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IBEC Board member, Dave Kier, owned and operated a sizable animal feed mill in Iowa (see the IBEC video on the website.)  This is one of the many lessons learned over the years in business. Larry W. Sharp, BAM Support Specialist, IBEC Ventures Larry.Sharp@ibecventures.com —– “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, […]

I have often taught and referred to the Kingdom of God (and Heaven) as in the New Testament Gospels books. Approximately half of the references refer to this Kingdom as “here and now”, and half to the “not yet” or the afterlife. In thinking about the “here and now”, some scholars refer to the “Four-Part

IBEC Director, Bob Bush, and Director of Coaching, Jonathan Brake, recently returned from India where they were teaching and coaching BAM startups. Among other relationships, they had the opportunity to meet with Nisha Ghosh, owner of an architectural business in Bangalore. Nisha’s love for India’s impoverished women inspired her to start a new business called Zero. You

Jeanette Amundsen Klodt grew up in the home of career missionaries Roald and Harriet Amundsen in Unalakleet and Nome, Alaska where she was born.  Her parents were classic pioneers and are credited with starting high schools, radio stations, a flying service, a vocational school, and children’s boarding homes as well as churches.  While Roald saw

When I was a child growing up in Canada, we were always given a paper shamrock to wear on St. Patrick’s Day.  A shamrock is a 3-leaf clover, and it is said that St. Patrick used it as a visual to teach the people of Ireland about the Trinity. Some years ago, I learned of

I have been a fan of Angela Duckworth’s research at the University of Pennsylvania since her first book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, was released in May 2016. It stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for 21 weeks. This week, I listened to an interview, where she affirmed that GRIT is certainly important, but it is not

The following comes from a Nov 3/25 memo from Five Capitals.  It is a great reminder for everyone involved in Business as Mission. You can’t lead without a few scars Failure isn’t final. It’s feedback. The best leaders don’t avoid mistakes, they mine them. They get curious, not defensive. They extract lessons, recalibrate fast, and move again

President Ronald Reagan often quoted the Russian proverb taught to him by American scholar, Suzanne Masssie.  The proverb doveryai, no proveryai (доверяй, но проверяй) means ‘trust, but verify’. She advised him that “The Russians like to talk in proverbs…” Reagan applied the idea in his dealings with the Soviets where he added, “Don’t be afraid to see

Each year about this time, I look up some data on who were the greatest of the US Presidents; and each year, I read the same thing. Almost every time, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington are the top two presidents, followed often by FDR, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt etc. Such polling of experts is highly subjective,

  In a May 1963 Time magazine article, entitled, “Barth in Retirement,” theologian Karl Barth stated that he advised young theologians to “take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both.”  It is an oft-quoted statement, sometimes noted as “take the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other.” Not bad advice