Be Bold if We Believe Jesus Is the Lord, Then We Must Be Bold at Work
Join us on this episode of Encouragement at Work. Mark Griffin meets with Peter Demos. Peter entered the family restaurant business at age 12 when he started working as a dishwasher in his dad’s Western Sizzlin’ restaurant. From there, his experience in the food industry and serving others gradually grew under the tutelage of his father, who imparted to Peter many aspects of what it takes to run a successful business.
After graduating from high school, Peter earned a B.S. in sociology from Middle Tennessee State University before studying law at the University of Missouri. He went on to earn his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, during which he discovered that he could better fulfill his passion for helping people in the food industry.
In 1999, Peter returned to his parents’ family restaurant, Demos’ Restaurant, with the single goal of growing the organization. His experience as a restauranteur grew, and he was given the position of chairman on the Board of Directors for the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and president of the Tennessee Hospitality Association. Currently, he is the president and CEO of Demos’ Brands and Demos Family Kitchen, owning six restaurant locations across middle Tennessee, including PDK Southern Kitchen and Pantry, and multiple other businesses.
Peter is a highly sought-after leadership source expert and speaker on business, leadership, and faith. In addition, Peter also serves as an adjunct professor at Lipscomb University, where he teaches a class on leadership and management. Today, Peter and his wife, Kristin, work closely together in both business and ministry. They are now teaching their two children to also serve God with their lives.
Author of: Afraid to Trust: One Man’s Journey into the Love of God and On the Duty of Christian Civil Disobedience. Peter brings his insight on critical organizational aspects that should be considered in any organization’s HR department to be successful in these tumultuous times. Listen in as Peter and Mark give encouragement for work.
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Mark A. Griffin is president and founder of In His Name HR LLC. Connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Mark Griffin is founder and Chief Consultant at In His Name HR LLC. He has over 20 years of HR experience. Follow Mark on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.Want to make High Performance HR Systems including Employee Relations a reality in your organization? Contact Mark and make it happen.
All successful organizations have a Mission. Without a Mission, well, no one will know what it is they are doing and why. Another problem organizations have when absent a Mission is that their customers and vendors often end up confused, having mixed expectations.
I have worked for many organizations in my time. Probably more than most, and I consider this to be a good thing. The reason I consider this a good thing is that the experiences that God has given me in these numerous and diverse organizations has made me a far more competent counselor to businesses across the marketplace than if I had occupied one narrow niche for most of my career.
One common denominator I have identified is that the businesses that are successful all have an established Mission for their organization, a Mission that is co-developed by all of their employees and is ingrained into the culture of the organization. In fact, in high-performing organizations, candidates are exposed to the organizations ’s Mission before they’re even hired. Vendors know the Mission and Customers are aware, as well.
When Vendors know the Mission and Customers understand it, that’s enormously positive, but the most powerful and impactful group are your Employees. In my wealth of experience, I have discovered an absolute truth by simply listening to employees for more than 20 years. Fully 99 percent of all employees who come to work every day, want nothing more than to do a good job; in fact, most want to exceed your expectations. It really is the American way. Work hard, play hard and love your life. The problem, though, that many organizations suffer from is a lack of leadership to help steer the organization.
Specifically, they lack leadership in creating a Mission that employees own and strive to achieve.
What is a Mission?
Your Mission is simply what you do best — every day — and why. Your Mission should reflect your customers’ needs. Having a Mission is the foundation of turning the dreams and potential of an organization into reality. So, in a nutshell, your Mission simply affirms why your organization exists!
So what does a Mission consist of? Well, it really is not rocket science. It is simply what your organization collectively — yes, I said collectively — not top down management, or board of directors to management — developed. It works like this:
The senior management team develops a framework of what they believe the Mission is and should be.
Line management then takes the draft document to the line supervision.
Finally, employees and a good HR rep facilitate a roundtable session using the draft Mission as a guide.
You have a couple of reiterations, meetings back and forth, and then it’s time for “Congratulations!” because you now have a consensus on your Mission. Now, of course, when it is being facilitated, the facilitator must be skilled in getting everyone on board with the final product.
Key is letting your employees know that each one of them has an opportunity to challenge it, provide their personal input and suggest changes, but that, ultimately, when the majority of the employees and management agree to the final document, then it is up to all employees to respect it and support it.
Benefits of Creating or Revisiting Your Mission.
The benefit of creating a Mission or revisiting a current one is that it opens up the communication process inside of your organization. An effective Mission is based on input and commitment from as many people within your organization as possible. A Mission statement should not be an autocratic version of Moses and the Tablets. All of your employees must feel and understand your organization’s Mission. Only then can they make the necessary personal commitment to its spirit.
Tips for great Missions:
Keep it short.
Describe WHY customers will buy from you.
Define your product or service clearly.
Identify WHO is your ideal customer.
Specify WHAT you offer your customer — benefits, services, advantages, etc.
Delineate what makes your product or service different from that of your competition.
Examples:
Google:“We organize the world‘s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
Starbucks: “We inspire and nurture the human spirit — one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.”
