day 1391: A Hack for Life

While I am on a pilgrimage walk on the Camino de Santiago (St. James Way) in Spain, I have asked some of the most committed and courageous faith-driven business leaders I know to guest contribute to Purposed worKING.  Enjoy! - Rusty

                         ________________________________________________

"He makes me lie down in green pastures"

In Silicon Valley, everything is subject to being “hacked”.  Silicon Valley folks love to make anything they can get their hands on smaller, smarter, faster, stronger, or less expensive.  I have friends working to build everything from a driverless car to a monitor that tells you how many calories your dog burned while you were at work.  Wired, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Engadget, RE/Code, and a host of other magazines and websites have created an entire industry dedicated to reporting the latest and greatest innovations in technology.  The need for instantaneous news updates and social connections have created billions of dollars in market value for companies like like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.  Apple employees go to work at 1 Infinite Loop and Facebook employees at 1 Hacker Way in case they forget the goal is to always innovate and move forward.  

But, could it be possible to go too far too fast and for too long?  The same media outlets listed above are also filled with stories of burnout, questionable business and personal decisions, and intellectual stagnation made by the same companies and employees that had been previously praised as the best and the brightest.  How does this happen?  Should the employees work harder or smarter and figure out a new hack for management and work style?  Should companies replace their management or board periodically to bring fresh thoughts and energy to the front lines?  How can we engineer our way out of the inevitable future obsolescence?

My suggestion is that every manager and employee stop and think about one key word in the Verse 2 of Psalm 23 - “ He MAKES me lie down in green pastures.”  God doesn’t suggest, prod, or offer that we take five every now and then for a quick touchbase.  He tells us specifically that we have to stop and spend time with him in his green pastures and by quiet waters.  Only when that happens deliberately and regularly are we fully available and able to have God refresh our soul (v.3), guide us along the right paths (v.3), live life with confidence (v.4), nurture and heel us (v.5), and bask/share in his eternal glory (v.6).  

The Bible is filled with verses and examples of people stopping and seeking God and the promises of Psalm 23.  Jesus is described as stopping and seeking God at all times of the day, on land and water, in public and private, and alone and in groups.  Sometimes He took hours or days to be with God.  Other times, He is quoted saying simple, straight forward prayers during the rush of the day.  

I encourage you to stop what you are doing and "hack" your calendar to regularly stop and just spend time with God.  No need to send an email invite or set up a video call.  Prayer and time with God is the original killer mobile app and is available anytime and any place.  

Reference: Psalm 23 

Kevin Miller
Coitcom

day 1379: There Is Talk

"A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence."

Nothing moves faster around the office or the newsroom than gossip.  Apple to buy Beats for $3.2B has dominated the press for three days now.  No one has confirmed it so far.  The minute they do, the story will be written once and then done.  But, while it is gossip, it seems like it builds upon itself.  We see this all the time in business and many times it just isn't pretty with what is being said about others.  Whenever we hear, "There is talk", we should take notice that something good may not be coming from the gossip.

We can get pulled into gossip time and Mondays are the best for it, so let's have our guard up.  Everyone comes in with their weekend stories and some will catch fire.  Let's not be the ones that fuel that fire, but instead fall back on the truth and hold to that as what we will pass forward.  No on likes a gossiper.  That should be enough for us to hold to what we know to be right.

Reference: Proverbs 11:13 (New Living Translation)

day 1351: April Fooling Around

"Only fools say in their hearts, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!"


The internet has become the place for fooling around on April 1st.  I don't remember when this started, but its not been that long ago.  Today, everywhere you go you will read announcements about companies that have made ridiculous acquisitions, mergers, etc.  I've already read this morning of Facebook's purchase of Nintendo (but Nintendo held back Pokemon) and Apple's purchase of Beats (streaming, not the headphones - the dead give away that it was an April Fool's joke).  What's funny is that if today's announcement was about Facebook buying WhatsApp! for $19B, we might have all got a good chuckle.  Just because it's not April Fool's Day, doesn't mean we don't make silly moves in business that we later wish we could explain away as a joke.  We might all be better if we filtered our moves through the lens of April Fool's Day and consider how would it read if being announced on April 1?

