2014 is brand new and I have jumped on the bandwagon of participating in an annual ritual where we all make resolutions. That’s right.”This year will be better than the last,” we say. Better how? For at least a month after the new year you can’t get a turn on an exercise machine at a gym because people are determined to make a difference in their own life. “It’s time for change,” they say. Needless to say the gym population returns to normal after about a month as the discouraged leave and tackle perhaps an additional resolution – maybe one that wasn’t as difficult since the first one didn’t work. Do you think some business owners are like that? Maybe you’re a business owner who approaches the new year with vigor and zeal. Or, maybe you’re someone who approaches the new year with content as if to say, “everything is ok the way it is.” Maybe you are a discouraged business owner who looks at the new year with disgust and disappointment. Regardless of who you are and what you do, ask yourself, why you do it in the first place. What is so important out there? What is your business for? Why did you design your business? Was it for money? Are you a self centered business owner? Is there anything bigger than you and your business that motivates you? What is the point of it all? Think about it. Maybe you’re a business owner or someone who works very hard for a business. What is your true calling? Are you doing it or at least working at it? Every day we go through a series of transactional encounters with very few transformational encounters which leaves us a bit empty. For some of us we have our jobs to fill the void. Sure, we need our jobs to sustain ourselves and provide for our families. But why do we do it? What’s out there that’s so important that we have to have it?
Consider this. Business hasn’t changed since business began. A business exists because there’s some sort of revenue stream similar to a bloodstream going to every vital organ in the body keeping it alive. Did you know that a church works that way too? The church is essentially a business that serves a community. I have met some of the most successful and hard working business owners at Church. My church, Chesapeake Church in Huntingtown, is home to some of the most motivated and spiritually guided individuals in the working world. Now I’m not suggesting that church will make anyone successful or there’s some sort of magic involved. It’s just an observation that’s very inspiring to me. I looked into business owners at Chesapeake and found that they all have one thing in common – they work for something they believe is bigger than they are. I am an observer for the most part prior to jumping into anything. I move at my own pace and make decisions based on how it affects others around me leaving myself last on the list. For me, this is normal. Today, I say without a doubt or any hesitation that I work for something bigger than me or my business. I’m in it for the legacy. I believe that a lot of us don’t want our businesses to end when we do. Therefore, we do things with what’s called legacy intensity. It is the same thing I’m witnessing at Chesapeake Church where many business owners and members of the Bay Business group go and worship. Very soon a lot of these BBG members and others will be attending Chesapeake Church in a brand new auditorium because people got up in the morning fully motivated to work for something bigger than they are and expanded the auditorium where generations to come will have the opportunity to worship. These people do things with legacy intensity and are driven to succeed. However, they measure success a bit differently than your typical number cruncher. It’s never about the money or who is more prosperous than the next guy. It is, however, all about community. When you witness something like that while it is in motion, it has the potential to start a fire in you that cannot be snuffed out. I look at these individuals and how the entire church body is involved and suddenly I am motivated and no longer questioning why I work so hard. I have friends and colleagues who say the same thing.
There are times when pausing for a moment and recognizing that a lot of what we do in the world is so very minor compared to what some do for people who aren’t even born yet. It’s what Chesapeake Church is doing with the expansion of the auditorium. Taking that away I ask myself on a regular basis, who is my business for? Truthfully, I would say it is the community. I bet if you really stopped to think about it and put aside your own ambitions you would probably lean toward the community. The community is what’s left when you’re gone. Right now, the community is helping to expand a church where children who will eventually become parents will have a place for their children to go and so on. Imagine that kind of a span and consider that if nobody thought of anyone else and didn’t use their business or talents to make this happen, what would our legacy as business owners look like? BBG member Robert Hahn, the Senior Pastor at Chesapeake Church and Chairman of End Hunger Calvert County said in a sermon once, “when I die, bury me right outside my church.” I gave that statement a lot of thought when I heard it because I’ve never heard anyone be so passionate about their job. The inspiring part of that message was that it had nothing to do with the job and had everything to do with what was yet to come. It was then and is now an exciting time at Chesapeake. More than that, it’s an exciting time in our community. I don’t know about you but that’s motivating even if you’re not a driven individual.
As a business owner it is imperative that we step back as often as we can and get a clear perspective of why we do what we do and what our end game is. Sometimes the vision we think we have turns out to be something different entirely. I certainly am not writing this with any misguided pride or judgement. As a leader I have to ask myself questions and consider what I’m doing while working with legacy intensity. It’s likely that you are the same way. As you begin the new year and make your plans, ask yourself the questions posed in this article and give it some serious thought. Consider using your business for something bigger than yourself because tomorrow is not promised. Take a close look at your business, its structure, the people and your overall purpose in your drive for excellence. You may be very surprised to see something completely different than your original goals. You may be positioned to help build and sustain a community. That, my friends, is power and not the kind we wake up one day and completely regret. It’s the kind of power that nobody kills for but many have died for.
My new year’s resolution is simple. I will use my business to do the work that I believe a lot of us are called to do but don’t always have the courage or will power to commit. It’s the kind of work that begins with sacrifice and is usually accompanied by wounds that the next generation can help heal. How wonderful it will be to have equipped that generation with the tools to do just that. That’s the power of thinking and working with legacy intensity. Start thinking of your business as something more than just a business. You have the power to change lives. To me, that’s something worth working for. Happy new year folks and as I say to most people, “make it count.”