Write it Down!

Increasing in age brings most of us a strange side effect. The passage of time seems faster. We know it doesn’t, of course, but it feels that way. And so it seems this my final blog of 2016 has come too quickly.

For many, these last days of the year will give rise to memories. Some are sad like the passing of friends or family. Others brings joy with new arrivals, new jobs, and opportunities. There is also the disquieting kind of memory of what might have been. And this sets the stage for those New Year resolutions and commitments to “a better life.”

I know this to be true. Many of my best life lessons have been lost by not keeping a written record. My own mind deceives itself that my memory will hold onto and treasure that which I find valuable. It turns out not to be the case. There is no determining how many valuable gems of knowledge or wisdom I have left behind.

There is a solution, of course. One which many have found to be invaluable. Especially among the most successful. It’s called journaling. I was reminded of it again when reading a list of “last minute gifts for entrepreneurs” in USA Today.

Here’s the case for giving a journal: “Most entrepreneurs have more ideas than they can possibly keep track of. A nice journal and a good pen motivates them to jot down all those great plans and keep them in one place.”

Beyond simply ideas, other reasons abound for this disciplined practice. Psychologist, poet, and blogger Diana M. Raab explained what a mentor taught her about journaling. “Writing provides an emotional release to vent about issues related to your work or personal life. Sometimes the loss of a loved one reveals inner turmoil or uncovers secrets that are brought to the surface during the writing process. Writing helps clear your mind while increasing your awareness.”

Writing authentically seems to be the mandate for the journals that shape your life most. As it is often said, “write as if nobody is going to read it.” Inspirations and irritations should both get their due place.

Other reasons suggested for journaling include pushing you toward your goals and increasing memory and comprehension. Your communication abilities will likely be enhanced with more practice as well. Perhaps one idea I like most is that this kind of writing helps you process situations when you find them challenging.

The best of learning sometimes comes in short bits. I have collected several quotes of just a sentence or two that hold profound meaning to me. They are worth reflecting on often.

Such was the case for King Solomon. He learned from the “school of many-different-kind-of-knocks”  how to think wisely. Fortunately, he left his writings for us to see and benefit from today. You’d be well advised to read the book of Proverbs often.

Here’s one of my favorites from Solomon: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT)

In 2017, may you have increased awareness of great lessons that the Sovereign God and others can reveal to you. You’ll be richer for it.

And for goodness sake, write those lessons down!

See you next year, Lord willing.

That’s The Way WE Work. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

Let’s Talk with Mark Elfstrand can be heard weekdays from 4-6 PM Central. To listen outside the Chicago area, tune to www.1160hope.com for live streaming or podcasts, or download the AM1160 app. 

To Give or Not to Give

I’m sure it generates for most workers a sense of “bonus envy.” You know, when you find out that some friends or family members received a healthy chunk of change at the end of the year. It’s often referred to as a Christmas or Holiday “bonus.”

Last year, bonus envy grew to new heights when a Houston company doled out $100,000 celebratory paychecks to all of its 1,381 employees! The very generous Hilcorp is one of the largest privately-held oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the US. It was named to the 2015 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For list…for the third consecutive year. Ya think?

It must be shared that this was not just a “gift” of love. It was performance-based reward. It was handed out after employees helped double the size of Hilcorp over a five year period.

This was the second really significant bonus employees received. In 2010, when the company had doubled in size, employees could choose a $50,000 car or a $35,000 cash check. Sweet!

This sets the stage to consider whether and when to give out rewards to employees. Is Christmas or year end the time do it? There is, of course, no perfect answers on these questions. But a few things should be considered.

First, the use of the word “bonus.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language states “A bonus is something given or paid in addition to what is usual or expected.” The Columbia Encyclopedia explains “wage incentive was designed during the late 19th century not only to increase production but to reward the more skillful and more energetic workers.” The website lexicology.com concludes from this that “a bonus is a premium paid above and beyond standard compensation to reward high-achieving employees and to encourage them to continue such achievement with the company in the future.” http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=a402852a-357f-4542-b0af-a8e1f8a76241

That is the way Hilcorp views it. Others view a “holiday bonus” as, in theory, given from the heart by compassionate and grateful management. In this case, performance measurements do not necessarily determine the size of the gift. Some firms will vary these holiday rewards based on roles in management and labor.

