The C12 Group continues to share great content like this so feel free to browse their website here.

— by The C12 Group

C12 Member, Todd Stewart, and CEO of Gulf Winds Intl, decided a 50% employee engagement rate was not acceptable within his freight and shipping company. He and his Key Player executive team proposed to engage each employee by listening to their needs and delivering exceptional employee care. Todd expresses,

“As CEO, it is my responsibility to position people to hear from God.”

An engaged employee has less distracting them from that still small voice, and Todd accomplished that by raising employee engagement to over 70% in under 9 months!

Enjoy the full video here!

We continue to count down the Top 100 Books for Faith Driven Entrepreneurs with…

Alternative to Futility

by Elton Trueblood

Modern man, now come to a full consciousness of his spiritual sickness, is ready for the first time to accept a thoroughgoing remedy, Dr. Trueblood is convinced. Here the author presents his prescription for restoring the total health of civilization.

Dr. Trueblood’s answer is a ‘redemptive fellowship”—the only “alternative to futility” which holds promise of adequate fulfillment in our age. This book develops the idea of such a fellowship—a creative society in miniature—a “beloved community” which may have small beginnings but can grow like the mustard seed. Further, he supplies abundant suggestions as to how these redemptive fellowships may be nourished in the community and in national life.

Click on the book cover to check out the Reviews and Purchase at Amazon

This content was originally published here by 4Word, the mentorship program and community that helps women in the workplace reach their God-given potential.

— by Jordan Johnstone

When you think of “mentorship,” what comes to mind? A cookie-cutter idea of what a mentor looks like and does? Something stiff and one dimensional? Hallie Graves, lawyer and director of the Austin chapter of Polished, wants to open your eyes to the different “flavors” of mentors out there, and how you can make your time with them as beneficial (to both of you!) as possible.

4word: Tell us a little about yourself!

Hallie: Hi, I’m Hallie! I’m a 30-something lady lawyer and an Austin,Texas, native. After college in Memphis and law school in Dallas, I worked for a year for a federal judge in Dallas and then joined a big law firm in Dallas as a commercial litigator. In 2014, I made my way back to the homeland and transferred to our firm’s Austin office. I’ve since moved on to start my own law firm and am now in the process of looking for a new job, ideally in a smaller law firm. When I’m not lawyering, I love being outdoors in Austin, acquiring books for my to-be-read tower, and directing the Austin chapter of Polished, which brings together young professional women to navigate career and explore faith together. I also write some stuff and love talking to groups any chance I get! Oh, I’m also an aspiring foster mama and am in the final stages of getting approved to have some littles come live with me.

4word: You had the unique opportunity to be involved in an employment committee with your law firm. How did that experience shape your view of mentorship?

Hallie: I’m so grateful I got to serve on the employment committee. As part of my job, I helped with interviewing, hiring, and mentoring law students through the employment process. I loved almost every minute of it. It was unique in that as a young lawyer, I needed mentorship and leadership from people ahead of me – be it two years, ten years, or thirty years ahead. But I also had the chance to mentor law students and brand-new lawyers.

As a mentee, I learned to not rely on just one person to be my official “mentor” but instead to ask myself what I could learn from each person I worked with or for. I learned to ask questions when I didn’t understand why we did something a certain way and to not be afraid to voice a different opinion. As a mentor, especially a young one, I realized we all have something to contribute to those coming behind us – whether we’re a month or a year or ten years ahead of that person. I learned that sometimes the people with the most recent experience can speak into a situation, and other times people with more perspective and distance are the best to speak on it. The committee experience allowed me to understand firsthand from experienced lawyers what an exceptional young lawyer was. Because we were looking to hire those people, I started to identity how to become that person myself.

4word: Do you think there’s some confusion about what a mentor is/looks like? Are there different “flavors” of mentor?

Hallie: Yes! Both in the law firm and through Polished, I’ve heard many pleas for mentors. I’ve learned to ask, “What do you expect from a mentor?” or “How do you hope a mentor will be able to help you?” The answer to that question usually guides what I suggest for next steps. I’ve had at least two different types of mentor figures in my life and career – the “big sister” figure, the “model,” and the “advocate.” The big sister figure is the person that I’d approach with questions about how to do something; she’s a person I’d look to for advice, of any kind – personal, professional, spiritual, intellectual. She’s someone that would be farther along than I am, but maybe not in a position to further my career in a specific way. She’s a safe person to break down in front of or to ask silly questions. Sometimes, she’s just a listening ear. At the law firm, my first big sister mentor was Susan, who I frequently referred to as my big sister. I’d ask her about cases she wasn’t working on, and she was generous to give me advice and her time even when she wasn’t involved with the situation at all.

The model is someone that I want to be like, in whatever way. Maybe she’s someone I want to emulate professionally, spiritually, or relationally. She might not be the person to which I ask all of my silly questions, but she’s someone that I want to pattern myself after and become more like. In the work context, this might look like a woman who’s figured out a way to do the things I want to do – to have a fulfilling work life, home life, friend life, and spiritual life. Maybe she’s figured out a unique way to handle her schedule or established a niche practice area that I want to join. I knew that I needed a model to decide where I’m headed; to be directional rather than directionless.

