is why it is so important to have a framework that helps guide us in our calling. On the opposite of the spectrum, some of us may not even know that we have been serving in our calling. It isn’t until we look back that we realize that we have been doing what God has called us to do.

A pastor is in a unique position to influence his leaders who are in the marketplace in many different ways, and this week we turn out attention to how a pastor might support entrepreneurship within his congregation. This week, Henry, and William interview special guest, Pastor Andy Wood of Echo Church, about his journey in ministry and the world of entrepreneurship. Andy is lead pastor of Echo Church located in San Jose, California, just south of San Francisco. Early on, he was influenced by his father who was a business owner. He recalled watching his father going through the “highs” and the “lows” of running a business. He saw that back in those days there was really no place for an entrepreneur in the Church for someone like his father. That is, the pastors he knew did not know how to empower local faith centered entrepreneurs. Today, Andy's vision with his ministry is to partner with entrepreneurs because he believes that business has the ability to transform culture and entrepreneurs will have a leading role. Andy explains that he does many things to equip his entrepreneurial congregants - from simple encouragement to preaching relevant messages to holding conferences. A fascinating stat is that his most recent conference had a 50/50 split between christ-followers and non christ followers because the content was top notch. This leads into a discussion about how a church leader should start their journey by finding those business leaders within the congregation that share a similar heart. Connect with them and listen. Take them out to lunch and try to learn from them. Andy said that he noticed that business leaders and entrepreneurs are some of the most lonely people and are highly anxious. They experience high stress and tremendous pressure. They need a pastor even though they may represent themselves like they have it all together. Ultimately, Andy stressed that a pastor needs to be convinced that business/entrepreneurs are important. He reminisced that his father may have been able to utilize his gifts in a different way if he had more support from his church leaders. William correctly noted that nothing could be more entrepreneurial than planting a church, and then Pastor Andy revealed that Echo had support from 17 different churches at its beginning, and that support was a huge encouragement to him on his own journey. It is a great example of the Acts 2 church life where believers are helping other believers for God’s glory.

As Christians, we are all called to make disciples based on the Great Commission. How does that apply at work? In the workplace, how do we live out our faith honorably without perhaps overstepping the professional line? In this episode, Henry, Rusty, and William tackle the question should we even evangelize at work in the first place? When it comes to expressing our faith at the workplace, it’s important to discern and hear God’s voice. Our vertical relationship with God affects the horizontal one with our fellow teammates. Henry also reminds us that we would do well to be mindful of whether we are being willful or faithful. There are several ways that evangelism at work could take place. In an organization, the first thing it can do to evangelize is to express its values and principles explicitly. A company should be clear on “why do we what we do?” Even by simply stating them, a leader in an organization can communicate at the outset what the company is about. Sometimes, a company’s evangelistic fervor could be interpreted the wrong way though. For example, Henry tells the story that at the beginning of Bandwidth the leaders would hold Bible Studies. Some of their team members interpreted that attending these studies would be viewed highly by leadership. It sort of created an “us versus them” culture, and that’s not what Bandwidth wanted. Another way to express our faith at work is to simply offer to pray for non-believing coworkers. Like the marketplace, people have pain points, too. As believers, we can address those pain points in a gentle way. The marketplace expects workers to leave their lives and issues at home; we are almost expected to be Super-human. We know that this is not the case. As believers, we can meet our coworkers where they are at and follow God’s leading in ministering to them. There are other ways to evangelize at the workplace. Rusty gives us the example in this episode of his wife’s friend who works at Dropbox. At Dropbox, employees are encouraged to bring an instrument, form bands, and play music. One of these bands would play worship music as part of the rotation right here in the Silicon Valley! Within the greater context of evangelism at work, William posed a great question in that “are there any lines?” That is, how far can a leader go? Is it ok to pass out Bibles at a Corporate retreat? Henry impressed us that it goes back to gentleness and respect. God gives us all an opportunity to speak and prophecy (speak forth). We should pray for discernment in the particular situation. Importantly, we need to listen to God’s voice (and presumably not our own). When we do speak boldly for God at work, does that really work? That is, do people really react to examples? Or is it an excuse for someone who does not have to be bold in one’s faith? Rusty observed that from his own experience that it does work. In his own public talks, he will express his faith. The audience then become curious. Henry added that there is another important reason to express our faith. Here, in Silicon Valley, some are apprehensive to show our faith. We don’t want to come across as exclusive. However, as leaders if we don’t talk about the most important thing in our lives, then some part of our leadership will have a hole. As a result, we won’t be authentic to our identity.

