What the Life of the Apostle Paul can teach us About Building Successful Businesses.

-




“There is an amazing door of opportunity standing open for me to minister (serve) here, even though there are many who oppose and stand against me” [emphasis mine]

– Apostle Paul


If the Apostle Paul operated in the business world of today, he’d be a serial entrepreneur; opening up new businesses, putting a structure around them, ensuring stability, profitability, appointing capable personnel to lead and run the organizations while he moves on to something else. That’s practically what he did to spread the message he was so convinced abut. 

The man was really deliberate, intense and thoroughly enjoyed a challenge. Little wonder I am quite drawn to him. 

In the quote above, we can take away two distinct principles which herald every successful, long lasting business, initiative or organizations and are miles away from the romanticized, rose tinted glass view, of building businesses, that is prevalent today.

1.       Business is an opportunity to serve.
Maybe you’re thinking to yourself “Nonso, what is this? The 12th century or something? Oh, I see you in the back rolling your eyes at me. Oh come on, stop shaking your head furiously like that. At this rate, it’s going to fall off soon. Look,

 I quite understand you. In this era of glamorous venture capital deals, IPOs, large bail-outs and buy-outs, large marketing and promotional budgets, "Centi-billionaires" alongside ubiquitous information, deceitful marketing and messaging, proliferation of startups and technological innovations, varying consumer choices and large, inadequate customer service, low levels of customer satisfaction and retention and a large scale distrust of corporate entities, It sounds naïve to say that business is simply an opportunity to serve- but it is and it’s been well proven. The data is available and you know that the data doesn’t lie.

There is a correlation between how focused a company is on adequately serving its customers and its profitability, size and long term survival. 

Businesses that genuinely seek to serve their customers, though flawed in one way or another, are many times more likely to be profitable, grow more rapidly and exist for longer periods than businesses that exist to maximize profit, to the detriment of those they profess to serve. Nordstrom, a 119 year old shoe, clothing and accessory retailer is probably the gold standard for customer service in the world and is still highly profitable.  [Yes dear, you read that right. No, your eyes are not deceiving you. It's 119 years old and spans 3 generations]. 

According to Forbes, other more recent players that validate this principle include brand names such as Costco, Zappos, Amazon, Chick-fil-A, Apple, Hilton, Southwest Airlines and Tesla. Turns out the Apostle Paul was right after all.
           
                [Apostle Paul: 1 vs. Conventional Wisdom: 0]

2.       Business is a never ending cycle of problem solving
When people think or talk about business, they think of vast amounts of money, a vehicle for gaining International renown and acclaim, Forbes list and magazine articles, fast cars, vacations in the Bahamas, houses in Banana Island [Helloooo Nigerians], first or business class plane tickets, or maybe even private jets. 

Oh wait, I think I’m getting ahead of myself here; where was I again? Oh Yes. Very rarely do we see business for what it truly is; a call to a life of endless problem solving. And oh dear, there are myriads of problems to solve. 

Ever heard of Moor's law? No? You should check it out because you're about to live it [No, I'm not explaining it to u. Yes, I know that'll be easier for you, but don't be lazy, it's just a Google search away] In business 

There are so many moving parts and you have to be a master juggler ensuring not to drop any one of the proverbial balls. From managing customer, employee, partner and investor relationships, to approving appropriate marketing and strategies and messages, to product or service delivery, to handling feedback and improving customer service, satisfaction and retention ratings, to dealing with regulatory bodies. And these are just the few that you see coming. There are some you’d never predict even if you spent many years and billions of dollars trying [I’m talking about you Covid-19]. This is what business is really all about- Solving problems. 

One thing that helped the Apostle was that he never tried to go it alone. You need people to help you navigate the murky waters. Hire a consultant. Ask for help. it’s a little comical when you see business owners, leaders or enthusiasts complain, without ceasing, about the many problems they encounter – Hey dear, that’s the job you signed up for; Chief Problem Solving Officer.

You only get the bright lights and red carpets when you’ve consistently taken on ever increasing problem levels and won. 

This attitude does keep you grounded and helps you concentrate on what really matters, instead of dwelling on fantasy or wishful thinking. It’s no wonder that most people who set up highly successful and long lasting initiatives, businesses or organizations are relatively simple, preach delayed gratification and have the right attitude towards problem solving. They know what they’ve signed up for. 

You only get the spoils of war after winning the war, not any time before.

Apostle Paul knew this too and clearly stated it in a letter to one of his protégés. I’ll quote it below;

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now (not before) is laid up for me a crown……..” [Emphasis mine]

There you go!

                  Apostle Paul: 2 vs. Conventional Wisdom: 0


Chinonso Ohakwe                                                                                                                                                                 

Product Designer & SME Consultant.                                                                                                        

ohakweisrael@gmail.com                                                                                                                                        

+23490911340000

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think Different

-
Image
  What do you see? On hearing this. Jesus said to them “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” - St. Mark the Evangelist. I come from a somewhat large family. My parents have 7 children. Yes, Yes. My mum is a superwoman. I know. (Hey Mum!) One of the things my siblings and I did regularly was eat together. One of the things you learn to do as a “survival mechanism” is to eat as much as you can, as fast as you can; especially if you’ve been told that there’s nothing left in the pot. I feel that’s how most people see the world –like some kind of ‘grab all you can as long as you can scheme” This is even more prevalent in business.  Most businesses are just fighting over the same people – like we’re all just fighting for a tiny slice out of a pizza box. It’s exhausting. ‘When I study phenomenal companies like Apple or Tesla or Rockefeller’s standard Oil, I see that the visionaries behind such behemoths saw d...
Read more

Focus on What People Cannot See...

-
Image
“…we don’t focus our attention on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” -Paul of Tarsus Some people like Aristotle or Seneca. I like Paul. So don’t judge. As you may already know, Innovation means the introduction of something new.  In business, this could mean a new product or a new way of doing something which is faster, better or easier than what already exists. Innovation is such a powerful force in business, and hinges on one’s ability to see or imagine what everyone else is blind or oblivious to, and then to work to bring that into physical existence. It is choosing to focus on the unseen, instead of what is readily seen. This is one of the most sought after skills in the world.  It is a rare ability and is often a determinant of the value of an organization and how long it’ll last.  Sometimes it even creates new industries altogether; Think of the telephone when le...
Read more

Cannibal.

-
Image
  What once was glorious no longer holds any glory because of the increasingly greater glory that has replaced it.   - Paul of Tarsus.  It’s no mean feat to create something out of nothing. To make something tangible and beautiful out of seemingly thin air is just  a wonder of the world. Little wonder why people become really attracted to what they create, sometimes to their detriment. As someone who’s building something, be it a business, initiative,  organisation or all these and  more, it’s a foregone conclude that you’ll be deeply attached to the work of your hands.  This trait is a double edged sword. A Lot of the time, builders and leaders refuse to see the threats to their work because they’re blinded by this intense attachment, which ultimately leads to their failure and the ruin of their work. As a builder or leader, you must be willing and ready to cannibalise...to constructively destroy your proverbial “cash cow" if it stands in the way o...
Read more