day 1378: Rounding Numbers

"Your scales and weights must be accurate. Your containers for measuring dry materials or liquids must be accurate. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt."

Bank of America tried to dismiss a $4 billion accounting error because with a balance sheet of $4 trillion, what's $4 billion really?  They said, it didn't hurt earnings or anything and hat it's really not even material.  The law of big numbers is a dangerous law.  We will many times hear people say about a number, "That's just a rounding error to them".  When we hear that our ears should perk up, because the minute we start to think of numbers as rounding errors, we are at the beginning of losing control.  I once challenged a CEO about him wanting to count something that was too small for him, at his level, to be paying attention.  He pushed back with a response well remembered, "If I am not counting the small things, then how do I know what adds up to the big things." $4 billion dollar mistakes don't just happen.  Somewhere in the corporate culture, $1 billion dollars has been talked about as "rounding errors".  In that company, what does $100,000 or even $100MM mean?

Today, one of us will complete a financial statement or fill out an expense report, or report the hours we worked on a project to be billed.  In those cases, we can round up the hour, round down the dollars, or round up or down a percentage point or two.  But, if we do, we are in jeopardy.  Rounding numbers always come with intent and if that intent is to make the books look better, hide the amount spent or leave a little extra in our pockets, then we are not bringing glory to God in our work. Somethings are not obvious, others are and in this case, let's not be the ones who are doing the rounding.

Reference: Leviticus 19:36 (New Living Translation)

day 1263: Dealing (redux)

 I'll be traveling and taking some vacation time through November 15th, so Purposed worKING will be revisiting some earlier posts until then...

"When you make an agreement with a neighbor to buy or sell property, you must never take advantage of each other."

Much of work is about "dealing".   Dealing shows up all over the place. We deal when we work with customers and negotiate fees, services, deliveries, etc. We deal with our co-workers when trying to decide who is going to do what and when. We deal with our boss when we figure out pay, hours, assignments, performance assessments, etc. We deal with ourselves when we inwardly decide on how hard to work and how much to put into our jobs. We deal with our family and loved ones over the days and hours we will be working versus be with them. Yes, we are constantly dealing. There are those who are superb at getting the best deal and those that aren't that good at getting a deal closed successfully. Dealing is a skill but it is just as much as an art as the best deals are those that everyone who is involved walks away feeling satisfied and treated fairly. A deal that is one-sided, while at the time looks good for the winner, is not a good deal. Anytime the other side feels like a loser or taken advantage of, then it is almost assured that the deal won't last and the relationship of the people who made the deal will be acrimonious. The art part of deal-making is being able to read and know the emotions of the other person and knowing when to pull-up and stop pushing any further.

When in doubt, we can do two things to know where the line is drawn. First, we should apply the Golden Rule. It if it would feel bad to us if we were on the other side of the deal, then we've pushed too far. Secondly, we must listen to God's voice speaking to us through the principle taught in Leviticus 25:14; "When you make an agreement with a neighbor to buy or sell property, you must never take advantage of each other." Today, you are going to "deal" a number of times. Think hard about what God has said to us about making those deals. If we become one who always makes a fair and equitable deal, then we will also be known as one who others can approach and gain learning. We never know when we might get the opportunity to tell others about the most marvelous and fantastic deal of everlasting life and when that chance comes, we want to be able to do so as a person who consistently and credibly reflects in our work lives and rest of life the ways and the principles of our Lord.

Reference: Leviticus 25:14 (New Living Testament) 

day 1183: Sabbath Time!

The way work is set up for most of us is that we work a bunch of hours over a five to six day period and the seventh day is off, unless there is a real problem, overload, or huge deadline that we might miss. We, in most cases, can get our day of rest, that is if we choose to take it. Many of us, myself included, find some time all seven days to "do some "catch up" or take a few minutes to "get ahead of the week". This is not all bad, but when analyzed it means that our brains are tuning into our work seven days a week and we never really give ourselves the chance to bring our minds down to a more peaceful state, if even for a day. After all of these years of working closely with others on their work and careers, I can almost smell burnout on someone. I can see it in their eyes, their mannerisms and even sometimes in the wrinkles of stress on their face. This may be because it is also so obvious to others when I personally reach that point. I can even see it in the mirror on me. The shape of my eyes change when I am tired and/or stressed. As you can imagine, it is no fun to know that you are stressed, but then to see it, and still not be able to do much about it, well that just adds to the stress doesn't it?