In a competitive marketplace, a company’s benefits package is an announcement of its values and mission. We don’t really have look any further than the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do to you. In scripture we are told “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt. 12:31) Jesus here compared loving one’s neighbor as loving the “self.” Clearly, God knows that we love ourselves. The charge here is to love others with that same love. Generally speaking, the best benefit that a company can provide to any employee is rewarding them with meaningful work. (Eph. 4:28) When work is missional the employee and employer both benefit synergistically. In order to compete, an employer can love on its employee by providing “at-market” benefits or even “above-market” benefits. Benefits such as medical coverage, dental, vision, 401K, bonuses, stock options, and other incentives are fairly standard. Providing an employee with at market or above market benefits serves several purposes: 1) it is an opportunity to show how much a company cares for its employees; 2) it can validate the company’s core values (or not); 3) it can promote employee retention; and 4) it can create happiness at the workplace. As Richard Branson famously reminds us “Train your employees so well that they can leave; but treat them so well that they won’t want to.” An employer would do well do be mindful of the demographics of its employee base. A younger population may find above market pay and regular bonuses superior to say extra Pringles on the shelves. By contract, an employee base comprised of parents would surely appreciate full family medical coverage, and a flexible work schedule or “work anywhere” model. Other non-traditional benefits such as “Mindfulness” training to line managers, an Adoption Honorarium, Identity Theft protection for the employee and his/her entire immediate family, and Student Loan assistance are opportunities to attract, and co-opt employees. In this episode we look at a few more novel benefits as well. For instance, a vacation embargo against contacting vacationing employees so that time off can be appropriately focused on family. Similarly, the employee would not earn brownie points for “checking in” while on the sandy beaches of Wailea, Maui. Occasionally, a company - with great intentions - may provide benefits that actually undermine family time. Rusty examines an early story from the annals of IBM where Tom Watson famously implemented cafeterias....but just for lunch. Benefits such as providing breakfast and dinner on campus may send the wrong signal to the employee base. It may convey a message “we want you to work early and stay late.” In sum, the suite of benefits that a company provides to its employees should align with the company’s values. How the leaders of a company practice the promoted benefits will speak much louder than what is written in the employee handbook. When a company is authentic about how a particular benefit is practiced in real life, it provides the employee with a sense of peace in exercising that benefit. Such an environment will likely have the unintended consequence of breeding happier employees, employees who want to work, and employees who are proud to flash their company badge.

Today's Podcast tackles the question of how to think about competition. We know that we want to run the race as if to win it. (1 Corinthians 9:24). But how do we win? What is our heart posture? Do we win at all costs? What are our motives as we compete in the race. We talk about Competition in industries like telecom, where competitors can also be customers. Rusty talks about his time at PepsiCo and how Roger Enrico thought of the new entry of Eagle Snacks from Anheuser Busch. We talk a bit about patent trolling too. We even talk a little bit about what it looks to compete for a job internally. We get at the concept of Abundance versus Scarcity. I think it might be helpful to think about the fact that there are 3 levels of motives and that the ordering is important: Focus on serving our customers. Get the very best out of ourselves. Bring all that we have to work as our meaningful form of worship. Understand what the competition is doing. We don't operate in a vacuum and we need to be wise as a serpent and yet innocent as a dove (Mt 10:16). Let's never operate out of fear, but out of a feeling of opportunity, knowing that as we bring #s 1 and #2 above, we're very likely to succeed. Lastly, I think it's important to check on our motives. Are we competing to bring God glory or to shut someone else down and make them our door mat? As with all of our podcasts, this is not meant to be the final word. We'd like to get your take. What did we miss? Are we thinking about it wrong?

Entertainment is something that most entrepreneurs will be a part of, whether that is recruiting team members, hosting corporate events, trying to raise money or creating unique opportunities for your team to bond. In this episode, we talk about how we think about entertaining while maintaining a sincere heart towards holiness. While there are some black and white rules from scripture that we need to follow, "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit" Ephesians 5:18 we are more likely to encounter gray areas where we need wisdom from others. Paul lays out such an example in I Corinthians 8:1-13. In this passage he mentions that while food sacrificed to idols is of no significance to God, it can be a stumbling block for others, so you should avoid in certain situations. "But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak." - 1 Corinthians 8:9 This can be a slippery slope that is best worked out in close community. Rusty will share some stories that are sure to make most people jealous, including stories about hanging out with Ed Sheeran and Lecrae. Rusty imparts insights regarding the “Shadow of a Leader” and how many at your organization are watching you as you set the example on these topics. "Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more." - Luke 12:48 You never know who is watching you, or how your actions may impact their decisions. We hope you listen and please send us questions, comments and suggestions for how to make the podcast better serve you! Thank you for listening!!!

