Is Everyone Clear About Why Your Business Exists?

ChrisPattonPrivileged to feature this guest post from Chris Patton. Chris is President/CEO of the Mike Patton Auto Family in LaGrange, Georgia, a three-dealership group with roughly 100 employees representing Honda, Ford, Lincoln, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram franchises. Along with his younger brother (and partner) Brian, he is a third-generation owner and grew up working in every department in the business, beginning at the age of 10.

He also writes a blog to business owners and leaders who are working to integrate their Christian faith into their businesses. This blog has led to multiple articles being published in TwoTen Magazine as well as various speaking and teaching engagements, including multiple Skype sessions with audiences and pastors in Northern India.

He and his wife Kim live in LaGrange, GA with their three teenage children.


As President/CEO of our family’s automotive retail business, I regularly get the privilege of welcoming all new employees into our company.

As part of our orientation and new hire training process, I go over our company history (three generations!) along with a deep dive of our company’s mission, vision, and core values statements.

Unfortunately, many businesses either completely ignore or gloss over the idea of mission, vision, and values statements. Among those business that have taken the steps to create these statements, many fail to grasp the significance and immeasurable benefits they can bring to a company (when approached correctly).

Some choose to assign the task to an assistant. Then there are those who just copy the mission, vision, and values statements from other companies. Many take the time to create these statements, but fail to follow through on the promises conveyed by them.

What About God?

Even among those businesses who have strong and continuously reinforced mission, vision, and core values statements, there are simply not enough of them who openly acknowledge God in the process. I understand there is risk when we openly align our businesses with God, but I believe God is bigger than this risk! I believe He will honor those who honor Him.

Sometimes, we can get a better grasp on an idea like this when we see an example from another business. For this reason, I wanted to share our own company’s mission, vision, and values statements.

My hope is that you may get some ideas for your own company statements. At the end, I will also tell you how you can effectively work through this process with your own team.

Mission Statement

The Mike Patton Auto Family seeks to honor God by impacting the lives of our employees, customers, and community.

We believe that God owns this business and we are simply His stewards of it for a season. We want to make sure that all we do in and through the business honors Him. By the same token, we do not want to do anything that will dishonor Him. We believe that we are here, and that this business exists, for the purpose of impacting people for eternity. We believe that this is our ultimate goal.
Vision Statement

Moving people.

This statement is short, but is full of meaning. First, it obviously references transportation, reflecting the automobile business we have chosen. However, it goes much deeper than that.

We want to take employees, customers, and those in the community and “move” them from their current position (or circumstances) to a better place. Regardless of where they are in life (financially, professionally, emotionally, spiritually, etc.), we want to move them to an improved situation. Regardless of how they interact with us, we want them to be better off having done so.

Core Values

Integrity
We do what is right even when no one is watching.

This core value comes first for a reason. Without integrity, we will not have the impact that we desire. We take this very seriously. We will extend grace when it comes to mistakes and errors, giving people a chance to grow and improve in their jobs. We are not as tolerant of violations in this area. We need to know we can trust our coworkers without question.

Excellence
We are constantly redefining our goals, expectations, boundaries, and potential.

Our team’s talents and performance vary from person to person. That is normal. We simply believe that regardless of your talent or performance today, you should want to be better tomorrow. We want teammates that are constantly striving to learn and grow, improving every day!

Employee Development
We strive to create an atmosphere that inspires and enables people to reach their full potential.

As a company, we want to meet our employees where they are as they strive for excellence. Our goal is to provide the resources and inspiration required to “move” them forward on their path. Sometimes this means they advance within our company and sometimes it means they move on to other opportunities. Either way, we want to help!

Spiritual Growth
We provide the opportunity for all to know God and make Him known.

No one who works in our company is required to believe what we believe. However, we make it clear early on that God is the owner of our company. Therefore, all that we do centers around Him. This includes many efforts to sow seeds of faith all around through various efforts. We will not force anyone to believe, but they will certainly have opportunities to hear.

Community Impact
We use our talents and treasures to make a difference in those who need it most.

We believe we are part of the community in which we work and therefore have the responsibility to give back to that community. Whether through benevolence or sponsorships, community service or fundraising, we are going to take the time and energy to give to those who need it.
Your Mission, Vision, And Core Values

If you want to take this further and develop (or modify) your own company’s set of mission, vision, and values statements, you should check out my ebook – Why Does Your Business Exist? A Christian Business Guide to Creating your Mission, Vision, and Values Statements.