God modeled a day of rest of all of us, and then established that day of rest as a day of sabbath for us to turn our attention away from the world around us and turn our mind to Him. He even laid out in Leviticus 25 a "Sabbath Year" every seven years. For those who enjoy a "sabbatical" period in their jobs, they can thank God, Moses and the Israelites for this. God asks us to rest in our lives and to put some time for Him in between the daily work that He has given us to do. He wants us to be refreshed and ready for the next challenges ahead of us. If we are exhausted, stressed, beaten down, we cannot be ready for the next obstacle we will face. It may be that God is calling you to be thinking about how much rest you are getting. Is He telling you in other ways that you are reaching a "redline" on your life tachometer? If you sense it, feel it, hear a voice inside you or from a friend, loved one, or co-worker, that it may be time to get some rest, take heed of those words. God needs you refreshed, strong and ready for the work that He wants to do through you in your job. Maybe this week is the week to start planning towards using this coming Sunday as a true Sabbath day of rest.

Reference: Leviticus 25 (New Living Testament)

day 568: Pay

This is the time of the year when companies are looking at salary data to see what other companies will be providing in this coming year as it relates to pay increases. The most recent data shows that the median increase this year will just under 3%, if a pay increase is given at all. In a recent survey only 45% expect that they will receive an increase this year. The past three years have seen the Great Recession causing companies to cut the pay of employees to make the numbers work and also try to keep as many people employed as possible. These reductions have employees across the country making less money than they did a few years ago, while they are performing the same or expanded job in the same company. We all know how frustrating this could/can feel. But now companies are beginning to recover and we see year over year positive results and corporate America's balance sheets are flush with cash. So, now we will watch and see if employers will begin to restore what was taken away or continue to focus on growth of profits. Will America's employees be first out and last back in? That is likely not going to be an equation that will work well for long. Some of us reading this are in positions where we are making these decisions for our company or our team. While God does not tell us how to specifically run our businesses, He gives us enough direction and examples that we can discern what is right and wrong. In Leviticus we read; "Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of other. I, the Lord, am your God." As we make these decisions, or any other decision where we have to question ourselves how others are being treated, then we should reflect back to what God tells us and ensure that we are not taking any advantage of anyone else.

Reference: Leviticus 25:17

day 533: Dealing

Much of work is about "dealing". Dealing shows up all over the place. We deal when we work with customers and negotiate fees, services, deliveries, etc. We deal with our co-workers when trying to decide who is going to do what and when. We deal with our boss when we figure out pay, hours, assignments, performance assessments, etc. We deal with ourselves when we inwardly decide on how hard to work and how much to put into our jobs. We deal with our family and loved ones over the days and hours we will be working versus be with them. Yes, we are constantly dealing. There are those who are superb at getting the best deal and those that aren't that good at getting a deal closed successfully. Dealing is a skill but it is just as much as an art as the best deals are those that everyone who is involved walks away feeling satisfied and treated fairly. A deal that is one-sided, while at the time looks good for the winner, is not a good deal. Anytime the other side feels like a loser or taken advantage of, then it is almost assured that the deal won't last and the relationship of the people who made the deal will be acrimonious. The art part of deal-making is being able to read and know the emotions of the other person and knowing when to pull-up and stop pushing any further. When in doubt, we can do two things to know where the line is drawn. First, we should apply the Golden Rule. It if it would feel bad to us if we were on the other side of the deal, then we've pushed too far. Secondly, we must listen to God's voice speaking to us through the principle taught in Leviticus 25:14; "When you make an agreement with a neighbor to buy or sell property, you must never take advantage of each other." Today, you are going to "deal" a number of times. Think hard about what God has said to us about making those deals. If we become one who always makes a fair and equitable deal, then we will also be known as one who others can approach and gain learning. We never know when we might get the opportunity to tell others about the most marvelous and fantastic deal of everlasting life and when that chance comes, we want to be able to do so as a person who consistently and credibly reflects in our work lives and rest of life the ways and the principles of our Lord.