In this episode of the Faith Driven Entrepreneur Podcast, Henry, William and Rusty tackle the issue of language. At one level, they aren't going to tell you anything that will surprise you....cursing is a bad thing and it's not helpful in the workplace, or anywhere else for that matter. The book of James hits this issue squarely, and so do dozens of other references. Yet there's some nuance here that we think is worth exploring as the effective use of language and even emotion are so incredibly important for us as leaders in the workplace. We look at this issue from a variety of angles in this short edition: How does one navigate the dynamic between relatability and holiness? Is the "Queen's English" sufficient to get our point across? How does one deal with bad language from others in the office? How does language and it's use help us to understand our level of anxiety, our ultimate identity and our ability to witness. Let us know if you think we're missing something in this brief look at how to communicate effectively, and please, as always, forward this to others if you think it might be helpful.....especially those you know overseas as it's our hope that this won't just be a North American initiative. That'll allow us to get more feedback on how to improve the podcast, and more ideas from a broader audience. Thank you for your partnership!

Fundraising. It’s something that we as entrepreneurs all have to tackle at some point. In this week’s FDE podcast episode, we examine the different issues that are associated with fundraising. You'll hear Henry note at the outset that this particular episode is a bit more weighted for the social entrepreneur or ministry entrepreneur....but I hope you'll agree that the mindset on fundraising is very relevant for entrepreneurs of all types. For any fundraiser, I believe the heart motive is the most important. This really ties into one’s purpose and why he is fundraising in the first place. This necessarily forces the fundraiser to know his "why" (see May 3, 2018 blog). We don't want to confuse activity with clarity. Once the fundraiser is clear on his/her goal, which is aligned with God's purpose (if faith based), then there should be no room for manipulation. While some may view fundraising as somewhat transactional, I submit that it should be relational. This means that the fundraiser has an awesome opportunity to love on the potential donor. You see, it’s all about relationships. In this, May 8, 2018 podcast episode, our guest J. Paul Fridenmaker touchea on this very important point. Donors and venture capitalists can all detect if you're being genuine or if there's a sales pitch coming on. Using a legal analogy, J. Paul impressed us that often times he is doing "discovery" on the donor and his/her current situation. At times, the fundraiser may have to retreat, see the bigger picture, and do what is right for the donor! Wow! There is no shortcut in caring for somebody. In addition, the fundraiser may do well to check his heart. Is he breeding hostility or providing hospitality? Frequently, we may try to impress or influence others with our own cause. In doing so, there's a tendency to become resentful if our advances go unrequited. In truth, we may become - well - a little hostile. However, if we check our heart posture, and really understand the person first and extend grace we may find that God then has room to work in that situation. For the faith driven donor, be encouraged that your financial support means that you are standing side-by-side and on the front line for that particular cause. I recall that in Philippians 4:14-18 that Paul reminded the Philippian churches that their financial support directly impacted his ministry throughout. Fundraising for any entrepreneur will continue to present unique challenges and unique opportunities. We will revisit this topic in future podcast episodes. Meanwhile, we would love to hear from you, our community, if there is something you would like us to talk about.

In this week's podcast, we tackle the issue of how to let people go....and how to do it in a way that honors them and honors God. Rusty introduces the framework of how to let someone go in a way that speaks the truth in love, makes sure that they aren't surprised, gives an opportunity to cure and generally follows the golden rule. There's a bunch of nuance to that, of course, and so we talk through that a bit and delve in to what it looks like to love, not just the employee who may need to be let go, but also the other employees that that one individual might be holding back with their performance. Lastly, as many of our podcasts will do, we take a quick tangent and talk about how to clearly communicate expectations with our employees. William then realizes that we're on to something and sees another edition of the podcast in the making on a topic we'll explore further in the future.

In this episode we’ll talk about projections. At first listen, this seems to be a little more relevant for companies that are after venture financing as we talk about the three year projections and the modeling that entrepreneurs show to venture capitalists etc., but I hope that you’ll find a lot more here than advice in working with a Venture Capitalist. We talk about plain old business planning, and the modeling we talk about doesn’t need to have a thing to do with raising money. It talks about the common mistakes made by business owners in planning for growth and how to avoid them. It then goes a bit deeper and we have a brief conversation about one of the struggles many business owners experience….at least one we have: the propensity to exaggerate. We talk about how to think about growing a business, and our faith and our reliance on God to provide, not just the work of our hands. We hope you’ll enjoy it. Please let us know if you do. Please let us know if you don’t. And as always, please let us know the questions that you’d like to see us answer on the podcast.

In this episode, we will discuss the importance of culture in your organization. 1:00 - How do I think about culture? 2:00 - There is a spectrum 4:15 - What is God telling you? 5:00 - We are representatives of God 7:05 - Make it your own story 7:45 - Capital aligned with values 11:15 - Why we do what we do? 15:00 - Brian shares the reason behind his company 17:15 - Rusty’s personal story 19:20 - Trust God

Henry, Rusty and William share the reasons they are producing the Faith Driven Entrepreneur Podcast