It is now available on Amazon! I believe you will find this ebook to be a solid, step-by-step guide to help your team craft meaningful mission, vision, and values statements and learn how to use them in guiding your company to eternal significance.


Is your company engaged in a strong mission, vision, and core values?
If not, are you ready to revisit this with your leadership?
Do you see the benefits from having Christ-centered mission, vision, and core values statements?
.

If you are interested in following my process to create your own mission, vision, and core values, then check out my new ebook – Why Does Your Business Exist?
Now Available on Amazon!!!
Click Here For Ebook!


Make Like Lazarus— A Marriage Read from Mark Youngkin

A failed marriage can leave both parties feeling discouraged, heartbroken, and hopeless.

Many Christians struggle with the idea of divorce and how to overcome it. The thought of disappointing God through the divorce or even the potential of having a failed second marriage can be disheartening.

As a husband and father of six awesome kids, I can’t imagine going through divorce and the negative impact it would have on my family as well as me personally.

I have been blessed with a strong marriage, but that doesn’t just happen by accident.

Make Like Lazarus:A Biblical Perspective of Divorce and Remarriage from Mark Youngkin is a phenomenal read for anyone who has or is experiencing the burden of divorce.

Mark shares his own personal experience in a way that is intriguing and relatable to the reader by tying his experience with marriage after divorce to the story of Lazarus. He shares the biblical truths about divorce, even the one many people like to put out of their minds: God hates divorce.

While candidly explaining this truth, Mark shows how loving and faithful God is even through divorce. He offers real and practical ways for the reader to get his or her relationship back on track with God, or what he calls “returning to your first love”.

Mark takes the reader through the steps of rekindling a relationship with God, God’s perspective on divorce, getting back into the dating game, and creating a successful, healthy marriage. By providing real examples of how he and his wife have created a strong marriage after his previous divorce, the reader is able to effectively implement Mark’s teachings into his or her own life.

The reader is given ways to increase healing from divorce and given the opportunity to learn from previous mistakes and how to use those lessons to create a better second marriage.

This book is essential for anyone who is, plans to be, or was married. There are principles and wisdom within these pages that can be applied at any stage of marriage and can help create a healthier—existing or future—marriage.

A healthy marriage doesn’t just happen. It requires effort on both sides. Be proactive and use this book to guide you no matter where you may be on your marriage journey.


Get your copy of Make Like Lazarus here

MLL

How to Take a Digital Sabbath

Do You Control Technology or Does It Control You?

How often do you check your email? Social media? The news feed on your smartphone? Can you even remember the last time you went one full day without your digital device?

Maybe you need to give it a rest. A sabbath rest.

God started the whole sabbath thing when he rested after creating everything.

Although he didn’t need a day off, he took one to convey the importance of rest in how His universe functions. Rest is part of the divine design. And yet we often ignore it in our” always on” digital culture.

How to Free Yourself from the Constant Pressure to Perform

What Are We Trying to Prove to God When We Overcommit?

If there is “now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” why do we Christians so often feel like we’re just not good enough? Why do we try to do more, to overcommit ourselves to accomplishing more than we ever could, as if God’s love for us depended on our accomplishments?

In my experience, to know Christ is enough and to live like it are two different things.

The True Cost of Saying YES Too Often

Is Your YES Really a NO to What Matters Most?

“Let your YES be YES and your NO be NO,” Jesus said. The context was the making of vows. If you say you’re going to do something, be sure to do it. But how often do we say YES without realizing the true cost?

Every time we say YES, we also say NO.

We can’t do it all.

As finite beings, we must make trade-offs.

If we say YES we will serve at church on Sunday morning, we cannot also say YES we will spend that morning with family.

If we say YES we will take on another work project that requires us to work on the weekends, then we say NO to helping our children with their projects on the weekend.

If we say YES to seasons of intentional rest, we say NO to other opportunities to make more money.

Trade-offs. They’re everywhere.

They are real, not imaginary.

And they are not bad things.

The Value of Trade-offs

Unfortunately, we tend to avoid making the tough choices because we don’t want to disappoint others. We fear what they will think, what they will say, and worse—what we think they will say when we project our fears onto them.

