E-M8 Entrepreneurial Management for Eternal Mission

UNDESTAND MISSION

Individuals and organizations alike need an overriding purpose for their existence. Without purpose we do not really have life, just existence. Without purpose at the first crisis things come apart. Worse yet, a purposeless organization can survive and continue its purposeless existence, draining resources from the rest of the society.

But how does one pick a worthwhile enough purpose to pursue?

Running a socially responsible, profitable company that fills a market need, uses state of the art processes and tools, treats the employees well and has an excellent management team sounds wonderful. Few have achieved it. But it is not good enough. Like a well maintained car, a well managed business needs a direction to drive in. An organization, to truly be great and worthy of imitating, has to have a purpose that is grander than itself. The reason for its existence needs to lie outside itself. Otherwise the organization becomes self consumed and eventually collapses.
There has to be a grander purpose to being in business then just to make money. Making money may well be an acceptable goal for a passive investor, but it is not acceptable for business managers and entrepreneurs. If our goal is making money, we will readily move on from one business to the next.
 The Mission has to be bigger than satisfying a market need. Otherwise the direction of the company is dictated by the whim of the most fickle being on earth – the client. The company should define its market, not the other way around.
The abilities of the management and employees, resources and processes do not define the purpose of the organization, since they all lie within the organization. They all can be rearranged if there is a change in direction. An organization’s purpose has to bigger than the organization itself; otherwise there is no room to grow. 
We are left with two choices. Our purpose can be that of seeking to gain power and control, i.e. trying to be like God, or that of seeking to gain a deeper relationship with God and men.  We could also say that there is no purpose and everything in the world is one giant accident, but if that is the case, there is no point discussing purpose, since there is none by definition. Outside the accidental school of thought, to help find meaningful purpose for our existence it helps to better understand God’s purposes.

GOD’S HIGHEST GOAL

Before the Universe was created, even before time was created, God had a fellowship within Himself. God has established His purposes and methods and timetable and than He spoke. And through His speaking the whole creation was unveiled to reveal His purpose.

Not only did God create this world, but He has chosen to enter it and live in it as mortal.  He allowed his world to become corrupted and allowed death and suffering to penetrate his beautiful creation. He Himself experienced death, though being God he could not be corrupted nor held by the death’s power. Worse than death, He has experienced rejection by His very creation. All of this for what?

He did it all for a girl…

God sought and continues to seek Wisdom. He calls us to seek Wisdom with Him. Wisdom is not the book smarts or knowledge, but the ultimate Wisdom. Wisdom is a She. She is the one in whom God delights. She is more precious then pearls. And here is what Wisdom, the perfect woman, had to say:

WHAT WISDOM HAS TO SAY
“I am Wisdom and I am a life-giving tree. Through me this world was created. I have set up the feast of the choice foods and excellent drinks. Will you not dwell with me while we have fellowship together?

I am a perfect being, who is worth more than precious stones. I enjoy in the delightful peaceful long life of wealth and honor.

I run multiple businesses and work with my own hands. I engage in trade to provide for my family and my helpers. With much thought I invest my earnings in the profitable ventures. I am excellent at marketing. I run an around the clock operation. I learn about the businesses of my suppliers and engage in them. I am well diversified in to various industries. I have influence with men of authority and decision makers.

I take care of the poor and those in need.

I hedge against risks to protect my family. I care about my image and present myself in strength and self-respect. I plan for the future. I instruct and teach.

Success belongs to me. Happy is the man who discovers Wisdom.”

WISDOM AS GOD’S MATE

Wisdom is the goal of our endeavor. She is the one being that even God would like for a mate. Unlike a men’s wisdom, this one is eternal. It would be foolishness to pursue anything else and miss the One for whom this whole world was created.

