If it were not for mulligans, do-overs, free strokes, and bunch a throws, I never would have learned to play golf. Golf starts over every round, and every hole within the round is a fresh opportunity to start over. The parallels between golf and faith are limited, but God is certainly a God of do-overs and fresh starts. You see, I used to think I had to earn God’s approval, now I know that God does not count my mistakes against me. Instead, I get new chances every day, all day.

Every day we encounter standards. Some standards are easier to meet than others, and some have much bigger consequences for failing to meet them. But, regardless of however easy they are to meet or their consequences, we are constantly face to face with the reality that people fail to meet the standard. How should we respond when the people we work with fail to meet the standard?

Almost everything in business operates by a standard — whether it's production quotas, revenue targets, success rates, etc. People, however, run on love, grace, and forgiveness. Often, in business, high standards and forgiveness are treated as if they are separate and opposed. Nothing could be further from the truth. Listen as Howard and Carter discuss how high standards of excellence and dispensing grace are synonymous.

According to Gartner, more than a year out from the Great Resignation, we’re at another liminal moment for work.

Work is about people. Yet, too often, we get tricked into believing that work is about the numbers, strategy, accomplishments, and tasks. These lies place excellence in organizational and individual accomplishments ahead of grace toward the people we work with and for — including those the organization aims to serve.

Whether in business or our personal lives, we all make decisions every day that involve risk. Risk is unavoidable and the Bible has a lot to say about it. Watch as Howard unpacks timeless truths from God's word that inform how we engage with risk.

When leaders who are used to calling all the shots start working with peers and stakeholders who are as successful, hungry, and confident as they are, they sometimes find themselves at odds. Their previously successful decisive, command-and-control-leadership style is no longer a viable option. And unless they pivot their decision-making style and reposition themselves as open-minded, collaborative leaders, they might be putting their future success on the line. Thus, the overconfident, decisive leader must go through a mindset change.

Some companies now see flexible work setups as a liability in a slowing economy. “As we head into a year of efficiency, trust and human bond will be needed more than ever.”

Leaders risk reputation in order to make progress. Business people risk dollars in order to make a profit. Life and work are full of risk, and leadership requires working with risk. And, overly avoiding risk can mean abdicating the very responsibilities we have been given as leaders.