The advocate has a different role. The advocate might have more power than a big sister figure, and is particular to the professional world. She’s someone who will go to bat for me when I need it. For example, if I were working on a case with Adrian and Jennifer, and they’re deciding whether to send me or Tyler to an important hearing, my advocate would jump in to explain to Adrian and Jennifer why I’m the best person for the job. She’s putting her reputation on the line, and using her power, for my benefit. I think we frequently underestimate our need for a strong advocate, but I’ve found it to be critical. We won’t always be involved in important decisions about us, and we must rely on people who can pull us up to do so.

4word: How can someone figure out what kind of mentor she needs? If it ends up being outside the scope of a “traditional” mentor, where can you start to find the mentor that fits you and your situation/needs?

Hallie: I’d start with asking yourself, “what am I hoping a mentor will do for me?” Sometimes, we want a listening ear, a person to vent to, a person who will understand what we’re going through and help us decide the next step. That’s a big sister. Maybe we need to figure out where we’re going in our career and how to get there. We’d need a model. Or maybe we need someone to speak on our behalf, to use their power to help us get to the next step: the advocate.

I don’t know that our world really fosters neat mentorship any longer. So many of our workplaces and hierarchies and systems are less traditional, so our mentors may be as well. Once you know what you’re looking for in a mentor figure, brainstorm who you already know who might help in that direction. You might not know a big sister figure, but do you know someone who knows someone else who might be? You might not have an advocate, but who can you do amazing work for so that they are willing to go on a limb for you?  

Assume that every person you meet has something to teach you. Maybe it’s a negative example: what not to do. But when you find a good fit, a person you want to learn from, or be like, or who can help you, ask them to do that. Be up front – ask if they would be open to you coming to them with questions, or ask if they would have a conversation with you about their career path. Here’s a secret: people love talking about themselves, so ask them.

4word: What tips do you have for millennials or young professionals to help them make their mentorships a fruitful and enjoyable experience for themselves and their mentors?

Hallie: I’m as guilty of this as the next millennial, but sometimes we might not put in the work required to form and maintain these relationships. If you ask someone to help you, be sure to treat their time and effort appropriately. If you set up a meeting, show up, and be prepared. Have questions you want to ask, or stories you want to hear. Be ready to explain why you want to learn from them, specifically, as that will help shape your conversations.

Also, be thinking about who you can mentor, or advocate for, or listen to. Offer to get coffee with the woman who is a year or two behind you at work. Ask how things are going. It’s never too early to become a mentor for someone else.

4word: Anything else you’d like to share?

Hallie: In general, become the kind of person for which you’d want to mentor or advocate. Listen well, ask questions when needed, and implement as you learn. You might find that you have natural advocates and mentors when you are the person worth mentoring or advocating for!

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[Special thanks to 4Word for the cover photo]

Join us for an event celebrating the Faith Driven Entrepreneur in Raleigh, NC, on the evening of March 11th! Hosted by our friends Tom Vande Guchte, CEO of Storr Office Environments, Lance Clevinger, Consultant for Marsh & McLennan Agency and others. Our featured guest is Henry Kaestner, Managing Principal in Sovereign’s Capital, a Silicon Valley venture capital fund that invests in faith-driven entrepreneurs from its offices in Silicon Valley and Jakarta, Indonesia. Henry will share about his journey as a faith-driven entrepreneur and his subsequent career of investing in them and lessons learned from both experiences.

Before co-founding Sovereign’s Capital with his partners, Henry and his co-founder David Morken bootstrapped Bandwidth.com (NASDAQ:BAND), a company centered around faith, family, work, and fitness (in that order!). Henry will share about the ways in which God has blessed their journey, and the victories and struggles they experienced along the way, as well as his experiences investing in 42 faith-driven companies in South East Asia and the U.S. Henry is also the co-founder of Faith Driven Entrepreneur and Faith Driven Investor.

Enjoy an evening gathered to discuss work and faith, and to encourage and challenge each other: register here!

This content was originally published here by Two Ten Magazine, the Marketplace Ministry Magazine presenting Purpose, Perspective & Perseverance.

— by Diane Paddison

God gives each of us unique strengths and resources, and we are called to use those resources to serve Him. As I’ve gained experience in faith, relationships and business, one of the best ways I feel I can use my God-given gifts is to offer mentorship and guidance to others who might be younger or less experienced.

As a professional Christian woman who started a nonprofit to minister to professional Christian women, the most likely scope of my mentorship is pretty clear. I feel divinely called and prepared to mentor young professional women to reach their God-given potential. Over the past few years though, I’ve had the unique experience of mentoring someone whose life looks almost nothing like mine. In fact, his story is so different from mine that I initially had some doubts about whether I had anything to offer. But I felt God’s call to be a part of this young man’s life, and the experience has enriched mine beyond belief. Meet Lopez Lomong. My male, South-Sudanese, two time Olympian, athlete mentee.

