As a business owner and the leader of a company, you would think it would be easy to know what success looks like. If you’re a business leader, the clear question to ask yourself might be, How much money can I make? Now, I would hope most people think that that’s not the only gauge of success, but profit is a pretty clear metric to track. Now, I am also a Christian who owns a business, and so how does my faith affect my understanding of success? Last year at the Agency Builders Conference, I got to hear from Brandon West, who owns FOS Creative in Florida. I immediately appreciated Brandon for his conviction and how his business should affect the world. The purpose over at FOS is to reach and restore the lives of women and children who have been impacted by extreme poverty and sex trafficking. So just to reiterate, Brandon’s business, a digital marketing agency similar to mine, has the mission to serve women and children who’ve been impacted by extreme poverty and sex trafficking. Brandon is wired differently, and I love it. When I heard Brandon was releasing a book, I knew it was going to be great, and that it would almost certainly end up on an episode of this podcast.
Brandon’s first book is called “It’s Not Your Business to Succeed,” which from off the jump is a little startling for someone like me. I build my day around trying to succeed. From what time I wake up to the way my phone is set up to the people I work with, the time I go to bed at night. Every bit of it is geared towards me having the opportunity to be successful. Brandon challenges this notion at its core. Therefore, Brandon’s thesis is that that is outcome-based thinking or judging everything by the bottom line, and that that can be dangerous because it’s built around the wrong things. Because ultimately, the important thing is being faithful in our everyday tasks, whether that be leading in a boardroom, parenting, or marriage, being faithful in our actions in those areas, regardless of the outcome, because the choice to make a faithful action is more important than the result. In other words, the means are more important than the ends. Why? This is what God asks of us. Brandon points to the scripture throughout the book to show that God is concerned with our faithfulness, not our success. Brandon also covers this with our need to be faithful stewards of what we have.
As a Christian, I believe my business is not my own, but I am a steward of it for God. Sometimes I need a reminder of that. But as the steward, I also need to make wise decisions with what I am entrusted. So while outcomes-based thinking is not the key, that does not mean we throw the baby out with the bathwater, as it were. We still have a responsibility over the company and to lead it well. A few years ago, we were working on a political campaign. The candidate and I knew there was a significant chance the opposing side would start campaigning in an ugly manner. We had committed to each other before the race began that we were going to run a clean campaign. When the opponent and his friends went dirty, we maintained that commitment. We pursued the faithful option. We were committed to running it the right way, regardless of the outcome, regardless of any of the negative effects the opponent’s mudslinging might have had on us. It is easy to play the game of comparison in business. This company has more staff or this company has more revenue. But maybe the question should be, are you making faithful choices day in and day out? Not if you have made more revenue than the other company.
So ask yourself this, how do you measure success? Are you judging it by the right metrics? Thank you for listening to this episode of the Content Machine podcast. If you end up reading Brandon’s book, “It’s Not Your Job to Succeed,” I’d love to hear your thoughts. Shoot me an email at kevin@adelsbergermarketing. Com, and I look forward to seeing you on the next episode of the Content Machine podcast.
