When I was five, I was an only child living in a neighborhood filled with siblings. The idea of having a built-in playmate was appealing to me. On the occasions that my friends shared giggles and secrets with their sisters, I felt left out. If only I had a sister…
Life would be perfect. We would play together, plan great escapades, and always be friends. All I needed to be happy was a sister.
I developed a plan of action. I prayed every night for God to send me one. Shortly after I turned six, my wish came true. I got a sister. When I was almost eight, I got another. And, at ten, another one. We’ve had our ups and downs, but my dreams became reality (and the occasional nightmare, but that’s another story.) I have sisters who are also friends.
I’ve always believed that faith makes a huge difference in everything that you do.
People learn from experience, and I learned at an early age that faith works. And, it has a many different applications. I depend on:
Faith in God for his guidance and blessings
Faith in myself to learn new skills and apply them
Faith in team members to work together for the common good
Faith in suppliers to fulfill our needs on a timely basis
Faith in customers for continued loyalty
The problem with some companies is that faith is replaced with processes and policies.
Team members are placed in silos with no way to communicate with other departments or customers. If allowed to talk, their words are scripted. Any deviation from the status quo is discouraged. They know that management doesn’t trust them, so they have no faith in themselves.
Suppliers are considered enemies to be battled for the lowest prices instead of partners working together to serve customers. They are beaten down with hard negotiations, and then questioned when they don’t go above and beyond the contractual agreement.
Customers are treated like a necessary evil whose primary purpose is to defraud the company. Payment information is often demanded before they can find out if product is available.
If this sounds like your company, you aren’t protecting it, you’re imprisoning it. Try a little faith and see what happens.
