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Marcus Mariota of the Oregon Ducks football team has been much in the sports news the past two months.  Last month he won the 2014 Heisman Trophy in a landslide and on January 12 he led the Ducks in the national championship game.  There is no question he is a talented record-breaking all-star quarterback.  But […]

I am always intrigued with titles like this one I saw recently: The Top 20 Reasons Startups Fail.  Why would I not be interested? We are in the startup business; and I don’t like failure; and it is the start of a new year! The study analyzed more than 101 startup post mortems for reasons

IBEC’s purpose is to help build sustainable businesses through consultative expertise that changes lives and transforms communities. We help build!  IBEC leadership and consultants are committed to partnering to get the job done. We want to work together in collaboration with other individuals and organizations – and we do.  We help – we do not

“How you see your future is much more important than how you see your past.” Zig Ziglar “Do not follow where the path may lead.  Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson This is the time of year when one hears comments like, “I can’t believe another year

There are many ways to say “Merry Christmas” or to give a Christmas greeting in the languages of the world.  The greetings above represent “Merry Christmas” in most of the languages served by IBEC consultants.  Despite cultural and linguistic differences there is one commonality – the Christ of Christmas! The continuity of Christ – from

Entrepreneur and IBEC Board member, Dave Kier reflects on purpose in what we do.  At this time of year, young entrepreneurs may wonder if all the work and uncertainty are worth it.  They may be trying to live one day at a time, having lost the vision to “change the world”.  The story that Dave

Last week Dave Kier surfaced the question of “Leadership” versus “Followership”.  He drew a distinction between the founder (or entrepreneur) in a business and a manager.  He talked about leaders and followers.  In Part 2 of this theme we consider the importance of all types in the development of a Kingdom business team. Malcolm Gladwell

Again we share the insightful thoughts of entrepreneur David Kier, owner of DFS Feeds and an IBEC board member.  His thoughtful wisdom reveals an important concern for Business as Mission start-ups: do we emphasis the entrepreneurial leader at the expense of the business builder? This is Part 1 of a two part series on the importance

Today I received a text from our youngest daughter Trudy, “Back on US soil! Just landed in DC.”  I am very thankful today.  She had been in harm’s way this past month, serving the 1.7 million refugees in Northern Iraq as an HR Director for her organization.  Two days ago a suicide bomber killed several

Today I was contacted by a bright young man in the banking industry.  A university graduate in banking and finance, he has just completed his second year with a major bank.  He asked me, “How can I use my experience and training to help make a difference with what you are doing?”  We talked for