Posted 6/2/10 By Dan Baldwin, TA Executive Director, 951-251-5155 email
The absolute best thing about being a successful business owner is getting to do things the way "you want to do them". Being told "no" as an employee one too may times or "I'm the owner so I make the rules" has launched many a new telecom agent/independent business owner. Most successful entrepreneurs know though that while making up their own rules is fun and all, BIG RULE NUMBER ONE is "Stay in Business".
So what's a successful business owner to do when their religious values suggest they should be living their beliefs and values more openly so that those that they do business with might "connect the dots" as in, "He or she is successful AND religious - maybe that might work for me too!?"
Should a business owner signal their religious faith in their corporate communications or logos? Is it a good business move? Is it a good faith move? Please share your comments below.
The issue has come up in TA because one of TA's long time master agent vendor members KeaneTel has a new name, "Outreach Telecom & Energy" where the first "t" in their name is clearly a cross and their corporate tagline is "Good News - Delivered". (The "Good News" is a name Christians use for the New Testament of the Bible.)
Now while Pete Keane is no stranger to controversy in the agent world, (his novel 100% commission pass-through program promoted by TA in 2006 made fellow master agents and some vendors absolutely ...
crazy), he certainly did not invent religious imagery in business artwork or communications. Flip through any Yellow Pages (if you can still find one) to the auto repair section and every other display ad seems like it has a Christian fish image on it. (Click here to read an excellent blog on the issue.)
What are your thoughts on the matter? Please post your thoughts below. Following are my own thoughts on the matter.
1. The matter is prevalent for many business owners in the B2B world. While employees may keep a religious image on their cubicle wall, most are not making the decision to include religious imagery in their bosses business logos. As a business owner myself, it's my job to pre-judge the people I'm doing business with. My employees expect me to keep the business profitable enough to keep meeting payroll. My ability to do that is based on my ability to avoid dealings with people that would deceive me.
Does a display of religious imagery or knowing the religious faith of another business owner I'm contracting with help me separate the good business people from the bad business people? Not completely but it's as good a place as any to start. I still look them up on LinkedIn and check a ton of references.
2. It's not really about "baiting more business". While I'm sure there are plenty of religious zealots and downright crazies out there that do crazy things with religious imagery, these people are easy to spot and avoid. I'm sure Pete and Joel Allinson, Pete's new business partner, conceded that in the short run at least, the religious imagery would cost them business by those who are put off by it.
Speaking strictly for myself, as a business owner though, I need religious imagery to remind myself that I'm not really the TOP BOSS that answers to no one. Even though I own 51% of my business and can out-vote my business partner, the Christian symbol on my desk reminds me several times a day that I'm not in business to glorify my own ego. It keeps my humble - and trust me, I need that.
3. It's kind of required for many practicing Christians. I'm a Lutheran flavored Christian. While I'm certainly no Biblical scholar I do remember what I learned about the Great Commission in Sunday school - do what you need to do to make sure as many people as possible know what you know about your religious views. No exceptions are made like, "Unless you're at work, or it's embarrassing or it seems kind of uncool."
So for most Christians they rationalize their Great Commission responsibilities by saying, "Eighty years on Earth and forever in Heaven - What to do?" "Should I ask every business associate if they've accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior?" "What if I just start out by putting a fish in my advertising or a cross in my logo. Does that count?" Probably not - but it's a good start.
4. The more I know about a person, the better I can predict their behavior. I like knowing as much as I can about people who might be able to affect my ability to pay my mortgage. If a person has a college degree or lives in Texas or has kids in grade school I want to know. Why? It helps me predict their behavior. People might say, "It's none of your business" but I would disagree. As a salesperson and a business owner, I'm in the behavior prediction business. Will this person I'm contracting with honor their agreement? My mortgage payment is dependent in my being able to predict certain outcomes.
Religion is a pretty big deal for active practitioners. If a person is an active practitioner I'd find value in knowing. I still want to know a lot of other stuff too, like "Do you know what you're doing?", and, "Are you a liar?"
Bottom Line?
In the end, for me anyway, after 48 years of observing others, the religious people I know, be they Christians, Muslims, Jews, Mormons or others, are fairly honest folk. Do I want to know if a business person is a person of faith? Yes. Is is a litmus test for me or do I ask? No. Do I want others to know my own religious faith? Yes. Do I proactively share it uninvited? No. Do I look for "cool ways" to share it like on my Facebook profile page? Yes.
What do I think of Pete and Joel letting the business world know they're Christians? I think it's brave. Do I think they're doing it to gain an unseemly competitive edge? No. Do I think it will help them succeed in the long run? Yes, but not because it will help them close one deal or another today but because it might help them do deals today that position their business for success ten year from now.
Being a majority owner of a business is sometimes a weird, lonely deal. Faith doesn't hurt.
I was driving down the freeway and saw a giant billboard or "Forgiven Energy", a new energy drink with a cross in the logo. When you go to their website at http://forgivenenergy.com, the only religious reference is a quote of Philippians 2:1
I think if you have a religious reference in your logo it would be appropriate to explain it to some degree in your website.
Posted by: Dan Baldwin | 06/13/2010 at 07:47 PM
I just saw that today and agree it's a brave move. Not going to say it's right, not right, good or bad for business. The one issue I have was one VOIP dealer "telling" me I should put scripture and symbols, etc on my website.
My take is this. I should let my actions speak louder than my words for glorifying Christ. So when I worked for the CLECs it didn't take long for others to know where I stood.
Posted by: jay adams | 06/09/2010 at 04:46 PM
About 10 years ago a friend of mine started a business with a very apparent Irish Catholic company name. After many years of struggling they decided to change the name.
Business blew up and they are now one of the biggest in their industry.
Playing the religion card is just bad business, period!
Also – Needing a symbol to remind you of your morals is pretty week.
Posted by: Jason | 06/02/2010 at 12:06 PM
For me... I wear my religion on my sleeve. I believe it shows my commitment to my Faith, which gives a clear indication that I am also committed to all the other aspects of my life without apology. For those who respect that... you build business relationships that last a life time. For those that are offended... those are relationships I want to steer clear of.
Posted by: Jarrod | 06/02/2010 at 08:22 AM
I think it is wonderful and I agree with them as I too look at the information a person or company has posted online to be a good judge of the type of person I would be working with. As Christians, we are challenged with this question daily, “Do I share my faith with people I work with?” “How much is too much?” Honestly – your heart will show through the interests you have and the honest work you do, but letting others know does not hurt a business owner. I feel it promotes honesty and integrity. I support their efforts in sharing faith publicly. Too many Christians worry about appearances instead of being good disciples and sharing God’s word in work, at home, or even running errands. If it offends someone, then maybe that is someone you weren’t supposed to do business with. After all, isn’t God the one who provides?
Posted by: Hollie Clere | 06/02/2010 at 08:03 AM