“God has made man in His image, male and female he created them.”  But how can uncreated Eternal God have a mate? He cannot simply create one, because unlike Him, she would than be but a creation of His fingers. His creation gives us a hint. The first man was fashioned out of the basic elements of the earth. But not the woman, she was extracted out of man’s side and fashioned as his equal. And so it came to pass that God, in his multifarious Wisdom, decided to die, so that at his death a Girl could come in to this world. This Girl has been with God since the beginning. She was with Him even before beginning. But now, for the first, time she would have the chance to grow and become truly His Mate, His equal. And even now the whole world travails in the birthing pains of God’s counterpart.

Wisdom is not found by contemplating it in a monastery. No number of Leadership retreats, classes or training programs can give us Wisdom. While learning is good, and occasional retreats to a quiet place to formulate the company mission are OK, they are by no means the focal point of experiencing Wisdom.

Wisdom comes from experience. Experience cannot be acquired solely by observation or study, though both can help. Experience requires active involvement. And in all aspects of engaging in business we have an opportunity to gain Wisdom. 

WISDOM AS THE MANAGER

Wisdom does not exist for the sake of wisdom alone. She seeks to bring others in to the ways of understanding. Wisdom seeks to grow and enlarge her boundaries. Thus the mission leads us back to the starting point, to that of management. Wisdom is a manager and a counselor. Thus by engaging in management we may learn wisdom.  Wisdom is with those who receive counsel. As we seek Wisdom in being good stewards of the organizations that are entrusted to us, we have a unique opportunity to engage in the work of Wisdom.

Wisdom is not independent in decision making. She operates by being in constant fellowship with God. So is a management team that is properly serving their purpose. The most powerful asset that a good management team possesses is open communication.

At the foundation of the world, in the garden two trees are emphasized. The fruit of one is knowledge, or in other words, ability to make independent decisions. It opens our eyes to both the good and the bad, but it takes our eyes of the one thing that really matters, that is the relationship. It makes us to desire power and control for our own self-gratification, resulting in the eventual death of all that surrounds us.

 The fruit of the other tree is life, relationship and trust. This tree, we learn, is the real Wisdom. This life giving tree supplies all of our needs and wants through the relationship. It satisfies us, since it produces the organic growth within us. It is a spring of water of life in our being. This tree is that of knowledge of God and a relationship with Him.

The Wisdom is in developing deep and meaningful relationships of trust among the core members of the management team. There is Wisdom in enjoying the work of our hands in the fellowship of our peers. Wisdom gives us life and hope. The future belongs to them that find it.

WISDOM AS MANPOWER

The LORD by Wisdom founded the Earth. By understanding He established the heavens. He established the world by His Wisdom. She is His fellow worker. Wisdom has worked hard to establish the purposes of God upon the earth.

She gives us guidance in establishing our own workforce. The key to wise management of the workforce is humility. It takes humility to recognize that some workers have wisdom that the management team lacks. An organization can miss a tremendous opportunity when wisdom of the worker is despised and his words are not heeded.

Wisdom teaches us to seek out the wise employees. A hallmark of great employees is that instruction makes them wise and thirsty for learning. On the other hand, the employees to avoid are the ones who do not care. They are easy to spot, since they despise being taught anything. Wise team is a pleasure to manage. The words of the wise heard in quietness are more effective than the shouting among fools.

Yet, a paid laborer is not instructed by words alone, since understanding and response are not always correlated. The measurements and performance metrics have to be established in a correlation with the tasks assigned. Wisdom is better than strength when it comes to workforce, since a poorly guided people that despise learning can easily do more harm than good. The key to wisdom in Manpower is to hire workers that are thirsty to learn and put guidelines in place that help them succeed.

WISDOM AS MEANS

Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. Not only is she God’s worker, but she is also God’s means. The world was not only created by her but also through her.

As we manage the various aspects of our organizational means we have the opportunity to engage in the work of Wisdom. As we continually research and introduce the most appropriate tools in to the organization, we engage in the work of Wisdom. We are wise to upkeep and maintain the tools. By sharpening the dull axe we can reduce the strength necessary to cut. The tools, when their costs and benefits are carefully weighed out can become a powerful means to make the difference. The key to wisdom with regard to Means is to always pick the right tool for the job.