Many companies choose another option. Do nothing. Or maybe hold a “holiday” or Christmas party. Maybe not. Maybe a turkey or ham. A small gift certificate, perhaps.

One business owner wrote his “best solution” was an unexpected day off. He gives it to employees in December to catch up on the myriad of personal tasks that arrive this time of year for employees. Or just to spend time with relatives. In his mind, there is no “hard cost” to this and it avoids IRS issues.

And speaking of that, there are legal and financial considerations to be weighed for both the company and the employees for any real financial “bonus.”

The right mindset for any employee reading this is simple: be grateful for your job and the benefits in return. Do not begrudge others who may get exciting bonuses. Envy offers no payoff. Contentment is good for the soul.

To the employer or manager, your legacy is determined (in part) by how others feel valued by you. This can be demonstrated in various ways. But it is a choice you make. We can take nothing with us from this life.

Christmas is a time to remember one of the choicest admonitions attributed to the One whose birth we celebrate: “You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35, NLT)

Unwrap that teaching this season. It will change your world.

That’s The Way WE Work. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

Let’s Talk with Mark Elfstrand can be heard weekdays from 4-6 PM Central. To listen outside the Chicago area, tune to www.1160hope.com for live streaming or podcasts, or download the AM1160 app. 

God Bless Us, Every One!

Exactly what age is it wise for a child to first view Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol? The haunting images of the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future in Ebenezer’s dreams may still be enough to create nightmares for children today. However, it was children Dickens had in mind when he penned his memorable work.

A 2009 Christianity Today article reminded us of the setting in history:

“Published in 1843 as a statement against harsh child labor practices, A Christmas Carol carried poignancy in its original context that is difficult to fully grasp today. The severity of living conditions in 19th-century London, combined with the ambivalence of its “paternalistic” legal courts, illustrated so well in Dickens’ Bleak House (1853), is hard to exaggerate. The disparity in standard of living between the top quarter of London's population and the bulk of its citizens was stark.” http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/december/3.44.html

For the “Tiny Tims” of those times, conditions could be quite miserable.

“Children growing up in London during the Hungry Forties—a depression coupled with poor harvests—were steeped in these disparities. The skyline was a sea of profitable smokestacks puffing clouds of sooty grit that covered rooftops and the cheeks of young chimney sweeps. Coal was the energy source du jour, and the resulting London fog often hid the real picture. The streets were covered in rainwater, the contents of chamber pots, and animal waste. Rats abounded. Small, often emaciated, children sold flowers and matches, while the wealthy class’s horse-drawn carriages swept past, throwing grime and muck on those too poor to afford transportation. Despite the horrid conditions, the birth rate rose as mortality rates fell: more children now lived than died. And as the population grew, so did the price of food.”

Charles Dickens had a heart for action. His life portrays a reformer with a conscience. It’s recorded he set up a house for rescuing, reforming, and educating prostitutes in 1845.

For many social issues of the day government provided little relief. The church in England at that time also seemed weak in efforts to meet the cries of human need.

One can see why a clarion call to many uncaring elites would capture Dickens’ writing imagination. And what better name to attach to a penny pinching, self interested miser than Ebenezer Scrooge! Who could not feel the tension in the absence of helping a family with a poor crippled boy like Tim Cratchit?

It should be noted that Tiny Tim was just one of many seemingly innocent, angelic, and victimized small children who had grim futures in several of Dickens’ works. There were many more characters he included that faced deep suffering.

The stirring messages conveyed in A Christmas Carol reach us at many levels. We feel sensitive to the burdens of workers who perhaps feel overworked. We have some anger at a seemingly cruel boss who could not care less about his employees. We feel the pain of parents who struggle with raising a child with special needs. And our own souls are troubled by the stark challenges the ghosts of past, present, and future might lay upon us.

Yet in the end, we also see a redemptive message. We find a changed heart and renewed sense of purpose in the life of Ebenezer Scrooge. It isn’t just in his clearly refined attitude; it is in his actions as well. This is the telltale sign of what spiritual renewal is all about.