Share with us your experiences with your organization’s Mission. How was it created? Who was involved, how would you have changed the process? Is the Mission applicable to you and your coworkers? Share with us and help the community to learn and grow.
This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. Ecclesiastes 5:18 (NIV)
Wow! Our work is a gift of God. Our wealth, our possessions, are all derived from work and the work God has chosen for us to bear is our lot. If we could only agree with God, it would make our lives that much easier. It has been fascinating to me to watch so many people fight their career predicaments instead of following God’s guidance, as though they are ultimately the one who is responsible to navigate through their careers!
Make a decision to ensure you’re in alignment with God. This means embrace your current situation, make the best of it and lead to excellence. Ensure that the people who work for you are properly placed, so that the right people are on the right seats of the bus. If you are not a fit for your current organization, have the courage to make a change today.
If you come to work every day thanking God for your opportunity, your employees know it. Your employees will do amazing things to help you become successful when they know you are grateful for them and your organization. When you do this, you are building a “Kingdom Minded” Organization.
Help our community of readers
How do you remind yourself that work is a gift from God?
Have you worked with people who felt so grateful for their work that they reeked of happiness?
Have you been in the wrong assignment in your career?
How did you make it right?
Mark Griffin is founder and Chief Consultant at In His Name HR LLC. Mark writes extensively on career and human resources related topics. Mark has over 20 years of HR experience. Want to bring Bible based practical HR programs to your workplace? Contact Mark today to see how his firm may help you: Contact
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. ~Hebrews 6:10
We have lost our way in the area of helping others. Recently, there was a news story where a woman was stabbed to death more than thirty times and an astounding number of people stood and watched and did nothing. There are YouTube videos of people being ignored after being hit by cars, buses — you name it — and yet we just keep going on with our lives and navigate around what has become nothing more than a temporary distraction. We are truly desensitized as a nation. This is caused by a variety of conditioning processes, but the bottom line is that we have become cold, unfeeling people!
We are truly desensitized as a nation!
Many leaders, as they are promoted, often become less helpful. They feel that, since they did their time as an underling, they can now rise above and not assist. I have witnessed leaders do the most unhelpful acts imaginable! Don’t fall victim to this tendency. Reflect inward and, if you have, change your behavior now!
Let’s be Christian leaders who open doors for people, help in setting up the meeting room, clean up afterwards and, instead of bossing people around, help get the job done when appropriate. You see, if you are truly helpful with your employees rather than a burden and an obstacle, you will be building up great people as you build a “Kingdom Minded” Organization.
Help our community of readers:
What have you witnessed that a leader has done to be helpful? What have you seen that made you smile and want to be like that leader? Please leave our readers your experiences and help us build a meaningful resource for Christian leaders.
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Mark Griffinis founder and Chief Consultant atIn His Name HR LLC. He has over 25 years of HR experience. Want to bring High Performance HR programs to your workplace? Contact Mark today to see how his firm may help you: Contact
10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Part of leading people is developing them to be the best they can be, not only in the workplace but within their families and communities as well. Look at your people from a whole person perspective, not just a ‘worker” perspective. Give your people the opportunity to do greatness in their lives and they will do great things for you. Developing your people skills can impact the communities in which they live and in which you do business. Many companies are putting programs in place that help match employees’ interests to volunteer opportunities in the community. Some companies are shutting down for a week and building homes with Habitat for Humanity, for example.
Develop your people not only to be their best at work but their best at home and their communities.
I have often wanted to manage a process where a company would inspire their people by running a contest in which each employee could present why their volunteer organization is the most impactful. The winner would receive a considerable prize to help fund the employee’s efforts. If you are promoting good works by your employees not only in the workplace, but in the world we live in, you are going great things for God, and you are building a “Kingdom Minded” Organization.
Help our community of readers
Do you help your employees help others? How do you find your employees’ strengths and match them to community involvement? We would love to know what it is you have going on.
12Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.
We, as Christian Business Leaders, have gotten far away from this. We continue our lives and work straight through Sunday. We say things like, “We can’t not work on Sunday; the competition does!” Or, “We have always worked Sundays.” Well, don’t be convinced it is impossible; Chick-Fil-A has been doing it since they first opened! Growing up in Northern New Jersey, all the stores were closed to give employees time to spend with their families. Biblical scholars, pastors, and Bible believers all have their own interpretation of what the Scripture means.
Don’t shoot right through Sunday, without honoring God
I believe that the bottom line is we should honor God at least once a week by spending time relaxing with our families, enjoying the outdoors and partaking in worship. We owe it to ourselves, our families, and, most importantly, God. If you run an organization that honors God by ensuring you honor your employees by not working on Sundays, be blessed in the knowledge that you are building a “Kingdom Minded” Organization.
Help our community of readers
What is your company’s perspective on honoring God? Are there any customs, practices or procedures that you think might make you unique? Let us know and help build our community.
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.”
