cbmc – CBMC International

CBMC Argentina invites you to join their Leadership Training.

You are cordially invited to an exciting training designed for purpose-driven executives and entrepreneurs seeking to scale their marketplace impact for God. Join us as we explore what it means to serve as an ambassador in the business world, equipping you with the practical tools and frameworks necessary to drive genuine organizational evolution. Our speakers: … Read more

STICKS AND STONES CAN HURT – BUT SO CAN WORDS

When I was a boy, people would repeat the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” That sounded correct, since sticks and stones can certainly inflict physical damage. However, life has taught me that words can be just as hurtful; they just affect us emotionally and mentally. There … Read more

OPERATING AS CHOSEN INSTRUMENTS

The marketplace exposes weight fast. A deal falls apart. A trusted leader walks away. The numbers dip. The board wants answers now. Your team is watching you, trying to read your face. At home, the pressure does not let up. Decisions wait. Conversations linger. And somewhere in the middle of it all, the thought creeps … Read more

WE DO NOT WORK JUST FOR OURSELVES

When many people go to work, their motivation is typically self-oriented. They need to earn a living. They need to provide for their family. They need to have enough money to support their chosen lifestyle. They have found a vocation they have a passion for – they enjoy the work they do; it feels rewarding; … Read more

BEING TESTED BY PRAISE

Have you ever felt you were being tested? We tend to associate testing with adversity, having to confront significant hardships or formidable challenges. The test involves how we handle them. But there is another form of testing many of us never consider. It is the testing of … praise. How do we respond when things … Read more

Returning to the Center: Why Evangelism Still Defines Our Mission

Walk through any office tower and you’ll pass a hundred people who look like they’ve got it figured out. Polished. Productive. Enviable from the outside. A lot of them are quietly coming apart on the inside. And here’s the uncomfortable part. We keep handing them tracts while they’re wearing masks, then wonder why nothing takes … Read more

The Value Of Having Many Advisers

March 28, 2016 – Robert J. Tamasy

Some time ago I received a phone call from a friend who told me about a new business venture he was planning. He asked if I, being a writer, could come up with a catchy, marketable title for the enterprise. My friends know me as the guy who is never at a loss for words.

Before starting to think of clever names for the business start-up, I asked my friend if he had done his due diligence in researching the pros and cons of this particular type of company. He said he had already done that, and was eager to get underway. I had no background in that type of business, but two of my friends had engaged in ventures like that in the past. So I urged my friend to contact them and ask for their feedback. My desire was not to discourage him or change his mind, but to ensure he had examined all aspects of the proposed business to avoid problems in the future.

Years ago I learned an important principle of decision-making. We tend to make decisions based on emotion, then justify those decisions with facts – facts to support the course of action we want to take. Sometimes this works, but other times an emotions-first, facts-second approach can lead to disaster. Feelings can and frequently do cloud sound judgment.

The Bottom Line: Friend Or Foe?

March 21, 2016 – John D. Beckett

Gunter was reeling. The unexpected turn of events had caught him totally off-guard. After all, the board of Mastech had brought him in as CEO to move the company forward. He knew he had been selected not only because of his proven business skills, but also his genuine care for people. In fact, Gunter had always regarded his commitment to his employees as one of his greatest strengths as a leader.

Now the board of directors was adamant: “You are just being soft, Gunter. You care about people so much that you are not making the tough decisions. You will never improve the bottom line of this company unless you start swinging the axe – making personnel cuts to reduce costs. Get to it, or…um…the axe may be falling on you!”

This directive hit Gunter right in the gut. It went directly against his instincts, as well as the strategy he had been employing to strengthen the company over the long term.

Great Commissions…And The Great Commission

March 14, 2016 – Robert J. Tamasy

If someone were to ask why you go to work, how would you respond? There are many possible answers to that question: To earn a living and pay bills. To earn enough money to support one’s desired lifestyle. To build a rewarding career. To find expression for one’s skills, expertise and interests. Some might sarcastically reply, “To fill in the time between weekends, holidays and vacations.”

For people in sales, one of their primary motivations at work is to receive greater commissions. The more they sell, the more money they can make. But have you ever considered a different type of commission to pursue – at least for those who serve Jesus Christ in the workplace?

An Unorthodox Marketing Strategy

March 7, 2016 – Rick Boxx

In the business world it seems normal to emphasize a company’s unique qualities and capacities. We try to define our “niche,” promote our strengths, and show how we differentiate from our competitors. It is less common, however, for business leaders to publicly acknowledge their weaknesses. They are either ignored or, even worse, disguised or concealed in hope that no one will recognize them.

That is not always the case. One stellar example was a nationally known pizza franchise that came to the unsettling realization that many of its customers disliked the taste of the primary product – pizza. Rather than overlooking the customers’ dissatisfaction by attempting slick marketing and repackaging, the company’s CEO developed a strategy that brought a remarkable turnaround in a five-year period.

Is It True We Can’t Take It With Us?

February 29, 2016 – Robert J. Tamasy

Occasionally we hear the cliché, “You can’t take it with you.” The implication is that on the day we pass from this life, we will not be taking suitcases filled with our belongings. No moving van will be following the hearse. Following the death of a wealthy, internationally famous entrepreneur, when asked how much the businessman had left behind, a company spokesman accurately responded, “All of it!”

Strangely, however, often we do not act as if that is true. Many of us accrue as many material things as our incomes allow. For some people this means multiple homes, numerous cars, closets filled with attire that could clothe entire villages in Third World countries, expensive vacations, enough gizmos and gadgets to occupy several lifetimes. We fret over investment portfolios, agonizing when returns drop and rejoicing (temporarily) when they soar.

Yet, upon taking our final breath, everything we have amassed remains behind, left perhaps to family members and loved ones, or even to the government in the form of inheritance taxes. So if in reality we can’t take it with us, why does our behavior make it appear we think otherwise?

February 22, 2016 – Jim Mathis

My topic for today – joy – is not something we often talk about in the business and professional world. We commonly speak about happiness and being happy, whether it concerns finalizing a contract, attracting a new client, making a sale, receiving a promotion or a pay raise, or finding a new job we feel certain will be more fulfilling and rewarding. Such events make us happy. But when was the last time you heard someone speak about experiencing joy?

Recently some friends and I were talking about these two seemingly similar words, joy and happiness. However, during the course of our discussion we realized that in important ways, they are very different. Happiness, for example, has a lot to do with what is happening at the moment. I can feel happy because it is not raining, or I might become unhappy simply because my coffee got cold. Joy, on the other hand, is more about attitude. Joy is a way of life, how we approach everyday events, both good and bad, while happiness typically is situational. Joy also can be more of a personality trait, an inner quality of well-being that permeates every part of person’s life.

An observation that came from our discussion was how our level of joy can have an effect on what brings us happiness. For example, if we are joyful, we tend to see the good in many things: little pleasures will make us happy, and problems can be viewed as challenges rather than as insurmountable obstacles. People without joy in their lives will have a lot of trouble finding happy moments, and every problem they encounter will be perceived as a major hassle.