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Doing Business by the Good Book
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Doing Business by the Good Book

52 Lessons on Success Straight from The Bible

David L. Steward and Robert L. Shook
Hyperion, 2004
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Editorial Rating

6

Qualities

  • Inspiring

Recommendation

This book's subtitle, 52 Lessons on Success Straight from the Bible, captures its appeal but also indicates why it might turn away nonreligious readers. David L. Steward's ethical lessons are admirable. He divides his advice into weekly units, making it easy to apply. (This also reflects the book's roots in a weekly church-based study group). However, though Steward sees his lessons as straightforward, many readers might find his logic a little challenging. For example, he draws the lesson of niche marketing from Matthew 6:24, "No man can serve two masters." This makes interesting sense at first. However, while his later expansion into a second niche may offer a good business example, is it Biblical? Not as much. The chapter on the blessings of living in America seems even less scriptural, but many sections of the book do make good use of Biblical values as business guideposts. Steward's felicitous examples from his own successes make it easy to understand his points. getAbstract recommends his warm, inspirational guidebook to spiritually inclined readers who are interested in using their beliefs to reinforce ethical business practices.

Summary

A Strong Foundation

When David L. Steward started World Wide Technology, his goal was to build a company on a Biblical foundation, and run it according to religious principles. Starting a new company is risky, but World Wide Technology has flourished with the support of its foundation of Biblical wisdom. You, too, can use universal Biblical teachings to guide your business, no matter what it is. As you start your business, be as willing to go out on a limb as Noah was; trust God and your vision, even if it is as grand and seemingly as out of place as the ark on dry land.

Faith alone is not enough ammunition for starting a business. You'll need to work hard and have a careful plan. As Psalms 8:3-5 indicates, God wants you to be glorious and do wondrous things, to work and achieve. This won't necessarily lead to profits in the short run, but that's not your goal. You want to create a business of abiding excellence. That requires selecting the right people to work for you and making your business stand for something meaningful. Take inspiration from historic moral leaders, such as Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King, Jr. They never let public or marketplace disapproval...

About the Authors

David L. Steward is founder and CEO of one of the largest African-American-owned technology companies in America. Robert L. Shook has written more than 40 books, including Longaberger, a New York Times bestseller.

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