Patrick Lai is a thought leader and a proven BAM entrepreneur/practitioner of Business for Transformation (B4T), a term closely related to Business as Mission (BAM). In his second book, Business for Transformation – Getting Started, he talks about authentic businesses which are profitable and sustainable, create jobs, and bring people to follow Jesus. It is filled with practical cross-cultural wisdom as well as stories from his many years of experience in Asia and around the world.
This book is a necessary read for those starting businesses overseas for Kingdom purposes and for those who serve these businesses as mentors, consultants and subject matter experts. It focuses on the question “How do you start a business that transforms communities of unreached peoples?”
If some of these quotes intrigue you, determine to read and benefit from this book:
- Excellence is defined first by the person, then the product.
- The ultimate bottom line of transformational business is the greater glory of God…our ‘market’ is more than product or service. It is the people and culture we engage…
- B4Ters model Kingdom values in the way they work or run a business and the way they relate to others in the community.
- Business constitutes ministry in and through its daily activities.
- A B4T business is ultimately going to be judged by two factors: its impact on the local community and its profitability.
- “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” Alan Toffler
- Get out there and fail! The faster you fail, the faster you learn; the faster you learn, the faster you will succeed.
- Instead of focusing on what you want to be or what you want to achieve, think about what it is that someone else truly needs.
- Work is not a penalty, but a blessing. “I love my job! When I am at work I get to be with all these people. It’s eight hours of opportunities to be Jesus to my employees – I wouldn’t give that up for anything.” Bill
- “Don’t sit down and wait for opportunities to come. Get up and make them!” C.J. Walker
- “You don’t learn to walk by following the rules, you learn to walk by doing and falling over.” Richard Branson
- “An intelligent man is always open to new ideas; in fact he looks for them.” King Solomon
- Before producing a product, ensure that you have customers first.
- The business should be adding value to the local community in ways that the locals, and especially the government, appreciate.
- “God works as long as His people live daringly. He ceases to work when they no longer need His aid.” A. W. Tozer
Larry W. Sharp, Director of Training, IBEC Ventures