How foolish it is of us to question where is God?  But, we do it daily when we lean to our own abilities and capability and ignore that we are to give these things to Him.  When we have to make that big decision do we turn to Him to help us make it?  When we know we have that difficult conversation coming, is part of our preparation asking God to give us the wisdom, calm and words to handle the conversation correctly?  When the pay raise comes are we tithing first and giving Him thanks first?  There are times that we can find ourselves acting foolish as we go about our work.  Let's take today, and ironically, not make it a day of being foolish, but instead, make it a day of serious rededicating of our ourselves to our Lord and bringing him glory in all that we do!

Reference: Psalm 14:1 (New Living Translation)

day 1346: Congestion vs. Freedom

"For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

Last week I wrote of the 25th anniversary of the Internet.  A week later there is lots of new talk about the congestion of the internet as both Netflix and Apple are talking to Comcast about streaming their services over cable.  The internet, for a moment there, looked like the end of cable.  We were all to be free of the high fees and reliance on what was programmed.  But, it appears that for those who dropped their cable service for an Apple TV set-top-box, the freedom is ending.  But, of course Apple will still stream over the internet, but I will say here and now that not too far after the deal is done, along will come a program that only those who are on Comcast will be able to view. It will be disguised as a benefit, an extra, or a bonus, but we will know better.  What does this mean for the rest of us? It might mean more choice. Or, it might mean more consolidation. What it will mean is that some of the beauty of the wide open and far ranging internet is being lost and that we didn't think far enough ahead to keep the pipes large enough to handle all internet traffic, that the congestion is starting to change the rules.

When we get congested, we have no choice but to slow down and be patient and wait for the congestion to pass.  Or, we find other ways to get done what we need to do. Congestion brings a feeling of the loss of freedom and ability to choose.  Sometimes it feels like we get congested spiritually.  But, God is just the opposite.  When if feels like God has moved from us, we need to question who really moved...Him or us?  Easy answer, but sometimes hard to accept. He frees and allows us to flow with His spirit, when we allow Him honestly into our lives. I am always in admiration of those who look to God in both the good and the bad times, with same amount of dependence and trust, regardless if things are up or down. This is what He asks of us.  Will we today listen and accept the gift?

Reference: 2 Corinthians 3:17 (New Living Translation)

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)

day 1332: Respecting Those Who Came Before Us

"The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them."

Two weekends ago Patti and I visited her past boss from PepsiCo.  Even after all these years, I still see him as the senior executive who led the company into and through some of its most exciting days.  We are all "grown up" now, but some things can't be let go of and being with him always gives me a special feeling of being in the presence of one of those people who was the best of the best in industry.  Corporate memory is short and once a person is gone from the company, they will soon be forgotten.  Apple announced yesterday that their long time CFO is retiring.  I remember when Steve Jobs promoted him up from being the Controller of the company.  But, will a new college Finance hire, five years from now even know of Peter Oppenheimer?  Will she/he ever benefit from his experience and learning?  We need to find a way to better institutionalize corporate and executive history.  Maybe it's time to provide oral/video histories as a way for new employees to be oriented and have self development?  I don't know, but its something for us to think about.

In our spiritual lives we have giants in faith that have come before us and who still walk among us today.  Rather than letting them come and go, we can deepen our own spiritual being by reading these men and women, listening and watching them teach, and even reaching to them to meet and spend time.  More people are accessible than we imagine. All we have to do is ask.  That is the example of our God.  He is always accessible.  All we have to do is ask.  We should also be living in that example as there is someone in our workplace today who is struggling and needs us to be there for them, for them to learn from and carry that lesson forward.  Let's open ourselves up today for that moment to be there. We have no way of knowing if that moment might not be the one that opens their future that will always remember.

Reference: Proverbs 20:7 (New Living Translation) 

day 1227: Fingerprints

"And the very hairs on your head are all numbered."

