Lesson From a Reluctant Billionaireâ€¦

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August 8, 2007

Â A very good friend of mine wanted to see some sales numbers from his sales department. The manager promised a quick response with a full report on all activity, complete with status, explanations, etc. Sounded good, but my friend said that a full report could confuse the issue. He only wanted to see the bare numbers. They would tell the story. Kind of like our last blog where Jesus asks his servants, "How much have you gained by trading?" He didn't want a story. He wanted the numbers. I am well aware that if we only focus on the numbers we can make bad decisions. Greed may set in. People may be hurt. Values may be sacrificed. However, I am not suggesting we ONLY look at the numbers, but that we make very sure that we pay very close attention to them. I recently saw a man interviewed on CNBC. He had struggled a lot financially over the years, but now carries a $3 calculator with him all the time. He said that business success boils down to numbers and he just needs to be able to add, subtract, divide and multiply. Of course, he oversimplified the facts, but he was making a point. It was in getting very good at watching and managing the numbers that he was now out of financial hot water and considered by some to be rich. Even though he is now a billionaire, he finds the label insulting, claiming he is an ordinary guy who happens to have some money. It is not his God. It's more of his job and I suspect somewhat of a game to him. His main success factor according to him was simply managing the numbers. That's what Jesus would do. How about you?

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