Strategic Planning with the Holy Ghost - Part 2
August 11th, 2008 | Michael Q. Pink
I have asked Rich Marshall to host a couple of blogs. He is an internationally recognized speaker, trainer and author with over 40 years experience in bringing out peak performance in others. His clients are a virtual who’s who of corporate America. He has developed a new breed of corporate leadership training you will want to know more about. It’s called the E.P.I.C. Training System, a classic leadership development program and a remarkable proprietary system built on 7 foundational areas of human performance improvement. Now, here’s Rich…
Strategic Planning with the Holy Ghost - Part 2
Over the last several years I have had the privilege of working with dozens of enterprises in the planning process. Coming from a background of pastoring (I did this for 35 years) I was very accustomed to seeking help from the Lord, especially in asking the indwelling Holy Spirit to help. However I found that most executives, even Christian executives, do not take advantage of this competitive edge. For some reason, when it comes to planning most of it falls into one of two categories:
1. A full reliance on the Holy Spirit; with lots of faith and prayer and trust involved. In most of these cases; there is little practical, commonsense and time tested and proven strategic planning ingenuity used. It is as if it would not be full of faith if good planning methods were employed.
2. A full reliance on proven strategic planning methods; with much attention given to the planning process, using all of the most up-to-date methods available. In most of these cases; there is little or no input from the Holy Spirit. It is as if it would be “poor business” to include Him here.
Therefore I am encouraging Christian business leaders to integrate all of their business life under the heading: My business is my ministry. When we do that, we will be much more likely to include the Lord in all that we do; especially the planning process.
Here are some thought provoking ideas to assist you in the integration process.
- All that you do is a spiritual activity. Both business and church are ministry and both should be treated as a way of fulfilling your God given purpose in life.
- It is so easy to fall into presumption and call it walking by the spirit. In other words, we assume that since we are Christian and prayed in the morning, that everything that happens during the day has been orchestrated by God. I have found that Charismatics are probably most guilty. By the way: leaders are not exempt.
- Prov. 16:3 “Commit your work to the LORD, and then your plans will succeed.”
- Did this plan or strategy arise out of dependence on and hearing the voice of God during the process?
- Marketplace ministers need to watch out here. We are sometimes so intent on losing Christian-ese that we forget to use planning opportunities to engage the Holy Spirit.
- Consciously, from a place of dependence, invite God into your planning process. Don’t leave Him out.
NOTE: Join Rich and me Tuesday at 1:00 for an in depth discussion on how to integrate your leadership style with your core values, vision, mission and life purpose. Click here to register for the free call!
August 12th, 2008 at 12:14 am
Hello
Rich Marshall, very well said! Thank You. I agree with you.
I am not an Expert in the field; I am not a Consultant, nor a Corporate Executive. I am a Wife, Mother, traditional Homemaker, Homeschooling Parent of a Teenager, and a follower of Jesus Christ. I can only speak from personal life-experience of what I have witnessed.
When I was Single, I dated a number of men who were successful, wealthy, educated, and powerful in their spheres of influence. I was surprised when I noticed that over the course of time, I had dated 5 Millionaires in a row. During that season of my life, I observed men who compartmentalized their lives. Thus, the guidance of the Holy Spirit was not involved in the conduct of their business lives (and personal lives). I saw a lack of following the Holy Spirit, and integrity was lacking. (Four of the Five men professed to be a christian).
I like the phrase, “integration process” which Mr. Marshall used. That is exactly what is needed.
I also like the statement, “All that you do is a spiritual activity”. Yes and Amen to that, Sir. The Holy Spirit opened-up that understanding to me a while ago. I believe that all the issues of Life are fundamentally issues of the Heart.
I think Believers in Leadership would do well to let the Holy Spirit be the umpire of their heart (at work, at home, at church, in public), in order to make sound-decisions, and act in ways which will positively impact others around us.
By the way, I ended up marrying a man who is a Preacher of the Gospel.
He is not a Millionaire, but he earns a good and comfortable income for us, is an honest worker, and is a Most Valuable Employee (MVE). I chose my husband because he is sold-out for Jesus Christ, his heart is steadily umpired by the Holy Spirit, and I can trust him. In the workplace, he shares the Gospel Message with his co-workers, which has resulted in changed lives.
In conclusion, although I am not a “Professional”, this is what I have to bring to the table on this discussion, and I hope that it blesses someone.
I was blessed by the blogs by Mr. Rich Marshall. Truly, the Father’s Heart is that He desires WHOLENESS in us, in how we function, everywhere, everyday, with everyone (and that we be ONE with Him).
Sincerely,
Victoria
August 27th, 2009 at 10:15 am
amen, and I love the scripture verse that you used; Prov. 16:3 “Commit your work to the LORD, and then your plans will succeed.”
I recently shared with some co-workers that they may be trying to promote seperation of church and state, but the real truth is nonetheless, that there is no seperation from Christ for a true believer.
How, I asked can we be seperated from the One Who dwells in us? does He leave us at work? No, of course not! that is merely a tactic of the enemy to distract us from the real truth; No matter what state we find ourselves in, He is still in us, and in Him we live and move and have our being. An unchanging fact of life in the Jesus lane. amen.
And I will recall that verse and remember to commit my work to the Lord.
thank you gentlemen so very much for sharing the truth with everyone.
much love.
ma gold
September 11th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
strategic change management…
Great post. My approach to strategic change management says the quality of the first five percent determines what happens in the rest of the process. This same principle applies to many situations….