WISDOM AS THE METHOD

By working with a wise management and employee team who really know our tools well, we are in a good position to be extremely effective. Yet, it is our processes that make us effective. There is Wisdom in doing things right and the results of wise actions are the best vindication of the wise methods. The key to the wise method of operations is a balance of thinking and doing that results in delivering more than was promised.

It is in the midst of the most meaningful and productive activities when we no longer have to seek for Wisdom. In their midst we become Wisdom. When we are busy doing what we were meant to do nobody has to create slogans or mission statements. The whole team is perfectly aware of the organizational mission without anyone having to have communicated it.

Actions do speak louder than words, and our method of production is perhaps the best place to see what our real mission is and what we really consider a priority. All the slogans regarding caring for the employees are powerless to offset procedures that are designed with utter disregard for them. No business can successfully claim that they care about their clients, if their whole process is setup to complicate the client’s life. A business that employs wasteful processes is not well positioned to talk about maximizing returns to the investors. 

We discover Wisdom in the details of the execution of the well thought out processes. 

WISDOM AS THE MARKET

Wisdom seeks the wise to impart to them wisdom. It is a pleasure working with those who seek that which we have to offer. The key of the success in marketing is to find those who appreciate the value of our offering. There is little value in casting pearls before swine. In fact, it is counterproductive as they will not just trample the pearls in to the ground but will also turn to attack those who brought them.

So, Wisdom is wise to offer herself to those who seek Her. She knows that she will be despised by fools and is prepared to walk away from them. Yet, she cries out to them to forsake their foolishness and become wise, so that none can claim that they had no opportunity to gain Wisdom.

Our marketing should be with wisdom, making the most of the opportunity.  We excel in wisdom when while we are always gracious, we vary our response appropriately to every individual client.

WISDOM AS MONEY

Wisdom is more precious than gold, silver and precious stones. Wisdom is the payment to them that labor. And what a payment She is: by Wisdom a house is built and established; the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

Yet there is another side to Wisdom. With Wisdom comes responsibility.  In much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge increases awareness of pain. So, Wisdom should never be sought for Her own sake. Rather, Wisdom is needed to fulfill the purposes of God.

So is all the wealth in this world. The key to understanding money is that with money comes responsibility. As our business succeeds, we are responsible to be good stewards of the money that is entrusted to us.

WISDOM AS MITIGATION OF RISK

Wisdom provides protection, just as money can provide protection. Wisdom strengthens a wise man more ten armies strengthen a city. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, since Wisdom can avert the war. An ounce of prevention goes a long way in protecting a business from unwelcome surprises. Wisdom is found in the seeking of the advice of the counselors, before the problems become apparent to everyone. The advantage of knowledge is that Wisdom preserves the lives of Her possessors.

God himself is a shelter to those who seek Him. That shelter may not always protect us from our incompetence and mistakes, but it can give us a place of emotional stability necessary to face the risks of business.

A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increases power. In the abundance of counselors there is victory. Through insolence comes nothing but strife, but wisdom is with those who receive counsel. Mitigating risks is accomplished through more than just good processes and excellent people. The ability to hear and accept wise counsel is the key to reducing business risks.

WISDOM AS THE MISSION

Wisdom is with the man of understanding. The understanding is the knowledge of God. It is foolishness to seek Wisdom apart from the knowledge of God, since reverence of God is the beginning of Wisdom.

Wisdom is in knowing the One who has ascended into heaven and descended; gathered the wind in His fists; wrapped the waters in His garment; and established all the ends of the earth. Wisdom is in knowing His name and the name of His son. This Wisdom is from above. She is pure and peaceable, gentle and reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering and without hypocrisy.

An organization may fail, people will eventually pass away, but this Wisdom is eternal. She alone is worth pursuing as the mission of any being and any organization.

For this reason also the Wisdom of God said, I will send to them prophets and apostles, so that the radiant wisdom of God might be made known through the assembly of the believers to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. That we may attain to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery.