It’s time to tell you the whole truth.

As a consultant since 2005, I have dealt with more than 100 business owners & professionals on strategic matters. My clients have come to me for problems with time, money, people, leadership, and more. Among the many discoveries I have had, there is one of grand significance I’d like to share with you here.

Business Consulting is NOT about solving problems (anymore)

Whether they can admit it or not, many prospects come to me seeking a quick fix. Indeed, there is a wide range of business ailments: hiring woes, turnover, sales underperformance, customer “disservice”, apathy, chaos, shoddy marketing, poor planning, etc. – all of which require correction, execution, and maintenance. Truly, I enjoy helping clients with these issues.

But this is only about 2% of the whole story. In my opinion, true business consulting isn’t just for fixing symptoms anymore, or “aligning misalignments” in your organization. A quality consultant – or business mentor – helps you to optimize the health of your key relationships, your vision, your business, and your life properly. Anything less is likely a one-off solution destined for a short life span.

In short, we must have an integrated view of our business and life. But this is still relatively old news. What I have to tell you goes far beyond that, still. Why?

Because there is a new economy. It’s already here. And sooner or later, it is going to affect you as a business owner.

What is the New Economy?

Record-setting debt. Record-setting foreclosures. A negative 1.8% savings rate for the first time since the Great Depression. The rapid devaluation of the dollar. Rising health costs. Outsourced labor at a fraction of the domestic cost. Bear Stearns collapsing. Avarice. Poor health. Volatility in the family. Consumerism . . . . .

A quick glance around, and we can see things are spiraling. And we haven’t even brought the socio-political malaise into the picture.

SO WHAT? This means we must go beyond unconventional thinking. We must train for excellence with an eye on the culture, on the marketplace, and on our own industries. We must stay ahead of the tragic wave. We must innovate or die. And, most importantly, we must learn how to create and provide value, irrespective of market or economic conditions.

OK, so is there good news? Of course! The good news is that small business can be somewhat of a safe haven. As a business owner, you have a unique opportunity to empower people. Small businesses can impact lives, cultures, and communities unlike any other entity. Let me explain by making a comparison.

Agents of Change / Choose Your Weapon

Let us compare two agents of societal change: the institution of church vs. small business.

The modern church institution offers a training format that is very Greek in nature. One person (e.g. a pastor) stands up and delivers a revelatory message of the day. During the following week, we are asked to share it – along with the gospel – with our co-workers, friends, the “lost” – basically the world. This version of marketplace ministry suggests that we are transformed by the sharing of powerful information with others while we perform our work. This training occupies roughly 50-100 hours per year. Its “weekly implementation” is fragmented at best, and severely frustrating at worst.

Now let’s look at small business. Again, business owners have the unique opportunity to affect and empower many people. In any given workday, business owners (and their businesses) can demonstrate excellence to prospects, clients, vendors, employees, competitors, and the community, just to name a few. In this version, the business isn’t where we tell people good news. Instead, through our work we demonstrate the very embodiment of who we are in Christ. The way we answer the phone, the way we treat problem clients, the way we hire and fire, the way we respond to challenges, the way we promote our team, the way we go to market, the way we steward our finances . . . all of these things are the “loudspeakers” of our faith. All of which is done without any inkling of coercion, fear-of-hell mongering, or undue intrusion.

Perhaps the biggest distinguishing factor: a business owner has 40+ hours per week, which is over 2000 hours per year in this pursuit.

So I now ask you, which is the better context for leavening the culture? Which vehicle drives true societal change? Which mechanism best helps us to disciple the nations?

This is not meant to be a bashing of the church or church meetings. There are powerful groups of people who are meeting every week, affecting change, worshipping together, healing together, and, without doubt, doing God’s will. These are good things that should be kept and treasured.

But the current ministry model must go. The new economy demands it. And if we as business owners are not training, we may well get swept away with the rest of the unsuspecting mob of people who either deny the status quo or are lost in their own realities.

So, what’s the answer? Let me reiterate:

As I have hinted thus far, your business is about more than making money. Your business should be:

1. The context for making a positive impact on the world

2. A place where you work out what you believe

3. A vehicle to empower people, both within your organization and outside it

4. An obedient response to your calling, your design, your environment, and your unique capabilities

You can see how running a successful business might involve more than having just a cash-producing model! As a business owner, you’ve got a lot of skin in the game – and not just yours. You also have at stake the lives of your employees and their families, your customers, vendors, and even the image of your surrounding community. Knowing this, you must go beyond “being strategic”. You must create a vision-centered organization; one where everyone thinks like owners and is given the proper incentive to execute well. More than mere training, you must establish a “Way” of doing things that is sustainable, inheritable, and transferable. This is no small order.

Good Strategy & Mentoring is Indispensable

In short, every level of performance in your business is dictated by – or symptomatic of – your strategy. What will make the biggest difference is that you leverage all of your resources. This will probably involve having one, or many, mentors along the way. It is in this spirit that I invite you to set up a free conversation with me about your business and how I might be able to help. My mission is simple: empowering business owners to think and act strategically, allowing them to make their business dreams a reality. Now, of course, we have a pulse on the new economy . . . but I want you to know that apart from the knowledge and experience of the Total Integration team, we also have a great arsenal of “strategic weapons” to help you fight the good fight, such as Authorized Work (www.AuthorizedWork.com), the Flagship Assessment (www.FlasghipAssessment.com), the Total Integration Program (www.TotalIntegrationNow.com), and more. If you feel like you are ready to kick your vision into high gear, I would love to talk with you. Call me at my office at 281.570.4676, or email me at [email protected].