Christian business leaders should speak to their people where they are
In this verse, Paul brought himself to where the listener was. He spoke to where “they are.” This is important, because he did not rush into the conversation with judgment and condemnation; he actually praised them for being “very religious.” As the book continues, Paul brings to light what and how they needed to correct themselves. We learn a lot about Paul as a leader. How many times do you as a leader immediately jump to the negative with your people? Why not praise them first when it is appropriate on what it is they are doing right.
So, Christian business leaders, what say you? Do you compliment for effort, but guide your people back to the right direction with grace and peace? If you do, they will perform incredible acts of commitment for you and your organization. If you do, you are building a “Kingdom Minded” Organization.
Help our community of readers
Tell us about a leader that you have admired in the past, what they did to help you develop in the areas that you were weak. What was their approach? Why did you respect them?
David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.
God is bigger than any of the problems you face today. When you accept this, embrace it, and demonstrate this to your employees, the world is your oyster. All too often leaders get bogged down by what they feel are insurmountable odds, but, when you have God on your side, anything is possible! God can make crooked roads straight; He can bring you that big contract in the nick of time, and, with God, all things are possible.
Ask God to support achievement of your plan
So, when you are down and out, look to God for help. Set up a meeting with your key decision makers and subject experts and strategize a plan for achievement to navigate through the tumultuous time you are facing. Most important, memorialize the plan, get buy-in from key stakeholders, and pray over it. Get two or more people to agree on the success of the plan and ask God to support achieving it — ask Him for His guidance, ask Him for patience in you and your Team for the right time for fulfillment. If you bring God into your businesses decisions, no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Include God today and build a “Kingdom Minded” Company.
Help our community of readers
What have you done to include God into your business plans? Have you experienced prosperity by ensuring His inclusion? Please share your abundance stories with us and help encourage our reader community.
So there you have it. The past few blog postings have given you plenty of ideas on how to integrate your MVV into the culture of your organization through your HR practices. There is a lot to digest, especially if you are not an HR practitioner. Don’t be overwhelmed by the possibilities before you. Simply work out a plan with your Team.
The first step is to create your Mission Vision and Values. Always include your employees in the process. Hire a good facilitator if necessary, but get this done for the sake of your organization.
The second step is to document what HR practices you currently have in place and what practices you still need. This may be a good time to bring in an HR expert to, at minimum, consult with you to help you understand what practices would serve your organization best.
My firm specializes in conducting a thorough examination through a rigorous HR assessment. Contact us today if you are interested in powering your organization to the next levels of performance through the development of HR practices that drive yourMissionand support your Vision in a way that personifies your wonderful Christian values.
Wrapping It All Up
Family-owned companies, as well as non-profits, have a distinct advantage over their secular counterparts. This advantage is the flexibility to state where they are coming from and how and why they are founded, without being accused of proselytizing in the workplace. Simply stating that your organization is “founded on Christian principles” is enough to let the public know where you are coming from and clear the air that you are not requiring your employees to commit to a certain faith’s principles.
We all have choices to make as leaders. We can choose to leave behind a legacy that our families, employees and communities can remember, or we can take an easier route, put our heads down, and reflect the politically correct agenda to which we have all been assimilated. The decision is yours and yours alone. Of course, the Holy Spirit has a lot to do with it, and I am confident that, when you consult with Him, you will choose the right path — the right path to avoid worrying about sharing your faith through your MVV with your employees, community, customers and vendors.
Having met with hundreds of people regarding the process of building Kingdom-Minded organizations, one thing is for certain: many recipients of this are frightened by the thought of sharing the message of Jesus with their employees. They are even frightened at the thought of insinuating that they are believers. I try to comfort them; I try to console them; I pray with them and I pray for them. But, at the end of the day, they need to make the decision for their organizations. They need to decide that the message of Jesus Christ is and will always be first and foremost, ahead of their companies and their own uncertainties.
When I started my HR consulting firm in April of 2011, I, too, had a decision to make. I could take the easy route and mask my purpose under a secular type of business model, content to secretly connect with Christian leaders to help them develop their companies to be Kingdom-Minded, or I could step out in faith and “out” myself as a Christ follower to my world of secular business associates. Having friends and contacts in senior level positions at some of the most politically correct organizations in the world made me understandably somewhat nervous as to how they would perceive the path I had chosen to take. Some of these executives are at such companies as Pepsi, Merck, Kodak, Armstrong, PayChex — the list goes on. Although most of what I do does not fit within these organizations, most of these specific executives have helped by connecting me to Christian-minded business people who could help prosper my business.
Ultimately, I decided to “out” myself, and, since then, I have received incredible, gratifying, heartfelt compliments spanning across my secular business network. What made me decide to go outward and name my firm “In HIS Name HR, Christian Business Consulting” was my reflection upon the passage of Matthew 25:14–30 NIV Edition
His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’shappiness!”
So, let me ask: if this was your last day and you were to meet God tomorrow, would you feel as if you had shared the message of Jesus with all whom you knew? Are you truly a good and faithful servant? I know that, when that day comes, I want to be able to look in God’s eyes and ask, “Father, was I pleasing? Was I a good and faithful servant?” I want to hear that, yes, I was.
