Maximize Resources On Purpose
Maximize Resources On Purpose
Maximize Resources On Purpose
Maximize Resources On Purpose
The key to maximizing resources is understanding that there is enough of what is needed to accomplish what is highest and best over time. Our responsibility as leaders is to put the abundance that we have been entrusted with toward the best purpose possible. God always supplies what He requires.
The two biggest lies in business are “there is not enough” and — the next is related — “you need to do more with less.”
There is always enough for us to accomplish the purposes that God gives us individually and corporately.
I’ve been part of three public companies that, when facing economic business challenges, declared an almost identical strategy — “doing more with less” — as the major way to survive the current challenge.
In all three cases, the cuts in expenses led to cutting things that impacted their long-term growth. One of those companies sold for a small fraction of its value, another entered into more than a decade of non-growth, and the third has now had over 15 years of declining growth.
You can only do more with less if you have been wasting what you have. Companies should always be eliminating waste as part of efficiency efforts, but cost cutting rarely makes for a good strategic focus.
The key to maximizing resources is to put everything toward the main thing. Reallocating resources toward strategic imperatives is the most effective strategy to utilize means to achieve higher and better purposes.
Resource Strategy
In Harvard Business Review’s article “Lean Strategy Making”, Micahel Mankins makes the case that “Lean strategy begins with articulating (or revising) a company's multiyear performance ambition, which typically includes both financial objectives, such as revenue and operating profit goals, and strategic goals, such as relative market-share growth and improvements in customer satisfaction.”
Mankins goes on to point out that Google’s 10 times approach has fueled remarkable innovations that have changed the way people live and work. Gmail offered 100 times more storage than its competitors. Google Street View photographed more than 10 million miles of road, adding unique value to search results. And the Google R&D unit’s development of self-driving cars led to Waymo, which now operates a fleet of autonomous vehicles.
The most effective organizations try to eliminate short-term thinking. They look more at what can be done over time as they consider major new initiatives and strategic shifts. “The next step is to compare the performance ambition against a multiyear outlook (MYO), which projects what a company's future performance will be, given the decisions and resource commitments its leadership has already made.“ - Michael Mankins
There Is Enough
The key to maximizing resources is understanding that there is enough of what is needed to accomplish what is highest and best over time. Our responsibility as leaders is to put the abundance that we have been entrusted with toward the best purpose possible. God always supplies what He requires.
The key to resource maximization is the same key to all organizational success — which is to align resources with the most important purposes and goals.
As we have covered, there is a right order to build and run a business, and it starts with purpose. The purpose for the organization should flow from our purposes as human beings — to give glory to God and serve others.
The Highest Return
As followers of Jesus, we have the distinct advantage of approaching all decisions with an abundance mindset and always having the long-term view in focus.
There is nothing wrong with KPIs like ROI which measures return on investment efficiency, ROE which gauges profit generation from equity, and ROA which shows asset utilization effectiveness. The key is to define the return and the timing of the return. The most important returns measure more than money for a short period of time.
The most vital returns are eternal — results that help people thrive — now and forever.
The Apostle Paul had a business, and he shifted the purposes of that business to put all of his resources, gifts, and connections toward one thing — declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Israel, to Gentiles, and to kings (Acts 9:15). Paul instructed his closest protégé to teach the very same thing. This teaching has an incalculable impact and still applies to us today.
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” - [.no-reftag]1 Timothy 6:17-19[.no-reftag]
The Most Strategic Return
These commands apply to all of us with resources, especially those of us who have been entrusted with a multitude of resources and those of us who have influence on how our organizations allocate and utilize resources. The ultimate return is for people to put their hope in God so that they take hold of eternal life.
Business was created as a provision for people. Business is a platform for sharing. Whether the business specifically exists to glorify God or not, followers of Jesus have unlimited opportunity to share the following:
- [.text-color-blue]Hope in God[.text-color-blue] - Everything we do speaks to where we place our hope. If we believe money and earthly resources will get us very far, we are sadly mistaken and dramatically shorten our influence to the temporary here and now. Yet, when we place a hope in God, people are drawn to us. Serving them with good deeds gives us a chance to spread hope as we influence them to think in terms of abundance and long-term flourishing for all. Difficult times may be the best time for people to notice and ask about our hope (2 Peter 3:15), giving us the opportunity to share about Hope.
- [.text-color-blue]True Life[.text-color-blue] - Everything we do speaks to what we believe about life, who we believe in, and where we believe we are going. As we debate and influence the priorities of the people and the organization we serve, we have a chance to help them understand the brevity of life on this earth compared to the length of eternity in which all will live. As we love and care generously for those we work with, they will learn and ask where we put our trust — giving us the opportunity to share Life with them.