In the end, we run from a monster that often exists only in our imaginations.

Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety. –Proverbs 29:5 NLT

When God commanded us to keep the Sabbath Day holy, he was instituting margin into our lives. (Interestingly, 10% of a week is 16.8 hours, about one day, not counting time for sleep.)

He knew we would tend to lose our focus on what matters most—Him—and skip rest in our quest to do more.

He knew that, ultimately, our pursuit of more would consume us, so he forced us to choose.

Jesus also said that we cannot serve both God and money. We must choose.

He challenged the rich young ruler with a trade-off—love your stuff or follow me.

He warned us to count the costs before tackling a new direction, even the costs of following Him.

Our relativistic culture preaches a different gospel—you can have it all, do it all, be all things to all people.

It tells us we can bend the meaning of words to fit whatever definitions we desire and reality will bend with it.

Not true.

Gender doesn’t change because we want it to. Marriage doesn’t change because a court redefines it. And time doesn’t bend to our wishes simply because we say YES too often.

For every YES, there is an equal and opposite NO.

When we realize this truth, we can better evaluate the cost of saying YES.

Ask this Question

The next time you find yourself ready to say YES to something—no matter how good it may seem or how pressured you may feel—push pause.

Ask yourself this question: If I say YES to this, what am I saying NO to?

Remind yourself of these immovable facts:

  • I cannot do it all.
  • The more I do, the lower the quality of all I do.
  • I can choose what I will do well and what I will not do.
  • My story will be written by what I choose to do well.

The true cost of saying YES without recognizing the NO is that we let someone else write our life story.

Bonnie Ware, a nurse who cared for people as they neared the end of this earthly season of their story, shared “The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying.” 

The single greatest regret she heard expressed by those facing the reality of death was this:

I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

“This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

Put another way, I wish I’d had the courage to say NO to others expectations of me so I could have said YES to what mattered most.

Make your story worth telling where and when it matters most.

Don’t wait until it’s too late to discern the true cost of the choices you make.

Share your thoughts by clicking here.

What are you saying YES to today—and what is it truly costing you? [/Reminder]

4 Questions to Ask When You Feel Overcommitted

Why Is Everyone Always Expecting too Much from You?

Don’t you hate it when people demand too much of you? When they pressure you to deliver more than you ever could? When they expect more from you than you could possibly do, even if you had 36 hour days and 9-day weeks?  Who do they think they are?

It’s people like that who make you feel guilty isn’t it? They make you feel frustrated and anxious, stressed out and on edge.

They make you feel resentful eventually, bitter that you’re being forced to do what they want instead of what you want—and it’s all their fault!

Ok. That may be how we feel sometimes, but it’s not exactly true.

I’ve been writing posts lately about the importance of saying NO (I’m calling it The NO Initiative), because it directly affects the quality of the story we live.

The truth is that when we have too much to do, it’s because we have chosen to do too much.

We Choose to Be Too Busy

A little more than a decade or so ago, I was in a busy season of life.

I was teaching a full course load of high school classes. I was running the entire athletic department for a school that was growing quickly with almost 20 different sports teams.

I was overseeing the student body, basically the one charged with dealing with all student-related stuff and discipline issues.

Oh, and we had four kids and two more on the way. (Yes, my wife IS a saint.)

In the midst of all of that, I decided to head back to school to earn my Masters in Business Administration (MBA).  During which time, the fifth and sixth children showed up.

It was busy, to be sure. Sometimes I became discouraged, overwhelmed, and came home with a “why are they doing this to me” attitude.

But no one was doing anything to me. I had chosen to take on every single responsibility. 

Sometimes the frustration was because I need to learn something. Sometimes it was because I should have said NO but didn’t.

Sometimes it was because I lacked the clarity to focus on the essentials and allowed non-essentials to fill my schedule.

So every parent that drove me crazy complaining about an issue with their children–I chose to deal with that.

Every sports team that had an issue with facilities that I had to iron out—I asked to do that.

Every student who need help understanding why Odysseus did what he did—I agreed to help him or her understand.

And all the kids at home? Yep, I had a role to play in that, as well.

The point is that I was super-busy because I chose to be super busy. There was no one to blame for that frustrating season but myself.

All those “bad” people “forcing” me to do things were simply doing what I had given them permission to do.