What an amazing amount of noise that has been created from the new Apple iphone5S and its Touch ID fingerprinting security system.  If you haven't been following it the controversy ranges from the extraction of a fingerprint from a person and what can Apple and others do with the fingerprint, all the way to the absurd of people worried that while they are sleeping that someone would use their thumb to unlock the phone for snooping or reading their emails.  Even Senator Al Franken (not as a comedian) has joined the fray to check if what Apple is doing is safe for consumers.  It will be fun to watch this play out, but I predict that it dies out as a concern soon.  Biometric data has been here all along and why wouldn't we use what is already there?  What also will happen is that our phones now even become even more personal to us.  No one could have predicted how dependent we are on that device and all of us who are trying to reach consumers have to be thinking mobile and mobile personalization.  Where will we be as in the relationship with our consumers if we don't figure out how to be front and center with them, in a personal way, in a mobile way.

God has each of us in His sights at all times and He knows all of us.  What He desires from us is to allow ourselves to know Him just as personally.  We fight back on this every day, not that differently from how people are pushing back on Touch ID technology.  When we don't open our hearts and minds to seek God, then we basically are rejecting what He has to give us.  He never rejects us and He is always waiting for us to continuously be wanting to make our relationship very personal.  He tells us that He numbers each and every hair on our head.  He knows our very fingerprints.  What are we doing today to either invite this level of intimacy, or rejecting what can be?

Reference:  Matthew 10:30 (New Living Translation)

day 1179: Turnarounds

"So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him."

Every business, at some point in its life cycle will go through a turnaround. Yes, even the companies that we think have unlimited growth potential and we could never imagine stumbling will face a turnaround situation. Some are big turnarounds, others are less visible publicly but can certainly be felt internally. Look no further than Apple for the cycle to be born out. It is hard to imagine now that they once were the Apple that was teetering on not making it and now we can imagine that someday it will need another turnaround. Inevitably, it will. . The same happens in our careers. We hit points where we have to rethink where we are and what we are doing and we either make a significant shift, turnaround or we go through enough soul-searching that we double down on the path that we know is right and then we don't look back. Turnarounds are good things because when done seriously and well, we end up where we are supposed to be and doing what we supposed to be doing.

We can see this example in the story of the Prodigal Son. The son of the loving father had to make a turnaround to come back to where he belonged. He hit rock bottom before he saw it but when he, repented made the 180-degree turn and headed home he was welcomed with loving and open arms. We all know that this is the story of God's love over our life. God watches over us in our lives and in the sometimes overwhelming part of our life called our jobs. If we are on a wrong path and we need to be turned around, He will be there for us to figure it out if we will just bring Him into the office with us. Rather than wait for the bottom to fall out, before the turnaround, receive the constant invitation that is given to us to look to Him for the guidance and direction that we need.

Reference: Luke 15:12-20 (New Living Testament)

day 1164: Vision Casting

"Where there is no vision, the people perish.." 

Everyone likes vision casters.  These are the people who seem to be able to see around the corner and create a vision of what the rest of us can't yet see.  Investors especially love vision from CEO and Founders.  Those analysts who represent investors sometimes though have the least vision, so they are even more enamored with those who lean forward into the future.  This is the problem the Apple has right now.  The analysts think that Apple has lost their vision.  Have they though?  Analysts are asking questions like, "Is it search?", "Is it voice?"  But, what do we know?  One can't ask a question about what a vision is because a vision, again, is something that the rest of us can't yet see.  Prior to the launch of the iPod, Steve Jobs played the guessing game with me and asked me what I thought could change the world, would fit in my pocket, but wasn't a a phone or a camera.  At that time, the last thing I was going to come up with was another mp3 player.  But, he had a vision and that is why other others followed.  If we aren't constantly trying to create a vision for our employees, our customers, our consumers and our shareholders, then we run the risk of losing their attention and worse yet the curiosity of their imagination.

We know that God has a vision for us and how eternity will play itself out.  He created this for us so we don't have to create one on our own.  In fact, when we try to do so we run counter to what He desires for us.  Each and every day we have the opportunity to follow and work into His vision.  That vision is clearly spelled out for us in His Word and if we just begin to inquire into the Bible for how we fit into that vision much will be opened up for us to explore.  We can get so caught up with what is right in front of us that we lose sight of the bigger picture.  Today as we close off this work week let's not take this day as just any other Friday, but instead ask God what He has in store for us and ask Him to reveal His vision today. It might just end up being a remarkable Friday (not to mention the longest day of the year)!

