Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Does BAM Pursue Business Success or Business Fruit?

- (David Skews )The best thing I ever saw on success in the 30 years I have worked as a business owner grappling with the challenges (both business and spiritual) of taking a small business (survival) to a medium one (health and growth) and now to transaction while balancing a heart for mission - was from Henri Nouwen, it went like this...

"There is a great difference between successfulness and fruitfulness. Success comes from strength, control, and respectability. A successful person has the energy to create something, to keep control over its development, and to make it available in large quantities. Success brings many rewards and often fame. Fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability. And fruits are unique. A child is the fruit conceived in vulnerability, community is the fruit born through shared brokenness, and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching one another's wounds. Let's remind one another that what brings us true joy is not successfulness but fruitfulness".

I suspect God wants to see more businesses that are fruitful and for His glory - how else can we measure what we do? It seems to me that business can no longer be considered with a purpose to increase shareholder value (Friedman) but for us it has to be to bless the nations (all our stakeholders). God gave His business people the ability to create wealth - so that His covenant will be fulfilled, the one he spoke to our forefathers (Abraham) that was - to bless (apologies for messing with Deuteronomy 8:18ff)

Yes, I know its hard, but so was going to the moon and that's why they did it!

David Skews



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