Church, Culture… and Business

Last updated on: April 4, 2016 at 4:41 pm By Rob Moll

By Tim Weinhold (Originally published 3/30/2016) Twenty years ago Michael Novak, in his book Business as a Calling, provided this snapshot of a particularly prominent Christian business leader: [The] chairman and chief executive of the largest natural gas company in the United States . . . some time ago announced publicly his company’s vision: “To become . . . the most innovating and reliable provider of clean energy worldwide.” His greatest inward satisfaction, however has a somewhat different focus. “In... Read more

Love in Business

Last updated on: March 31, 2016 at 8:14 am By Rob Moll

by Rob Moll Can a business love? Well, “It’s what makes a Subaru a Subaru.” It was hearing that tag line and my visceral rejection of it that got me wondering. There is no shortage of businesses claiming to love. A heart and the ticker symbol LUV symbolize Southwest Airlines, which flies out of Dallas’s Love Field. For Joel Manby, president of Herschend Entertainment—owner of the Harlem Globetrotters and amusement parks like Dollywood—Love Works. That’s the title of his book... Read more

T-Mobile’s Winning Strategy (It’s the Customer, Stupid!)

Last updated on: March 21, 2016 at 11:44 am By Rob Moll

By Tim Weinhold (Originally published Nov. 22, 2013) Perennial telecom also-ran T-Mobile recently reported rather striking results in its third quarter earnings report. The company added more than 1 million new customers in the quarter, including 648,000 net new subscribers. (The larger 1+ million total includes prepaid customer additions and wholesale customer additions.) These results are less than Verizon’s 927,000 third quarter net subscriber growth, but well ahead of AT&T’s 363,000 net new additions and Sprint’s 360,000 net loss. The... Read more

‘Win-Win’ — The Bible’s Advice To Boeing

Last updated on: March 21, 2016 at 11:15 am By Rob Moll

by Tim Weinhold (Originally published April 19, 2013) Not long ago business headlines called our attention to the fact that one of America’s iconic companies, Boeing, is in crisis. The FAA grounded its new flagship airplane, the 787 Dreamliner. International regulators followed suit. The immediate cause of the grounding is a lithium-ion battery fire and related incidents of battery overheating. There have been other troubling malfunctions as well, including various electrical problems, brake problems, a fuel leak, a cracked windshield — and... Read more

Shareholder Value Maximization — When (Business) Culture And Christianity Conflict

Last updated on: March 18, 2016 at 6:51 pm By Rob Moll

By Tim Weinhold (Originally published April 5, 2013) A meaningful portion of the New Testament was written to help followers of this new Christianity ‘religion’ (more accurately, this new anti-religion) better understand the ways in which their faith required them to live differently from the surrounding culture(s). The Apostle Paul, in particular, often focused his readers on practical ways in which the gospel of Christ called them to live in opposition to various cultural norms. In the two millennia since, this continues to be one... Read more