Reference: Proverbs 29:18 (New Living Translation) 

day 1146: An Outfit of Humility

"The Humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God's help be encouraged."

I didn't pay much attention to J.C. Penney before they hired Ron Johnson away from Apple and started one of the great experiments in retail history.  Ron, along with Steve Jobs, had built what no one else imagined with their retail empire of Apple and they had done so by breaking all of the rules of retail and thinking something totally different.  And, they succeeded wildly.  The Board of J.C. Penney wanted some of that magic for their brand so they hired Ron and off he went.  But, there was a difference.  The culture of Penney's was not Apple.  Ron had to not only sell a business plan to his Board and consumers, he had to win over the staff of J.C. Penney all the way down to the store level.  Case studies will be written at Harvard and Stanford about this one and what went wrong.  Did the Board not have enough courage and patience to see the experiment through?  Did Ron have it wrong and what worked at Apple would never work at a clothing retailer? Or was it that that the DNA of Penney's that dates back to the founder, as a man of humility was so strong that any leader without that same value would fail with the rank and file?  We may never know the whole story, but let's never count out humility, or lack thereof, as a driver of success and failure. With wholesale change, there has to be both those who lead from the front and those who lead from the back.

If we want to be different and have our faith shine brightly in the workplace, then just just don an outfit of humility and wear it to work for a week and watch what happens.  Humility is the simplest of characteristics to embrace and embody, and yet one of the hardest for most who are successful and striving to achieve.  Let's be careful to not get too full of ourselves as pride is just as obvious, if not more so, than humility.

Reference: Psalm 69:32 (New Living Translation)

day 1137: Reserves

"...Give us our food day by day."

It would be a very unlikely Board meeting that someone wasn't looking at the cash reserves of the company and making a projection of how much was needed over a future time period.  The cash reserves are a surplus to be invested/spent on acquisitions/R&D or delivered back to the shareholders at some point.  Or, the cash reserve is the tank by which the company that is not yet at cash flow positive survives.  Either way, cash reserves telling to the overall health of the company.  With way too much cash on the balance sheet (e.g., Apple) one must wonder if the company is being aggressive enough in their innovation or market expansion.  With too little cash then the company can't take risks either and spend too much time in fundraising mode.  Analysts and investors look at cash reserves as an important part of the narrative of the company.  Too much, too little, hoarding, overspending, etc. are all part of the balancing act of an organization and the actions/measures it must take to grow and thrive...or survive.

We face our own reserve challenges, whether it be cash, savings, energy or time.  God does not teach us to store up any of these while on earth but instead to look daily for our supply.  The Israelites received manna from heaven daily and were given a limited amount of time that it would last.  Why didn't God just load them up and be done with it?  Because, He wants us to trust in Him, not on ourselves or other people.  That is why He taught us to pray for our daily food  That word daily is all about our cadence of trust and reliance on Him.  If we are not returning to Him at least daily then we need to question what are we doing with our reserves and if we are storing up too much of us and not enough of Him?

Reference: Luke 11:3 (New Living Translation)

day 1063: Repeat Performances

"But as for you, promote the kind of living that reflects the right teaching."

This past week Apple delivered a stunning quarter of results.  Stunning because they reported $31B in profit in the quarter- amazing!.  But also stunning because they lost almost 20% in market value because Wall Street didn't see unbridled growth and new products to deliver them even further up the market food chain. There is a law of big numbers and maybe Apple has hit that ceiling, but it's just as much about our society's way of keeping score and measuring results as it is whether or not they can actually get any bigger.  If we are always to measure by quarter over quarter, or year over year, then all companies will at some point peak and ultimately fail in the eyes of the investment community driving investors top put their money elsewhere. The irony is that Apple has enough cash on their balance sheet and they are so profitable that they don't need Wall Street any longer and if not for the employee compensation that has an equity component, why would they need new investors, or current ones at all?  I am waiting for the first company that will finally come out and make this call to Wall Street and then see what they do.  The point is that after a while if it's always the repeat performances that matter that we will all someday be unable to deliver.  Are we ready for that day?  And when it comes, will we be able to be like Apple and still hold out head high and see that the results delivered are still stellar!