4 Questions to Clarify Your Responsibility

Zig Ziglar famously asked four questions that I’ll revise only slightly to fit this discussion.

I challenge you to ask them to yourself right now—and answer honestly:

  1. Do you believe there is something specific you can do in the next three weeks to make yourself feel more overcommitted?
  2. Do you believe there is something specific you can do in the next three weeks to make yourself feel less overcommitted?
  3. Do you believe the choice to do or not do that specific thing is yours?
  4. Do you believe that every choice has an end result?

If I answer YES to these 4 questions, as I think we all must do, then a simple but empowering truth becomes clear.

There is something I can specifically do right now that will make me feel either more or less overcommitted–and the choice is all mine.

“You cannot escape responsibility for tomorrow by evading it today.” –Abraham Lincoln

We all need the humility to realize we cannot do it all and the courage to say NO, even when we would prefer to say YES.

When we acknowledge our responsibility, we empower ourselves to change.

What will you choose to do today to take responsibility for being over committed and spread too thin?

Your story is being written either by you or for you.

You can choose today which it will be.

Photo credit: Monoar

Why You Should Say YES to Saying NO

When Helping Others Isn't Helping at All

Do you struggle to say NO—especially when people ask you for help? I do. As a Christian, I think it’s even more difficult because, after all, aren’t we called to be like Jesus and serve when moved with compassion?

The problem is this: when we let other people’s priorities write our story, we end up with a jumbled tale that no one would ever want to read.

And here is the harsh truth: it happens because we let it happen.

Do You Have the Faith to Say No?

When Doing Less Requires More Faith than Doing More

The writer of Ecclesiastes said there is a time for everything. Unfortunately, I tend to think that I have time for everything.

When I stepped out from my role of running a Christian school in Ohio several years ago, we went for almost a year with no income. I tell more about the story in my book A Story Worth Telling, but suffice it to say that it wasn’t easy.

Six kids to feed, a beautiful wife to provide for, a mortgage to pay, and nothing but the belief that God had called me to write and minister to His Kingdom-at-Large.

Eventually opportunities began to surface as I kept moving forward, stumbling and learning as I went. We moved to Atlanta to position myself for maximum effectiveness.

And it all began to come together.

Now I have a different problem.

What happens when you move from having nothing to do to a place where you have so much to do that you feel overwhelmed?

The Question of When to Say When

That’s the question I’ve wrestled with for the last many weeks.

Untitled-8As you may have noticed, I took August off to focus on the Ziglar Family project. I’ve sent you a few emails of late to be the first to experience the new course and to  give you an opportunity to help your family at a significant discount.

But August turned into September. And now it’s October. And I am still feeling over-committed.

I have a few key projects on my plate in addition to the Ziglar Family effort. I LOVE what I do and more people need more help than ever.

I confess, it’s intoxicating to know people need you. It certainly is better than the year I spent wondering if I would ever be of any help to anyone ever again.

But here is one thing I’m in the process of learning–it takes faith to say no.

I really do not like saying No to anyone.

If I can help, my auto-response is that I should help. I suspect that is partly due to my personality and mostly due to a mindset that infects much of Christianity–a misunderstanding of service.

We tend to pour ourselves out for others–and think that the more spent we feel, the closer to God we are. But it just isn’t true.

When we spread ourselves too thin, we actually help less than we could have, because the quality of our help declines. The people we’re called to serve the most–our families– suffer the most.

We think we’re doing more, but we’re actually doing less–and none of it is as good as it should be.

The tough truth  I struggle to embrace is this: I can’t do it all.

I know that may seem an obvious truth, but I often think that I CAN find a way to pull it off.

But the truth is that Jesus came to the world for one purpose. His ministry remained focused on his purpose. And the same is true for me and you. If we’re not clear on our purpose, we will end up scattered and ineffective and overwhelmed and–quite frankly, worn out.

What I’m Doing about It

When I recognized my struggle with being overcommitted, I reached out for help.

I enlisted the guidance of my life coach who steered me well through my transition several years ago.

516txpkm6l-_sx332_bo1204203200_He recommended I start by reading a book by Greg McKeown called Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. I HIGHLY recommend it if you have every felt overwhelmed by life (I suspect that is everyone).