Charles Dickens’ personal spiritual life is somewhat hard to fully pin down. He attended an Anglican church. Yet his beliefs were Unitarian.

A Christian History story titled “No Humbug” observes:

“His God blessed all, his Christ was a very good man, his religious countenanced no creeds, and his Bible yielded only noble precepts for living.”

In his own words: “It is christianity to do good always—even to those who do evil to us. It is christianity to love our neighbor as ourself, and to do to all men as we would have them do to us. It is christianity to be gentle, merciful, and forgiving, and to keep those qualities quiet in our own hearts, and never make a boast of them, or of our prayers or of our love of God, but always to shew that we love him by humbly trying to do right in everything.”
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2008/august/no-humbug.html
The article concludes with a reminder that no Christ appears in A Christmas Carol, adding that this perhaps explains why network television and school productions find it acceptable. Perhaps if we asked Dickens, he might offer some variation on the idea that the Gospel can be preached without laying out a specific theology.

Our favorite version of this classic seasonal story seems to be The Muppets Christmas Carol with The Great Gonzo as Charles Dickens and Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit. Who else but Miss Piggy could play Emily Cratchit? I personally like Rizzo the Rat in his role. And we’re also fond of all the little mice—or “meeces” as they are called.

Despite the somewhat less serious approach to the Muppets production, the message is clear. Hope abounds at the conclusion of the film. Which is the way it should be.

Christmas time is about hope. And it’s to be found regardless of how bleak circumstances can appear.

The apostle Peter reminds us of this:

“Let us thank the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was through His loving-kindness that we were born again to a new life and have a hope that never dies. This hope is ours because Jesus was raised from the dead. We will receive the great things that we have been promised. They are being kept safe in heaven for us. They are pure and will not pass away. They will never be lost…With this hope you can be happy even if you need to have sorrow and all kinds of tests for awhile.” (1 Peter 1:3-6, NLV)

With that in mind, may you experience the hope found in Christmas.

And God bless us every one.

That’s The Way WE Work. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

Let’s Talk with Mark Elfstrand can be heard weekdays from 4-6 PM Central. To listen outside the Chicago area, tune to www.1160hope.com for live streaming or podcasts, or download the AM1160 app. 

I Can’t Get No … [thanks, Mick Jagger]

One of my core challenges in life is details. Or as I would often describe them, minutiae—the small, precise, or trivial makeup of something. I never cared for building model airplanes. Puzzles with any more than 100 pieces turn my attention elsewhere.

Bless her heart, my wife Rhonda is wired differently. She will read the fine print on instructions. She follows through on the details. Why she even provides the invaluable service of filling out my medical questionnaires for me.

And one more thing. She is the resident expert in completing customer satisfaction surveys. I benefit with many free items because of her patience in this regard.

The real question on these surveys is whether they lead to more customer satisfaction! I have my doubts. One blog article from kissmetrics.com offers this definition:

Cus-tom-er Sat-is-fac-tion Sur-vey (n): A long, complicated and arduous task for both a company and their customers that can often yield little to no useful results.

Ha! I think that pegs the way I feel a lot of the time.

Two classic examples of this are from a car dealer and a large retail chain. In purchasing (or leasing) more than one Hyundai automobile, there has been a consistent refrain from the management: “When you receive the Hyundai questionnaire asking ‘how we did,’ make sure you rate us the best on every question.” Aw, c’mon. You mean I can’t be transparent? And how am I supposed to complete a deal with you faithfully, Mr. Dealer, if you’re already pressuring me on what should be a private matter?

Similarly, my wife and I shop with some frequency at Kohl’s department stores. Every single time they attach a separate printed receipt request to go online and rate the shopping experience. The cashier usually writes their name down and asks me to give them high marks. I toss those little slips away as soon as I get home. UNLESS…

Let me focus a bit on when those customer service surveys DO get completed. First, when there is truly instant reward. Places like Chick Fil A, McDonald’s and Panda Express always give you something of value for the few minutes of survey work. Target—and other stores—offer you a highly remote chance of winning a large prize. Fahgetaboutit.