Let's be very thankful that God doesn't grade us on repeat performances.  God is so loving and merciful that He knows that we can't always get better period over period.  He only asks that we never stop trying and that we give all of ourselves to Him to strive to bring glory to Him in all that we do and then share His good news with others! Paul wrote to Titus and directed him to promote the kind of living that reflects the right teaching.  If we are to live as God desires us to do, we won't be chasing the next big win or constantly seeking to repeat and overlap our achievements. We will instead turn to Him and seek His will and pace for our lives and then do all we can to live in, out and through the direction He provides.

Reference:  Titus 2: 1 (New Living Translation)

day 1055: Patience Over Power

"It is better to be patient than powerful..."

There was lots of talk last week about Apple considering building a lower end iphone to compete with Samsung in this category.  Apparently, Samsung is beating them considerably in market share and they want to respond.  Since that report, there have been contradictions to this and that Apple will not chase this market. Apple may be the only company in the world who could cause controversy and news about entering a new market segment.  Those analysts and shareholders who want to see Apple stock price get back to knocking on the door of $700 want Apple to broaden and grow market share.  Consumers and Apple purists worry that if Apple starts chasing market share that they will lose their maniacal focus on innovation, product and quality.  Anyone who followed the company remembers the days that Apple had 4% share in the personal computer space and Steve Jobs wouldn't budge on his direction for the company, regardless of how little the share.  Steve Jobs was not one who was known for patience, but in the strategic direction of the company that patience and deliberate moves paid off.

Our jobs are not set up to reward patience over power. If we are too patient in our career moves then we risk missing out on the chance to move up.  If we move too quickly then we could end up letting our impetuous natures get the better of us.  A good test of whether or not we are letting patience or power rule is to ask ourselves how we "feel"?  If we are feeling like we are taking an overly controlling power ourselves versus continuing to our the power in God's hands, then we may not be patient enough.  Our world of work and life is all about "now" so we need to be sure that we are not letting ourselves power through and not being patient enough.  If faced with one of these moments today let's do our best to keep patience winning out over power.

Reference: Proverbs 16:32 (New Living Translation)

day 1002: Competition

"When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket."

 All around us in competition.  We can't open a business site or newspaper and not have competition right in front of us.  Samsung vs. Apple, Coke vs. Pepsi,  Bing vs. Google.  Need I say more?  But what is it about competition that can be harnessed for good and advancement?  A lot in fact.  Business thrives on competition.  We love to know who is the opponent, identify their weaknesses and then go after them, keeping score until we are the victors.  Many a business plan is built on just the simple fact of doing what someone else is doing better, faster, bigger!  Knowing our competition and being able to articulate clearly to everyone in the organization what is the definition of winning over them, is a great thing.  Leaders have it harder in this respect.  If you are number one, then the competition is you and that is harder than being number two. But, all but one doesn't have that problem, so the rest of us can take the time to find a competitor and then set plans to be better than them.

Inside of organizations and companies there is also competition.  This we must be careful of and personally watch that we don't get caught up in these games.  We have to be able to set an example as believers and followers of Jesus that we aren't those who compete with others in order to build ourselves up or tear down the other person. When we are thought about by others we want to be known as the one who builds up our peers and rides above the game of internal competition.  We can't want to hurt someone else because we can't win.  In Genesis we read of a wrestling match and we know who finally won.  God will wrestle with us over our competitiveness and guess who ultimately wins out?  We need to be careful that we don't find ourselves caught up in competition that just doesn't really matter.

Reference: Genesis 32:25 (New Living Translation)

day 993: Maps

"Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path." 

When was the last time anyone was so concerned about a controversy over maps?  Well, you don't have to ask many people with an iphone before up will come a question or concern about the Apple maps on ios6 vs. Google maps on ios5.  I purposefully haven't upgraded because I depend on the maps heavily, not having a GPS in my car, not liking to rent them in rental cars, and basically not being very good at geographically orienting myself.  So, I know I am missing out on 3D orientations, continuous map fulfillment, etc.  But, when it comes down to it what I really want in a map is accuracy.  If a map fails on that front, then what good is it?  Some of us remember the Thomas Guides.  We counted on them because at least for a year, before their next issue, they were the most accurate maps of all.  In our businesses, we need to be sure and offer the same accuracy in our products and services.  Apple is taking a reputation beating right now for the miss.  We can all be on that end of the stick if we are not careful and we don't provide accuracy in what we present to our consumers and customers.

