Bible on BusinessMuestra

Motivation

My stepfather, Vickers Neugent, was the District Attorney in South Georgia where I was raised. We entered each other's lives during my teenage years which was no picnic for either of us. He answered questions with questions or a stinging response – typical for a lawyer.

One afternoon, Vick was sharing his opinion on my knack for manipulating situations in my favor. I thought he was being complimentary until he concluded bluntly, “I’ve put many a man just like you in prison.”

Ouch. Actually, it was more confusing than hurtful. I could not understand how all these “gifts” I was fine tuning could be confused with the criminal element. Years of experience and maturity have shed light on the subject. Paul’s letter to the first church at Philippi clarifies matters even more.

We all know talented people who have used their abilities for immoral or criminal purposes. Others use their expertise for excellent causes or for building distinguished and profitable enterprises, but the motivation is all about personal gain. The difference in becoming someone who does the very best with his or her talents, for the right reasons, is leadership’s most important ingredient - motivation.

Paul cites “humility” as the correct motivator, the kind of humility where a person considers themselves secondary to the needs of others. This mirrors the command of Christ to love one another as He loves us. This guiding principle of humble love helps set a standard for decision making in business from customer support, to pricing, to employee benefits, to growth strategies and beyond. Internalized and personally adopted, this norm creates success for everyone.

Dalton Sirmans is the CEO of Mainstreet Technologies based in Atlanta, Georgia.