Reference: Leviticus 25:14 (New Living Testament)

day 504: Management By Wandering Around

Some of the best executives I have ever worked with were those who hated sitting down or worse yet, being stuck in an office. These executives are people who want to be out, around and among the people. They feel out of touch, stifled and cramped when they are holed up in their offices or a conference room. Don't even try and put them in a meeting room all day long unless that room is full of people who make, move or sell. That's just the way they are. They would rather be walking the halls and talking about the business and what people are doing or what people need from him/her to get their jobs done. Some people call this "managing by wandering around". Whatever you call it, it works. The more visible and in touch an executive is, or any of us are, the more we will be respected for who we are and the better the chance that when we stumble that we get a second chance because people know us beyond a nameplate or a picture of a person they have never met. When a leader gets out and wanders among the people, we can remember another great leader who was always in the streets and with those that others wouldn't be seen. Jesus taught and led by wandering around because this is how he was able to reach the people who needed Him most. It was told long before Jesus walked the earth that He, as God, would be this way; "I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people." We could do well by modeling His actions and walk among our people showing others who we are and let them see us in their environment, where they can be themselves. Let us all feel a little more comfortable to wandering around.

Reference: Leviticus 26:12 (New Living Testament)

day 269: A Little Sabbath Time

The way work is set up for most of us is that we work a bunch of hours over a five to six day period and the seventh day is off, unless there is a real problem, overload, or huge deadline that we might miss. We, in most cases, can get our day of rest, that is if we choose to take it. Many of us, myself included, find some time all seven days to "do some "catch up" or take a few minutes to "get ahead of the week". This is not all bad, but when analyzed it means that our brains are tuning into our work seven days a week and we never really give ourselves the chance to bring our minds down to a more peaceful state, if even for a day. After all of these years of working closely with others on their work and careers, I can almost smell burnout on someone. I can see it in their eyes, their mannerisms and even sometimes in the wrinkles of stress on their face. This may be because it is also so obvious to others when I personally reach that point. I can even see it in the mirror on me. The shape of my eyes change when I am tired and/or stressed. As you can imagine, it is no fun to know that you are stressed, but then to see it, and still not be able to do much about it, well that just adds to the stress doesn't it? God modeled a day of rest of all of us, and then established that day of rest as a day of sabbath for us to turn our attention away from the world around us and turn our mind to Him. He even laid out in Leviticus 25 a "Sabbath Year" every seven years. For those who enjoy a "sabbatical" period in their jobs, they can thank God, Moses and the Israelites for this. God asks us to rest in our lives and to put some time for Him in between the daily work that He has given us to do. He wants us to be refreshed and ready for the next challenges ahead of us. If we are exhausted, stressed, beaten down, we cannot be ready for the next obstacle we will face. It may be that God is calling you to be thinking about how much rest you are getting. Is He telling you in other ways that you are reaching a "redline" on your life tachometer? If you sense it, feel it, hear a voice inside you or from a friend, loved one, or co-worker, that it may be time to get some rest, take heed of those words. God needs you refreshed, strong and ready for the work that He wants to do through you in your job. Maybe this week is the week to start planning towards using this coming Sunday as a true Sabbath day of rest.

Reference: Leviticus 25 (New Living Testament)

Note: I will be taking my own advice over the next three weeks as Patti and I head to Africa on vacation. Purposed worKING will continue for you though as a number of people have so graciously offered to guest contribute. We will also be repeating a few of the posts from the past year that have been the ones that seemed to resonate most. Talk to you in a few weeks and in the meantime, be blessed in the work that God had given you to do and don't forget, that each day is a day of purpose for His glory!