In February of 2011, I was asked to be the warm-up act at a speaking opportunity for the Mentor’s Forum, a group started by Greg Sherwood to utilize young professional men and women in Portland, Oregon to mentor college students. I was happy to speak and interested to learn more about the Mentor’s 360 professional men’s group, since we wanted to build a similar program for women through 4word. I didn’t imagine that God had much more in store that night.

The speaker after me was a man named Lopez Lomong. Lopez was born in South Sudan in the midst of war. At the age of 6, he was kidnapped from his home and held captive in a prison camp. To escape, Lopez ran. And ran. He spent days running for his life, eventually making it to the relative safety of a United Nations refugee camp. Several years later, Lopez immigrated to the United States, where he began running for competition, instead of survival. He has since represented the United States twice at the Olympic Games (2008 & 2012), and currently holds the U.S. indoor track and field record in the 5,000 meters.

As I met Lopez and heard his story that first day, I felt God moving me to learn more about this remarkable individual. So I took a first step and invited him and a friend to lunch the next week.

During lunch, Lopez shared that he was passionate about following God’s calling and had a vision of bringing hope to Southern Sudan. Lopez felt strongly that this was God’s calling for him, but he didn’t know how God would make it happen. For me it was a light-bulb moment. One of my closest friends from business school is Kevin Jenkins, CEO of World Vision International, a Christian relief organization interested in exactly the kind of work Lopez wanted to do.

I knew that God had brought me together with Lopez for a reason. I was able to connect Lopez with World Vision and to see them work together to develop 4SouthSudan, a World Vision sponsored program to help provide clean water, health care, education, nutrition, and most importantly hope, to the South Sudanese and a broader Team World Vision. I also encouraged Lopez to write a book and start a foundation.

I’m the first to admit that Lopez and I are an unlikely pair. But experiencing God make that first connection despite our disparate backgrounds gave me confidence to continue to open myself up to God’s work in both of our lives.

Lopez even lived for a short time with my family in Portland, Oregon, and my husband Chris and I had the honor of joining Lopez in celebrating the purchase of his own home and praying with him over it.

This past March I again shared a stage with Lopez, this time as part of the Good Friday Prayer Breakfast in Portland. I played the role of interviewer, helping to guide Lopez in the sharing of his story. At one point, I asked Lopez about escaping his Sudanese captors. As he was recounting the truly horrific experience, he said simply, “I survived because God says I matter.” That phrase has stuck with me and inspired me ever since. For Lopez, everything comes back to that time in his life when, against all odds and by God’s grace alone¸ he survived.

In Ephesians 3:20, Paul writes that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us. When I think about me mentoring Lopez, this verse always comes to mind. No matter how much we do as individuals, no matter how much we plan, God does more, and His plans go beyond our wildest dreams, let alone our comfort zones.

So offer mentorship or — even better — sponsorship where you can, even if the recipient seems unlikely.

“Yes, you may have special knowledge to offer those whose lives look the most like yours. But don’t underestimate God’s ability to work in the most unlikely circumstances.”

– Diane Paddison

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[Special thanks to Two Ten Mag for the cover photo]

At the end of every podcast, we like to ask our guests to share what God has been teaching them in this season of life. This week’s guest is Diane Paddison, 4word Founder and President, is a Harvard MBA graduate, former global executive of two Fortune 500 companies and one Fortune 1000 company, and serves as an independent director for two corporations and four not-for-profits.

Psalm 9:1

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High

Every year, my husband and I do the YouVersion Bible study where we go through the Bible in a year. So we’re probably in our seventh or eighth year now. And, you know, the key things that God is teaching me now, well, number one is what do I do to fulfill my potential? 

And Matthew 12:46-13:17 is all about pursuing intimacy with Christ. And, you know, I think that’s the key for me is just putting down roots and making those roots go deeper and deeper so that everything I do is really led by the Holy Spirit and by following the word of God in the decisions that I make each day. 

So I think, you know, fulfilling my potential happens by pursuing intimacy with Christ. And then you can imagine I’m a type-A. I’m an achiever, but, you know, I need to sometimes just let God be God.

And it’s great to just read Psalm 9:1-12, which really talks about the sovereignty of God and believing that she will never forsake us and that he’s given me great gifts, that I need to use responsibly and work hard. But I also need to remember that God is sovereign through it all. And sometimes it’s better if I put it down and let God take over. 

So those two, I would say, are where I am right now, especially as 4word is exploding. I brought in a COO who is phenomenal. She’s given me life again. I just brought in a CFO who is just phenomenal. And now I need to bring in a development director. But just allowing me to move to that role where I’m really where I should be and let other people take care of a lot of what’s going on so that we can just continue to reach women in the workplace in a way they’ve never felt community before. 

So those two things are what God is teaching me now—how to reach that potential and let God be God.