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I recently read a comment in Patrick Lai’s book, Business for Transformation – Getting Started. He said “before producing a product, ensure that you have customers first.”  That got me thinking about culture and the key role it plays in any business endeavor. Culture is the values and practices shared by the members of group.  The business […]

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

For sure there are many lessons from the 40-year history of Microsoft. Clearly they are a gigantic success and I will highlight just three lessons here in hopes they will provide insight for all of us in the startup world. I travel to and through Seattle quite often and took note recently of “Microsoft at

  Last week I highlighted five principles of leadership I wanted to pass on to my grand kids.  They apply to a profit-making business, not-for-profits, charities, a team and just about anything.  This is Part 2. 1. Figure out how God made you and spend your life developing that. When I was in my twenties

I’ve been blessed with some incredible opportunities in life.  While I regret not taking full advantage of all of them, I’m thankful for what God and others have taught me over the years about that which I have been called to do – run stuff!   I’m also called to teach and to inspire others

Have most of us forgotten Nepal already?  Was it a blip on the screen of our TV’s and on the prayer lists of our churches?  My TV news these days is full of news of forest fires in the West, shark attacks in the East and tornados in Mid-America.  These are certainly important – and

I just looked out my office window on this sunny day in mid-July.  Our little town of 2,000 residents is swarming with about 10,000 tourists who have come to the largest outdoor quilt show in North America.  It is amazing! Thousands of people; overweight dogs on leashes; women with gigantic handbags; a restored 1931 Model

I had been in Haiti before and had even seen extreme poverty before, but I was reminded that we can always learn something new and sometimes we even need to re-learn things over and over again. 1.  I learned that it is important to listen and observe before speaking.  Even though our four-man team determined

WATER!  I never thought much about it.  I was born and raised on Canada’s west coast with rainwater and lakes all around.  I lived for 21 years in the Amazon rain forest!  I suffered the rainy winters of Seattle for five years.  I can see the snow pack on the Cascade mountains from where I

On June 15, four IBEC consultants landed in Haiti’s capital and transferred to a small plane for the north coast of the country. From the landing in Port au Paix, we were transported into the north interior – a vast area of Haiti devastated by drought, famine, poverty and alienation.  Our team was led be