Another grouping that will earn feedback are service driven website companies like Amazon or Hotwire. I frequently rate the good service (or not so good service) from their vendors. An incentive would increase my participation.

And then there are the times when the shopping experience is negative enough to warrant some feedback. Incentive or no incentive, I’ll send along my two thumbs down if treated poorly or the merchandise doesn’t live up to the billing.

Here’s a special category I avoid. Mall researchers or telephone survey people who will try and stop you from whatever you are doing to help them make money. The way I see it, the company paying for the survey gets a “win.” The survey company does, too, by getting paid. I’m the only guy who doesn’t make out on the deal.

Having laid out my case, I now share a bit more from the kissmetrics.com blog, “Why Customer Satisfaction Surveys Aren’t Useful and What to Do About It.” https://blog.kissmetrics.com/nps/

They accurately portray the situation with this question, “How many times have you blasted through a survey just to get the freebie that comes with it?” And they follow it up with an even better question: “Wouldn’t it be nice if there was just one question you could ask your customers that revealed how healthy your business was doing? More importantly, one question that resulted in data that correlated to profitability?”

The answer comes from something called Nete Promoter Score, used by such big players at G.E., Verizon, and eBay. NPS was originally introduced by Fred Reichheld following a talk he heard by the CEO of Enterprise Rent-A-Car. After studying their method of surveying customers for two years, Reichheld determined the best results came from one specific question:

“How likely is it that you would recommend [enter the name of your company] to a friend or colleague?”

Picking up on that, I believe any organization that really wants to move forward through customer surveys could focus on another simple question: “What can we do to improve our product/service?” And you could request they answer in seven words or less. I am quite confident huge strides could be made in customer satisfaction with such a simple approach.

To increase active participation, remember that greatest of management motivational secrets: things that get rewarded get done. Some people are not really good off the cuff at giving feedback. But incentives activate the mind.

Focus groups are nice, but expensive. Detailed questionnaires are usually too complex and undesirable. Online or telephone surveys with more than a few questions tire people out. Simply ask customers how to improve what you are doing.

If you are an employer who really seeks ways to keep your valuable employees and gain their wisdom, ask for their help! Questions like, “What would you recommend we do to make this company better?” or “How can we help you do your job better and enjoy it more?” may provide some valuable payoffs. I think it’s worth the risks. That is, if we are truly interested in customer satisfaction.

We are truly blessed when service is our priority. The writer of the book of Hebrews stated, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” (Hebrews 6:10, NIV)

Mick Jagger complained “I can’t get no satisfaction!” Maybe because nobody cared enough to ask him the right questions.

That’s The Way WE Work. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

Let’s Talk with Mark Elfstrand can be heard weekdays from 4-6 PM Central. To listen outside the Chicago area, tune to www.1160hope.com for live streaming or podcasts, or download the AM1160 app. 

To Identity … and Beyond!

It’s been three years since I completed my previous “assignment” at Moody Radio. I’ve now completed two and half years in my new talk role at AM1160. I’ve come to view my work life through the “assignment” paradigm after seeing a providential Hand guiding my days.

It happened when I was 40. My radio career took a departure when I became the Director of Operations at a trade show company in Sacramento. It was very stimulating work, often meeting with leaders in business and government.

One afternoon, as I was in the latter part of my work day, I glanced at my watch and thought to myself…“Okay. Just one more hour and it will be time to go home.” And then it struck me. My work had taken on a certain drudgery factor that I had never felt while in radio. It was a wake up call.

Several weeks later, I was in my car listening to a Christian song on my CD player. Certain lyrics generated a wave of emotion through my soul. It was as if a Higher Power was sending me a message. I was ready to listen.

It came out this way: “If I wanted you in full time ministry, you wouldn’t go.” This jolted my spirit. It was true. Even though I had lived my faith and served in various capacities, the idea of being given to a life of “ministry” was a point of resistance.

I determined then to resolve this with The One who seemed to have inscribed that message in my inner being. I yielded my work life with these words: “I will go anywhere…and do anything for the Kingdom of God. But if You want me somewhere else, You will have to get me there.”

At the time I had just completed year one of a three-year business agreement. It seemed like fulfilling that obligation was my only choice. But something changed.