I ordered it from Amazon immediately and had read it within two days of receiving it. Then I began to re-read it. Powerful and effective book.

I put up some boundaries. I set up an autoresponder in my personal email account to let people know I may not be getting back to them ASAP because of the projects on my plate. I didn’t like doing it, but it is reality. If I don’t protect my time to write and create, no one else will. And I will fail to fulfill my calling.

I enlisted the help of my wife. My wife is a guardian and better able to tell people no–or at least to tell me to tell people no. So I’ve enlisted her help with planning (an area of strength for her), which also increases accountability.

I began telling people no. I do NOT like turning down projects or telling people I can’t help them. But I began to do it. And guess what–the world didn’t end. (Ok, I confess I am still afraid that it might, but….)

I refocused on my relationship with the source of all wisdom and strength. When we get busy, one of the first things to go is our time with God and His word. I got intentional about protecting that time–and expanding that time to meditate, pray, and think.

I am slowly coming to terms with the reality that I cannot do it all. I am realizing that if I am to keep the main thing the main thing then I must turn down a lot of really good opportunities. But it is still very much a work in progress.

If I am to live a story worth telling, I must choose certain, specific paths and not try to explore all of them at once.

I believe that to be true. Now I need to act on what I believe to be true.

I’ll let you know what I discover, just in case you’ve ever felt overcommitted and overwhelmed.

Feel free to leave a comment below and let me know if you’ve ever felt this same pressure to please and overcommit.

I’m hoping I’m not the first person to struggle with saying no.

Why August Will Be a Quiet Month

A Few Things that Might Interest You

Well, it’s August. And that seems to always be an incredibly busy time of year for me. When I ran a school, it was back-to-school time. Now it just seems a lot of things come together in August that require my creative attention.

So if you were wondering why I haven’t released any new podcasts or posts recently, there you have it. Life has gotten extremely busy.

You may be interested in what I’m doing.

First, I’ve partnered with the Zig Ziglar group to help launch a new venture called Ziglar Family. Our aim is to build on the timeless faith-based wisdom of Zig Ziglar to apply his principles to today’s families in fresh, relevant ways.

I encourage you to get connected with this effort by asking to join our closed Facebook group or by claiming a free eBook and adding your name to the email list. We’ll keep you posted, get your input, and offer some discounts and other cool stuff.

The first course for families is coming together now. Exciting stuff. Here is the logo and a course visual:

Untitled-8
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 7.22.06 AM

Families need support, now more than ever. Which brings me to my second item.

My latest book You Will Be Made to Care: The War on Faith, Family, and Your Freedom to Believe is now available on audio CD.

Click the image to check it out. The attacks on families are increasing. And the coming elections offer no hope of any change thus far.

Lord-willing, I will offer some perspectives on all of it when podcasts and posts resume in September. I appreciate your patience and understanding. Follow me on Twitter for my most current perspectives on the political scene.

Which brings me to the third item. In addition to the Ziglar Family project, I am collaborating on a few more book projects that I believe will be a benefit to many.

I am also planning a new course to help Christians figure out life direction and make wise decisions about what God would have them do next.  So a few things going on. Oh, and I am launching a new business.

Your prayers are much appreciated in this busy season.

I have received so many questions from so many readers of late that I am running a little behind in replying to you all. Please forgive the delay but know that I pray for each of you as soon as I receive your emails.

I’m looking forward to addressing them in posts and resources going forward.

So until next time, walk by faith, my friend, and I’ll see you out on the trail!

The War on Faith Forces Pharmacy to Choose: Conscience or Compliance

Interview with Business Owner Kevin Stormans and Kristen Waggoner of Alliance Defending Freedom

A few weeks ago, the United States Supreme Court declined to consider a case on appeal from Washington State. As a result, a family pharmacy run by the Stormans for generations must choose between conscience and compliance.

Episode 25 of The FaithWalkers Podcast addresses a recent attempt to force Christians to put their faith in a box.

I bring you up to speed on the recent ruling and why it matters, then share an exclusive interview from last year in which I spoke to Kevin Stormans, an owner of Ralph’s Thriftway in Washington state.

He is joined by his legal counsel, Kristen Waggoner, senior vice president of legal services for Alliance Defending Freedom.

It is one of the most chilling religious liberty cases out there because it is unthinkable that anyone could be forced to participate in what they believe to be murder.