day 775: Do The Right Thing - Part 7: Arm In Arm

"And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father."

Much of business is about knowing who is a good partner. From the top to the bottom this is a real consideration that must be thought about carefully and continuously. If our businesses were so vertically integrated that we never needed any partners, how great would that be? But no business is that self-sufficient or able to do so. Raw materials have to come from somewhere and a partner must be sourced to ensure that the highest quality, regular supply and best price can be obtained. That's just one example. There are also partners for going to market, for strategic leverage, for advice and counsel, for spaces to work, etc. We have to lock arms with other people everyday and in the decision we have to be sure that the work we are doing and the partners we have all come together in a way that is right and good for the company. I have seen situations where companies have nearly been destroyed because they locked arms with the wrong partner and through no fault of their own, other than a bad selection decision, nearly lost their companies. Who we lock arms with is an important decision.

We would like to think that all we do and how we do it would be so pleasing to God that we could be locked arm and arm with Him and together He would feel good about where we went, what we did, who we were with, etc. When I was growing up my fire and brimstone southern baptist preacher used to ask, "If Jesus had you by the arm, would you be proud to introduce Him wherever you went?" That question would get me thinking about what I was doing, where I was going and with whom I was associating. If Jesus was locked arm in arm with us on one side, who are locked arm in arm on the other? Would He be happy and would you be proud to make the introductions? Who we associate with or who we just hang out with have an influence on us. If we are surrounding ourselves with people who are positive and who can help us grow, then we are so much better off than the opposite. At work we can't always choose who are arm and arm with in our jobs, but we have decisions that we can make about how we let others influence us and either make us better or tear us down. It's a part of thinking to consider about whether or not we are truly doing the right thing.

Reference: Colossians 3:17 (New Living Testament)

day 581: Associations

Any good recruiter or hiring manager knows that the best form of recruiting is to get a referral from someone who is really good. If someone who is really good refers them then that means that the person being referred will likely be good too. It is why social sites such as LinkedIn have become so important to recruiters because a social graph is being exposed that can tell us who is associated with whom. It works. Associations with others can have powerful, impacting and long-lasting influences on us. Our parents were always concerned about this weren't they? Who we associated with would have influence and bearing on how we conducted ourselves and behaved, or didn't. Even today, with whom we associate is important as they rub off on us and us on them. If we are with generally up, positive and uplifting attitude-minded people then it becomes really hard to be down when with that crowd. Vice-versa is also true. If we hang and associate with those who see the world and life in negative terms then we can find ourselves being pulled down and becoming just as negative. So, we should choose carefully and deliberately our associations. In Proverbs 22:24 we read; "Keep away from angry, short-tempered people, or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul." There you have it. We need to be very cognizant of the influences upon us if we are to keep the attitude and example that we know we want to keep. Think about this today. Where you are putting yourself in attitudinal harm's way, rethink those associations and consider a change or pattern to ensure that you are not being pulled down. It might be that if you do that, others around you at work start coming to associate with you because you are the uplifting one now.

Reference: Proverbs 22:24 (New Living Testament)