About two weeks later, a long time friend who had become a station manager for Salem Media Group in Pittsburgh called. He needed a Christian talk show host. He wanted me to apply for the job—knowing my situation was quite good. He did not know of what happened in my car just weeks before.

I began discussions with Salem. Two months later, they offered me the job and I was faced with a dilemma. My agreement held me in place. Unless I was released from that agreement, I would stay in Sacramento.

Graciously, my employer understood my heart’s desire and he gave me that release. We moved to Pittsburgh. I served there for seven years, and my “assignment” ended. My wife and I then pursued some of our own business interests. About two months later I was contacted about a morning host job in Chicago on Moody Radio. There were three candidates. I was selected. I had my new “assignment.”

After 14 and a half years, that assignment ended. I had just turned 62 about a month before. Not a good time of life to be job searching. But opportunities were standing by. And I committed myself to walk the path believing there was another assignment waiting.

It came a few months later. I returned to work with Salem Media Group as an afternoon talk host in Chicago. It’s been 2 and half years of doing what I love most—being on air!

When my job at Moody Radio ended, my blog that week was titled, “Radio is not my identity.” And it’s not. A person’s work should not be allowed to define their value or worth. It’s not good for the soul to allow this to happen. I have other skills and I’ve done other jobs successfully. But they do not define my identity either. My worth is determined by the One who created me. He determines who I really am.

I found two other examples of people who share this view.

J.J. Jansen is a former Notre Dame player now with the Carolina Panthers. He keeps it all in perspective. Before the 2016 Super Bowl, he shared this: “One of the interesting things is this has really been a year where God has been teaching me a lot about my identity as a son of God and a child of God. And all of a sudden you’re thrust into this moment where everyone wants to put you on a pedestal. So it’s really cool that in a year where I felt like God was really taking me through what identity means that suddenly you’re now in a moment where you can easily lose a sense of where you are.” http://www.bpnews.net/46267/carolina-panther-finds-identity-outside-spotlight

Likewise a book by professional athlete Tim Tebow titled Shaken was recently released. Tim said, “The reason I titled it Shaken was because in life you’re going to have highs and lows. There are going to be great times, and there are going be tough times.” He noted his life has certainly had both.

Then he added, “I’m so thankful because of my relationship with Jesus Christ and being adopted in the family of God that I don’t have to live the highs and the lows and the roller coaster that the rest of the world lives, because I know where my identity lies. My identity lies as a child of God, and that’s something that will never be shaken.” https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2016/10/discovering-your-identity-in-lifes-storms-an-interview-with-tim-tebow/

Way to go, Tim! He’s out there sharing that message.

Our identity is what we are really about. As spiritual beings, we should embrace personhood as defined by God. In 1 John 4, verses 9-11 we read, “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.” (NLT)

Now THAT is a great life calling! Now, back to my “assignment.”

That’s The Way WE Work. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

Let’s Talk with Mark Elfstrand can be heard weekdays from 4-6 PM Central. To listen outside the Chicago area, tune to www.1160hope.com for live streaming or podcasts, or download the AM1160 app. 

Hopeful Transition

The transition of a government with a new president is a remarkable process to watch. This past weekend, President-elect Trump slipped away to one of his several retreat locations to interview more candidates for jobs. The previous week those interviews were done in Trump Tower in New York.

Obviously, the ability to find the right people for the right job is the challenge. As president, you get to choose them. But they also have to want to work for you. The success of his presidency will be measured by the effectiveness of his team to fulfill the Trump agenda.

Over the weekend, Mr. Trump met with Mitt Romney. As a former governor and presidential candidate himself, I’m sure he had much to offer. In preparing for his possible presidency four years ago, Mr. Romney created the Romney Readiness Project. Many people think that plan was one of the best-run transition efforts even though it went unused.

