W12 - Do No Harm

What’s a business for?

Well, here we are in the last weeks of the term and I have a confession to make. I’d rather shave with a cheese grater than read the Harvard Business Review. I read the article, it was fine (they always are), but those articles always come across as trying to prove how smart they are, rather than instill valuable business knowledge.

There is a quote from the article that stuck to me though. The article says, “We should, as charitable organizations do, measure success in terms of outcomes for others as well as for ourselves.”

I agree with the article when it said that we need to associate with a cause in order to give purpose to our lives. I think that applies to both our business lives and our personal lives. Purpose is a powerful thing for anyone trying to be a change maker, or to simply make their way in this world. Purpose is not just for the entrepreneur or the business executive. All of us have a purpose. It’s the reason we’re alive on this earth at this time. Purpose helps drive and shape us into the people we will become, in this life and in the next.

Like the article says, for us to be viewed and a friend (and not an enemy) of progress, we must bind ourselves with an oath similar to that of Doctors upon receiving their medical licenses. The Hippocratic oath pledges that the oath taker will do no harm. Our purpose should likewise bind us to the intent to do no harm. This isn’t simply a business principle, it a human principle that has, unfortunately, been cast aside.

The good thing is that we each can decide to take this oath upon ourselves and pledge to have a positive and common purpose. Business should commit themselves, from executive leadership to the newest hire, to improving the lives of all the people it touches. Personally, we should have the same purpose.

W11 - Money, Money, Money

My attitude toward money is still evolving in many respects. While I tend to agree with the author, I also sympathize with the authors sister. It would be wonderful to not need to think about money, or care about money! I just don’t believe that is a responsible or mature approach to take.

Money, for me, is very much a tool. No more and no less. The issue is that everything requires money. It’s not like having a full set of screwdrivers in your garage. I have a nice professional set of tools in my garage that I use about 6 times a year. Money is a tool that must be managed and accounted for daily and in all our business decisions.

I liken much more to my cell phone. With my cell phone I can do many good things like conduct business, check in with my family, call ministering families, read scriptures, etc. But, if I lack discipline, I can also do many evil things with my phone like abuse pornography, spread rumors or lies, or cultivate relationships with people I shouldn’t.

I think we, as gospel centered business people, need to do better than to “understand money”. We need to understand economics and the proper management of resources. Then we can apply those principle to money, and many other aspects of our lives like people, time, food storage, etc.

Like the author, I love the parable of the talents. I love that the master treats the two servants that doubled their talents the same, even though one ended up with ten and the other ended up with four. The master valued the effort and progress. I honestly believe that even if the master had returned to a servant that had tried but have some failures, he would have blessed him for trying. But the servant that ignored the talent and buried so as not to lose it was the guilty of the greater sin.

The church’s self-reliance program does teach us to save but not to just bury our money in the ground, or to ignore it because it’s more convenient. The self-reliance program teaches us that we must manage our funds in alignment with gospel principles. It doesn’t matter if you make thirty thousand or three hundred thousand dollars a year. What matters is that we mange what we have wisely. That requires effort and understanding economics and management of resources.

My views on money have affected the way I live. I married a saver and I like to have a nice financial reserve for emergencies and an occasional luxury. We don’t count pennies, but we do know where every dollar goes.

I think that is one of the rules for our financial success. Granted, we haven’t “won” yet! But my wife and I agree on several things. We avoid debt at all costs. For example, I’m paying for school out of pocket. My cars are paid for and we have no debt but our home. We also pay a full tithing every month. Finally, while both of us are savers, we do enjoy the things we have and try to keep the importance of possessions in check.

For example, both of my boy’s bedrooms are furnished from IKEA. Now, many people would say that I’m just throwing money away because I’m buying disposable furniture. However, we know that after a lifetime of use the furniture will be outdated and without value when they grow out of it anyway. So, while some might say I’m being wasteful, I reject that and say I’m being frugal.

Ultimately, the furniture will end up donated or discarded, no matter how much I paid for it. But I don’t want that to be a difficult decision 15 years from now, based solely on how much the purchase price was. That’s a hoarder’s mentality in my opinion.

Money is a tool that should be managed responsibly and carefully. But it shouldn’t take over your life. It’s only money…

W10 - Big (Appropriate) Dreams

This week was all about dreams and how we should “Go For It!”

Actually…. That isn’t what I got out of it. What stood out to me over the course of the module was how important it is to have ambition, but for that ambition to be appropriate and anchored to my own beliefs and goals.

Several times over the last 8 years I’ve had the opportunity to join a large technical consulting firm specializing in SAP development and deployments. More than double the salary, bonuses, stock options, the whole package. But the problem has always been the job requirements. 100% travel, business dinners, “the client is always right” attitude, etc.

I’ve been tempted to take the job a few times. Having SAP S/4 Hana, GRC-10, and Ariba on my resume would open some amazing doors. But my wife and I have made the decision that our family life is more important than the money. I can always make money; I won’t always have time.

This week’s module reinforced the wisdom of our decisions. I’m actually in the middle of another decision like this right now. The offer is a little better this time, but the terms are much the same. We’re going to thank them and pass. It’s just not worth it to sacrifice family and relationship for money and status.

I think that’s the central message (with a spin) of Elder Oaks talk “The Challenge to Become”. We are trying to become an eternal family. We are trying to help our children become faithful disciples. We are trying to become converted to the Lord. We just don’t believe we can do that separated, with me working in another state and my wife home with the boys every night.

We accomplish that together.

W09 - The DPC

I was truly excited to reread Elders Bednar’s talk about how BYU-I was a DPC, Disciple Preparation Center, and how a school can be an instrument of furthering Gods plan, while developing each of us. The first time I went through college, I went to a non-church school. It was a great experience, but over time I’ve come to realize that it was insufficient. That was one reason I decided to enroll with BYU Pathway.

I’ve wanted to return to school for a long time and I’ve wanted to attend a church school so I could have the experience of studying academic subjects with a gospel centered lens. Elder Bednar’s comments about how discipleship prepares us for both temporal and spiritual advancements and success are one of my favorite talks I’ve ever read.

One point that he makes that is particularly impactful to me, is how he compares the university setting and the temple. In my experience, academics are particularly prideful about their work and its importance. For example, I’ve never met a math teacher than didn’t think his subject was the most important on campus. It’s very easy to see the culture of superiority that permeates academia today.

But Elder Bednar’s comments remind us all the education is a critical component of God’s plan for each of us and that we must value education to truly be disciples of Christ. That doesn’t necessarily mean a formal, university education is a prerequisite to achieve eternal life. But I do believe it means that God expects me to seek learning and the blessing and service opportunities that come with that light and knowledge.

A university, even if it only exists on-line, is truly a temple of learning. This university, that is led by the Lord’s restored church, is truly a specific type of Temple to the Lord. It would not surprise me to see the word’s “Holiness to the Lord” on my diploma, and I wouldn’t think it was inappropriate either. I look forward to studying temporal and spiritual things here at BYU-I and hope to make this discipleship preparation opportunity the very best it can be for myself and my family.