I had a conversation earlier this week with someone who is trying to figure out where to take their career.  I was quick to remind him that we have a map to call upon that helps us find out where we should go next.  That map is God's Word.  If we follow in the ways and words of Jesus we get 100% accuracy on how to manage and lead our lives moving forward.  God hasn't given us something that we need to upgrade or be concerned about changing or getting out of date.  If we need to reorient ourselves, or ever feel like we are lost, then let's get back into God's map, His Word today.

Reference:  Psalm 119:104 (New Living Translation)

day 951: Pirates vs. Swashbucklers

"And when they found them not, they dragged Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, “These that have turned the world upside down have come hither also..."

The business world doesn't like "Pirates", but they love "Swashbucklers" and buccaneers. Pirates steal, copy, rip-off and can cause irreparable harm and destroy value and spirit.  In my videogame days there was nothing worse than watching a team of people work and give years of their lives to a product only to have someone leak the product before it was shipped and then to see that same product be pirated into the black market.  It was disheartening and devastating.  Any product or service that depends on their intellectual property as part of their competitive advantage will be constantly concerned and cautious of those who would be pirates.  Now, swashbucklers and buccaneers are a different story.  Business loves the Steve Jobs of the world who out together a band of swashbucklers and flew the pirate flag within Apple to launch the Mac.  Hollywood makes billions off of romanticizing the image of the swashbuckler (from Errol Flynn to Johnny Depp).  The untethered, high risk, high reward attitude of those who can buck the system and sail away on their own is the gestalt of Silicon Valley,  It's a fine line between pirates and swashbucklers, but we know that we want the latter to ensure progress and innovation.

Are we strong enough in our faith to fly the flag of Christ and march to His drum beat versus the rest of the world?  We have many examples in the Bible of those who took on their own swashbuckling way to spread the word of Christ throughout the world.  The world pulls us into its' ways and the trappings of work and business can be one of the most draining and eroding environments of our faith and principles.  We must guard against, and be strong to not get pulled in and find ourselves adrift without a course.  It is not easy to sail against the winds, but it is what we must sometimes do in order to be consistent where it matters most.  Do we have enough inside of us today to be like Jason and be called one of those who "have turned the world upside down" for God?

Reference:  Acts 17:6 (21st Century King James Version)

day 862: Treasure Sharing

"He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity."

Last week Apple declared that for the first time in their history they would pay a dividend to each of their shareholders. Their treasury had grown to so much money that there wasn't anyway they could ever spend it on acquisitions or research and development, so they had to do as any other company that reaches that apex, they are beginning to share their treasures back to those who have invested their own treasures into the company. It was a remarkable moment and since then their stock has increased significantly which means more people want to own their stock. Yesterday an analyst put a price target of $1001 on the stock. We can all learn a lesson from the sharing of treasures. The lesson is not that every company needs to create a dividend. The lesson is that each business has a treasure to share. Yes, sure we have to hunt for the treasure first, but once we have found it, we should share it with others. Our product excellence, our quality commitment, our service standards, our employee appreciation, whatever it might be that is part of our treasure, we should be sure to share.

I love that Solomon considers common sense as a treasure. We all know so many people that we could only hope they could get a dose of common sense along the way. And, he says that in order for that treasure to be granted, we must be honest. That honesty is precursor to common sense is a thought for us to also treasure. We each go to work to do our best and to do something that we would be proud to accomplish.That is being honest with our talents and time. Of course, once we are granted our common sense, it only makes sense that it should be shared. Common sense is a powerful attribute. Those with a high level of common sense see and sense things that others don't. They also seem to connect with more people than others. When we wonder why we can't connect or others tell us that we may be out of touch, it could be that we aren't using our common sense to look at a problem or situation to be solved. We need to be sure that we have as much common sense as we can and since God promises it to us through Proverbs, then as we should in all that we do, try to be the best and most honest that we can be for Him. Common sense is a great treasure to be shared.

Reference: Proverbs 2:7 (New Living Testament)