day 1337: Going Direct

"Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."

Part of the power of the internet is that we can go direct to consumers without having to go through third parties, like retailers, brokers or dealers.  But, not all industries are allowed to do so. The most glaring is the car industry where a manufacturer can't sell directly to consumers but must have a car dealer in the middle to make the sale.  I don't know where this practice came from, why or who it protects but it is causing problems for Tesla as they try and expand across the U.S. with their electric cars.  We might take for granted how great it can be to build a direct relationship with our customer and consumer, but we shouldn't.  If we were the music, book or movie industry we would try anything to establish and keep that relationship.  Who really knows our customers/consumers?  It's Amazon. It's Apple.  It's Best Buy, Target, etc.  Where we can, go direct, go with all humility as this is the best relationship to have.

Who at work have we built direct relationships with that really matter?  With the boss?  With co-workers?  With those who work for us? I hope the answer is all of the above.  Direct relationships can yield real and life-changing conversations.  Yesterday, a colleague who who I have invested alongside and known for a while, opened up about an experience that he recently had. It was a very deep conversation and it contained the opportunity for me to share some of my own life story and faith. I reflected last night on the times in the past that led up to our ability to talk so freely and honestly and yesterday was the result of many, many earlier direct conversations of accessibility and openness. Jesus modeled this for us.  He proved that in being man and God that He was and is always there for anyone who seeks Him. When we allow others to come direct to us, we are modeling His love and grace.  Think about it today and see where going direct can be fruitful.

Reference: John 14:6 (New Living Translation)