So how big is the task at hand to transition a government? The New York Times described it this way: “Mr. Trump…is under immense pressure to find 4,100 qualified people to lead it. In an ideal scenario, his White House staff should be in place, and the 100 highest-ranking government agency officials—the cabinet, plus a range of defense, homeland security, disaster and pandemic response officials—should be ready to start work the moment Mr. Trump puts his hand on the Bible, to guard the nation from vulnerability during the transfer of power. That means their vetting and security clearances should be done and the nominees lined up for Senate confirmation.” Talk about a start up challenge! http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/14/opinion/donald-trump-is-now-hiring.html

Stanford University’s Public Policy Program has developed a thesis on what makes a successful president. The overview claims that the paper offers “three systematic and rigorous dimensions” for measurement. External factors are considered. What challenges does a president face when he comes into office and how did he handle these situations? How did the public perceive his abilities as rated in opinion polls during his or her time in office? And this would be critical: what kind of legislative success did the president achieve in implementing campaign promises?

Let’s face it. The Donald is starting with a real challenge in public perception. It is a problem aided by relentless pounding of various media that didn’t like him from the start. So as for poll results, it will take some truly measurable success to move the needle upward.

Steve Tobak is a management consultant and author of Real Leaders Don’t Follow: Being Extraordinary in the Age of the Entrepreneur. Just over a year ago on the website entrepreneur.com he shared “11 Qualities Our Next President Must Have.” In quick form, his list included:

• Serious leadership chops. The ability to bring other leaders together.
• Serious management chops. Basically, financial and organizational knowledge.
• Goal- and achievement-oriented. Leaders set aggressive goals and achieve them.
• Real life experience...outside of politics. Not Beltway life experience.
• Advocate for meritocracy, not bureaucracy. Avoid unholy alliances that lead to unethical behavior. 
• Master negotiator. Don’t be giving away what we don’t have or should not yield.
• Plain spoken and direct. Call things as they are.
• Competitive spirit and driven to win. A competitive world requires a competitive mindset.
• In it for the long term. Govern for the future of our country, not simply your constituencies.
• Makes the right calls. Take risks. Be decisive...but get it right. (Sounds easy.)
• Holds himself and others accountable. Integrity up and down is part of the package for leaders.

While all of those personal skills and character traits are valuable, I would add to this list. And what I would add feeds off a premise that departs from hardcore business. It’s the human side of the equation.

Government leadership requires people skills to build consensus. The ability to lead with both a firm hand and an understanding heart will go a long way to both healing our country and building key international alliances. No doubt President-elect Trump has been told this. It isn’t like running your own show as many CEOs are prone to do. Learning to yield on non-essentials is vital.

Those people skills require discernment. The mere size of government activity requires good counselors. Some of those should be held in a much tighter inner circle than others.

We often describe our president as the “leader of the free world.” To that end, he or she should clearly understand and appreciate American exceptionalism. In 2012, the Republican platform included seven sections around this idea. The party proclaimed its embrace for “American exceptionalism—the conviction that our country holds a unique place in human history.”

Donald Trump was questioned about being an advocate for this in 2015. He said “it is not a nice term.” It also appeared he didn’t understand it. Perhaps he will come to understand it.

Finally, the president should learn to be a champion of hope. The biblical prophet Jeremiah was used by God for that purpose. His hope message was to carry God’s people through the time of the Babylonian captivity and beyond. Jeremiah explained how God would bring a remnant back to Judah to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. He used these words, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV)

God has not assured us as a nation of the same promise. But leaders who turn to Him for guidance and wisdom can expect to be heard by the Sovereign. And a country that seeks His ways can expect God’s blessings. And hope will arise!

Too bad they don’t teach that in our top management schools.

That’s The Way WE Work. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

Let’s Talk with Mark Elfstrand can be heard weekdays from 4-6 PM Central. To listen outside the Chicago area, tune to www.1160hope.com for live streaming or podcasts, or download the AM1160 app. 

Imitation Franchise

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” So says the famed expression best traced back to the early 19th century. Some paraphrased versions of that thought go back years before that.

A biography of Marcus Aurelius titled Emperor Marcus Antoninus: His Conversation with Himself from 1708 reads, “You should consider that Imitation is the most acceptable part of Worship, and that the Gods had much rather Mankind should Resemble, than Flatter them.” English writer Eustace Budgell in the newspaper was quoted in 1714 as saying, “Imitation is a kind of artless Flattery.”

No matter. You get the point. Is it really that way in business—repackaging someone else’s profitable product or service as your own—or it it ripping off someone else’s success? It poses an interesting question.

