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Don't Waste Your Employee Training: Build on Strengths, Not Weaknesses

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The latest Gallup Management Journal has a good article on Why Strengths Matter in Training.

Here’s the summary:

Too many training and development efforts fall short because they don’t factor in employees’ talents.

And is some important data, for any who somehow think organizations can ignore the importance of focusing on their employee’s strengths:

Gallup research shows that people who know and use their strengths — and the companies they work for — tend to be better performers. In a study of 65,672 employees, Gallup found that workers who received strengths feedback had turnover rates that were 14.9% lower than for employees who received no feedback (controlling for job type and tenure).

Moreover, a study of 530 work units with productivity data found that teams with managers who received strengths feedback showed 12.5% greater productivity post-intervention than teams with managers who received no feedback. And a Gallup study of 469 business units ranging from retail stores to large manufacturing facilities found that units with managers who received strengths feedback showed 8.9% greater profitability post-intervention relative to units in which the manager received no feedback.

Companies that want to boost productivity and innovation must help employees apply their natural abilities to the day-to-day requirements of their role. Implementing a strengths-based approach often demands a fresh mindset; the old ways won’t do. The questions below can help employees figure out how they can best apply their talents in their role — and can help managers and leaders learn how to use a strengths-based approach to boost company performance.

Earthen Vessels on Kindle for Super Cheap

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Matt Anderson’s book Earthen Vessels: Why Your Bodies Matter to Our Faith is available on Kindle now for the super cheap price of $4.99.

This book is worth having. There is almost nothing out there on why our bodies matter to our faith and Matt Anderson treats the subject very well. He is, in my opinion, one of the best young writers in the evangelical world.

Here are a few blurbs:

“We evangelicals don’t think we care about the body, but we really, really do. And Matthew Anderson–one of the brightest lights in the evangelical world–helps us care, ponder, think and pray more wisely as we give our bodies as a living sacrifice to Christ.” —-Mark Galli, Senior Managing Editor, Christianity Today

“Matthew Lee Anderson…is a serious student of God’s Word and God’s world, and in this book he patiently and insightfully explores a theology of the body from numerous angles…I suspect that many of us will think differently–and more biblically–about the body as a result of this very fine work.”—Justin Taylor, ESV Study Bible

“On nearly every page you can find two virtues rarely combined: surprising new insights and good old common sense. Here is good counsel (solid, soulful, scriptural) about how to be humans, in bodies, under the gospel.”—Fred Sanders, Torrey Honors Institute, Biola University

“This book is for the church who is in the world. It is a truth-balm for a broken culture addicted to body image. Be challenged to forsake your “quasi-gnosticism” and embrace the divine dignity of your body so that you can worship well.”—Darrin Patrick, Lead Pastor at The Journey and author of Church Planter


Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?

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An article in The Atlantic. I don’t agree with everything, but it’s interesting.

Here’s the summary:

Social media—from Facebook to Twitter—have made us more densely networked than ever. Yet for all this connectivity, new research suggests that we have never been lonelier (or more narcissistic)—and that this loneliness is making us mentally and physically ill. A report on what the epidemic of loneliness is doing to our souls and our society.

And here’s a core part:

The idea that a Web site could deliver a more friendly, interconnected world is bogus. The depth of one’s social network outside Facebook is what determines the depth of one’s social network within Facebook, not the other way around. Using social media doesn’t create new social networks; it just transfers established networks from one platform to another. For the most part, Facebook doesn’t destroy friendships—but it doesn’t create them, either.

I disagree there. I have five things to say here, but I’ll only say three.

It’s true that Facebook alone doesn’t create friendships. But, as Christians at least, when we “meet” other Christians on Facebook, we are indeed establishing real relationships because we already have a relationship with them in Christ, apart from ever having met them in person. If you are a Christian, when you interact with other Christians on Facebook, you are interacting with a true brother or sister in the Lord — and what a great thing it is to know of them and be able to interact with them, even if it’s just electronically.

Second, I like Twitter better than Facebook and find that much more conducive to relationships.

Third, the real value of Facebook is when it is combined with travel. I have gained many new friends through Facebook, Twitter, and blogging not simply because of interacting with them on those sites, but because of then meeting them in person when I’m at a conference or wherever. Because of social media, I have met a lot more people when I travel than I otherwise would. And, because of Christ, those are real relationships and it is fantastic to meet and get to know more and more people in the body of Christ around the world.

While it perhaps comes close to pulling a Jesus juke on the article, I would say the problem is not Facebook or social media, but Facebook, social media, and anything outside of Christ.

Why a Christian Understanding of Work Matters

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Here’s an interview Luke Daughtery did with me for the Sojourn blog. I talk about how I got interested in the doctrine of vocation, where most Christian teaching on vocation is thin right now, on the connection between productivity and management and leadership, and more.

And, if you attend Soujourn or are in the Louisville area, join us this Saturday from 8 am to noon where I will talk on a fruitful leadership in the marketplace.