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. - [.no-reftag]Philippians 4:19[.no-reftag]
Resources:
Complete the: Creating Value Worksheet
Video: "How to Live and Work for Now and Forever Simultaneously" | Howard Graham
Article: "Building Business on Purpose"
Article: "Business Is Provision for People"
Article: "Made to Create Value"
The two biggest lies in business are “there is not enough” and — the next is related — “you need to do more with less.”
There is always enough for us to accomplish the purposes that God gives us individually and corporately.
I’ve been part of three public companies that, when facing economic business challenges, declared an almost identical strategy — “doing more with less” — as the major way to survive the current challenge.
In all three cases, the cuts in expenses led to cutting things that impacted their long-term growth. One of those companies sold for a small fraction of its value, another entered into more than a decade of non-growth, and the third has now had over 15 years of declining growth.
You can only do more with less if you have been wasting what you have. Companies should always be eliminating waste as part of efficiency efforts, but cost cutting rarely makes for a good strategic focus.
The key to maximizing resources is to put everything toward the main thing. Reallocating resources toward strategic imperatives is the most effective strategy to utilize means to achieve higher and better purposes.
Resource Strategy
In Harvard Business Review’s article “Lean Strategy Making”, Micahel Mankins makes the case that “Lean strategy begins with articulating (or revising) a company's multiyear performance ambition, which typically includes both financial objectives, such as revenue and operating profit goals, and strategic goals, such as relative market-share growth and improvements in customer satisfaction.”
Mankins goes on to point out that Google’s 10 times approach has fueled remarkable innovations that have changed the way people live and work. Gmail offered 100 times more storage than its competitors. Google Street View photographed more than 10 million miles of road, adding unique value to search results. And the Google R&D unit’s development of self-driving cars led to Waymo, which now operates a fleet of autonomous vehicles.
The most effective organizations try to eliminate short-term thinking. They look more at what can be done over time as they consider major new initiatives and strategic shifts. “The next step is to compare the performance ambition against a multiyear outlook (MYO), which projects what a company's future performance will be, given the decisions and resource commitments its leadership has already made.“ - Michael Mankins
There Is Enough
The key to maximizing resources is understanding that there is enough of what is needed to accomplish what is highest and best over time. Our responsibility as leaders is to put the abundance that we have been entrusted with toward the best purpose possible. God always supplies what He requires.
The key to resource maximization is the same key to all organizational success — which is to align resources with the most important purposes and goals.
As we have covered, there is a right order to build and run a business, and it starts with purpose. The purpose for the organization should flow from our purposes as human beings — to give glory to God and serve others.
The Highest Return
As followers of Jesus, we have the distinct advantage of approaching all decisions with an abundance mindset and always having the long-term view in focus.
There is nothing wrong with KPIs like ROI which measures return on investment efficiency, ROE which gauges profit generation from equity, and ROA which shows asset utilization effectiveness. The key is to define the return and the timing of the return. The most important returns measure more than money for a short period of time.
The most vital returns are eternal — results that help people thrive — now and forever.
The Apostle Paul had a business, and he shifted the purposes of that business to put all of his resources, gifts, and connections toward one thing — declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Israel, to Gentiles, and to kings (Acts 9:15). Paul instructed his closest protégé to teach the very same thing. This teaching has an incalculable impact and still applies to us today.
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” - [.no-reftag]1 Timothy 6:17-19[.no-reftag]
The Most Strategic Return
These commands apply to all of us with resources, especially those of us who have been entrusted with a multitude of resources and those of us who have influence on how our organizations allocate and utilize resources. The ultimate return is for people to put their hope in God so that they take hold of eternal life.
Business was created as a provision for people. Business is a platform for sharing. Whether the business specifically exists to glorify God or not, followers of Jesus have unlimited opportunity to share the following:
- [.text-color-blue]Hope in God[.text-color-blue] - Everything we do speaks to where we place our hope. If we believe money and earthly resources will get us very far, we are sadly mistaken and dramatically shorten our influence to the temporary here and now. Yet, when we place a hope in God, people are drawn to us. Serving them with good deeds gives us a chance to spread hope as we influence them to think in terms of abundance and long-term flourishing for all. Difficult times may be the best time for people to notice and ask about our hope (2 Peter 3:15), giving us the opportunity to share about Hope.
- [.text-color-blue]True Life[.text-color-blue] - Everything we do speaks to what we believe about life, who we believe in, and where we believe we are going. As we debate and influence the priorities of the people and the organization we serve, we have a chance to help them understand the brevity of life on this earth compared to the length of eternity in which all will live. As we love and care generously for those we work with, they will learn and ask where we put our trust — giving us the opportunity to share Life with them.
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. - [.no-reftag]Philippians 4:19[.no-reftag]
Resources:
Complete the: Creating Value Worksheet
Video: "How to Live and Work for Now and Forever Simultaneously" | Howard Graham
Article: "Building Business on Purpose"
Article: "Business Is Provision for People"
Article: "Made to Create Value"