One of the latest examples of how this is being played out in the fast food marketplace is with a new company called Tasty Made. Business Insider reporter Kate Taylor writes about the first of these new burger joints that opened recently in Lancaster, Ohio.

Chipotle is behind the newly developed chain concept, which looks suspiciously (or otherwise) like two other well known burger places. Thus, the article title: “People are Saying Chipotle's New Burger Joint is a Rip-Off of In-N-Out and Five Guys.” One Yelp review said “Everything from the menu to the color palette and decor screams imitation” of these two successful businesses.

But what do customers say about the actual food? Early reviews are very mixed. Wrote the one 5-star satisfied customer on Yelp “My burger was as close to In-N-Out as you can get without becoming embroiled in some kind of litigation over taste and presentation. It is comforting to know that I don't have to hop a nonstop to LA to get an In-N-Out fix whenever I feel the urge.”

But check out this very biting Yelp critic, who said: “Dear Chipotle, you poisoned me twice with your burritos. I forgave you. But for you to take clothes from In-And-Out and resell Wendy’s cheeseburgers for 3x the price...well, I have to wonder: Don't you guys care about your fellow man anymore?”

Oooh, doggies. It must have been the election season that flavors such rhetoric. So let’s just say that the jury is still out.

I remember the first time we walked into a Sam’s Club. It appeared remarkably like a place we previously shopped known first as Price Club, now Costco. A chap by the name of Sol Price and his son, Robert, founded Price Club in 1976. Costco opened in 1983;  Sam’s Club also arrived in 1983, looking strikingly similar in many ways. Ripoff? Some might think so. But let’s face it…dozens of franchised businesses are built on the very successful organizational strategies of predecessors.

The smartphone and tablet market is another classic example of “technology ripoffs.” Apple employees went nearly into shock upon seeing early announcements of Samsung’s first smartphone. Steve Jobs took the seething a bit higher, saying ”I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this.” The late CEO, of course, has not destroyed Android.

When does “imitation” become useful and legitimate? Well, since “there are no new ideas under the sun” (supposedly), then obviously we are always building off the success of others. And the line between what’s legal and what isn’t is well beyond what we can cover here.

There are, of course, significant legal cases for thievery in the marketplace. That is why we have copyright and trademark laws. It is also why we have music licensing protection. Stealing intellectual property winds up in litigation as well.

Writing on the “imitation theme,” business blogger Sarah Pavey considers how this plays out positively in the business world. “Imagine a person joining a new team or organization. She’ll copy what her mentor says and does, at least at first…and her mentor will be happy for her to do this,” she writes. And adds, “Encourage it, even. On the flipside, though, she’ll also be expected to come up with innovative new ideas, develop effective processes, and show that she can think for herself. So, innovation is important…but so is imitation, when it’s encouraged.” https://www.mindtools.com/blog/2016/03/25/imitation-flattery/

The lawful and not-so-lawful taking of ideas and material happens in the church as well. Successful churches begat others modeling their style and techniques. Pastors may try to model their ministry after their faith heroes. And then there are the very legal services like Sermon Search and worship resources where you pay to use others creativity.

For a season in time, evangelism was shaped by look-a-likes. There were tracts titled The Four Spiritual Laws, Do You Know the Steps to Peace with God and The ABC’s of Salvation, among others. All essentially had the same message.

We may be able to effectively crank out doubles in mass producing products. And formula training for customer service and sales can be useful. Deeply embedded lifestyle influence, however, needs more.

This is why authentic friendships take time. Learning to truly love another person cannot be reduced to a few steps. Helping humans change their behavior takes real insight and counsel.

The Master teacher from Nazareth—Jesus—keenly knew this. He chose a small group of people to influence. Those disciples, in turn, took the message and spread it to the world. It thrives still today. The instructions to those disciples remain intact today: “So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19, NCV)

There is no franchise of the faith. Just one beggar helping another beggar find bread.

That’s The Way WE Work. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

Let’s Talk with Mark Elfstrand can be heard weekdays from 4-6 PM Central. To listen outside the Chicago area, tune to www.1160hope.com for live streaming or podcasts, or download the AM1160 app.