Fruitful Leadership in the Marketplace: A Mini-Conference if you are in the Louisville Area April 14

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On April 14, the Saturday right after T4G, I will be speaking at the Engage@Work Spring Mini-Conference held by Sojourn Community Church from 8 am to noon.

I’ll be talking about fruitful Christian leadership, especially in the marketplace, and will cover about six main things:

  1. Why we must care greatly about leadership as Christians
  2. Can there even be a Christian view on leadership? Or, how to learn from secular thinking without infecting the church with the “managerial model”
  3. What is the essence of good leadership and how does the gospel transform it? The two core principles at the heart of effective gospel-centered leadership
  4. Leading for the good of others: Transactional leadership versus transforming leadership
  5. How do you lead well — especially in the marketplace? 8 things you can start doing right now
  6. Leadership and how the gospel changes our organizations, cities, societies, and the world

Also, bring your questions — the harder the better. Answering difficult questions on leadership, the Bible, theology, and anything else is one of my favorite things to do. (But don’t worry if your question seems more simple — I like those questions as well!).

Everyone is welcome, and the event will be held at Sojourn’s New Albany campus. Registration is $10, and the first 50 registrants will receive a 40% discount on my upcoming book What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done when it releases.

You can see more details on Sojourn’s blog and register here.

It would be great to see you there!

Your Organization Does Better When You Care about Keeping Your Employees Happy

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A good post by Dave Ramsey. Here’s the first part:

What makes a customer satisfied with your business or organization? The answer may surprise you. It’s not always about offering the lowest prices or the newest gadgets. According to research from the University of Missouri, employee satisfaction plays a major role.

The study shows that CEOs who pay attention to employees’ job satisfaction are able to bothboost customer satisfaction and increase repeat business from those buyers two-fold. Simply put, when your team is happy, everyone is happy—including your bottom line.

He then gives 5 ways to keep your team engaged and satisfied. Read the whole thing.

Goldman Sachs, Self-Interest, and Greed

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The Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics recently wrote:

On March 14, Greg Smith, an executive director at Goldman Sachs, announced his resignation in the pages of The New York Times. He described a culture that had become “toxic” and outright callous to the interests of the firm’s clients.

The Institute for Faith, Work & Economics (IFWE) saw the news of his resignation as a teaching moment. Without taking sides, we sought to point out the important and often misunderstood difference between greed and legitimate self-interest.

Their visiting scholar, Jay Richards, and Vice President of Economic Initiatives, Anne Bradley, did this in a very helpful and brief op-ed for The Washington Times. Here’s an excerpt:

On Wednesday, Greg Smith, an executive director at Goldman Sachs, announced his resignation in the pages of theNewYorkTimes. His reasoning: The company’s employees and culture have morphed into a gross entity that sidelines the interests of the client in favor of making a quick buck. By his account, Goldman Sachs‘ culture has become “toxic and destructive.” Mr. Smith no longer wants to be associated with the Wall Street giant. “People who care only about making money,” he argues, “will not sustain this firm — or the trust of its clients — for very much longer.”

Amen! To care only about money is not only unbiblical; it is also — contrary to what many people think — out of sync with capitalism. Contrary to the 80’s movie “Wall Street,” greed isn’t good, and never has been. Greed does not drive the free market, but actually ruins it. What drives the free market is legitimate self-interest — which is very different from greed. Richards and Bradley explain:

This paradoxical biblical principle, that self-denial is in our self-interest, is also an important economic principle. The greedy miser who hoards his wealth closes himself off to greater economic gains. And in a free market, the greedy merchant who swindles his customers is not likely to maintain profitability.

On the other hand, if we seek to meet the needs of others – whether we are hedge-fund managers or plumbers – we are likely to reap personal benefit. Great entrepreneurs who risk their wealth, delay their gratification and successfully anticipate the needs of others can become fabulously successful as a result.

This is the beauty of the free market: It harnesses our narrower self-interest for the common good. Markets bring together the most willing suppliers with the most willing demanders, and exchange takes place. You freely pay the grocer for groceries, he freely sells them, and you both end up better off than you were before.

Read the whole thing.

Don't Forget!

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Jesus:

When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. (Luke 14:12-14).

This applies to more than just dinners and banquets. In all that you do, in all areas of life, we are to give special attention to helping those who cannot do anything for us in return.

It is interesting that in Matthew 7, the people who expected to enter the kingdom but were turned away had done many “mighty works” in Jesus’ name (Matthew 7:21-23), whereas in Matthew 25 the righteous who enter the kingdom are described as those who met the concrete  needs of “the least of these” (Matthew 25:35-40).

It is not the way you treat the great that shows the state of your heart before God, though it is of course important to treat everyone with respect. What truly shows the state of your heart before God is how you treat those who are in no place to do anything for you, if you do it for Jesus’ sake.

These are tough words, if you think about it. So don’t forget. Live your life in such a way that it is filled with all sorts of actions and activities and other good works that you will not be and cannot be repaid for here on earth. And, if you do this from faith and by the Spirit, “you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”