How a Corporate Roadmap Creates Unity for a Company
How a Corporate Roadmap Creates Unity for a Company

The first time I encountered a corporate single-page Roadmap was I believe in 1996 when I’d been transferred to Pizza Hut from Frito-Lay and David Novak had his CEO role expanded from just running Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) to also helming Pizza Hut.  David, and his Chief HR Officer, Gregg Dedrick believed in transparency and alignment so much that they rolled out to the organization a single page Roadmap that captured the business vision, objectives, challenges, goals and values/principles.

What you will see attached is not much different than that first Roadmap I saw, except that the first one from David was handwritten.  Yes, handwritten, by David himself. Three years later he was still handwriting them once a year, but now in the Annual Shareholder Report for Tricon Restaurants (later to change their name to Yum! Brands), the newly spun out public company spun out of PepsiCo.

…The Roadmap serves as a great communication tool for all constituents of the company (customers, shareholders, analysts, recruits, etc.) So, after a lot of work by the team, we created and rolled out our Annual Roadmaps…

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Communication, StrategyTracey Danielcorporate roadmap template, Rusty RueffComment
Gospel Driven Ambition
Gospel Driven Ambition

As Christians, is it possible to be ambitious in our work and still have our self-worth and identity firmly rooted in Jesus Christ?

The world tells us that ambition is essential to accumulating wealth, fame, and glory for ourselves. The meta-narrative of work today is that it is the primary means by which we make a name for ourselves in this life and prove to the world that we are important, valuable, and worthy.

Of course, this is nothing new. Since the Fall, human beings have been using work to make a name for themselves, rather than to glorify God and serve others.

While Scripture makes clear that creating to make a name for ourselves constitutes improper ambition, the Bible makes equally clear that ambition can indeed be God-honoring, so long as it flows out of a response to the work Christ did on our behalf on the cross. That is the subject we will turn to in tomorrow’s devotional.

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Scripture, Church and Theology of Work, Excellence in Our WorkHenry Kaestnerambition, Jordan RaynorComment
Podcast Episode 24 - Interview with Nancy Duarte
Podcast Episode 24 - Interview with Nancy Duarte

This is a special episode for us. One, we think, definitely worth hearing. Why? Well there are few things more important in our lives than effective story telling.

There are few better people (maybe no one??) that do a better job at helping people tell their stories than Nancy Duarte from Duarte Design. They help CEOs of Fortune 100 companies tell their stories, and maybe something more impressive: they are the “go-to” firm to help TED presenters tell their stories well.

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Communication, Women Entrepreneurs, Excellence in Our WorkHenry KaestnerNancy Duarte Comment
Consequences of Technology - Intended and Unintended
Consequences of Technology - Intended and Unintended

Every year as we approach the Christian Economic Forum (CEF), I find myself both dreading and looking forward to the construction of my annual white paper.

I have found myself preoccupied this year thinking about the intended and unintended consequences of technology. The white paper below is the essay that emerged from that inquiry, and I hope you enjoy it. It's titled *The Icarus Moment*, but might be more aptly called "The Tower of Babel" in a Biblical context.

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Risk & FailureHenry KaestnerCEF 2018, Luke RoushComment
Become a Unicorn. Create a Health BHAG.
Become a Unicorn. Create a Health BHAG.

As entrepreneurs, we all have a vision for our company. We may even have a fancy 2-page strategic plan with a 10 yr, 3 yr, and 1 yr goal. I did when I was CEO of a small tech company. It inspired the team, gave us purpose and a clear goal. We spent hours formulating the vision and crafting a plan to execute it. Why don't we do the same in our health?

Most of us are familiar with the concept of big, hairy, audacious goals (BHAG). It's almost a requirement in any pitch deck and HR material. I would propose that every entrepreneur, especially those of us who are faith driven, need to have a modified and personal Health BHAG, a big HEALTHY audacious goal…

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Work / Life Balance, Time ManagementHenry KaestnerJustin ThomasComment
A Journey of Entrepreneurship and Faith
A Journey of Entrepreneurship and Faith

There are some things in life that you cannot fully understand until you experience them, and I would venture to say that founding a startup is one of them.  I knew it would be difficult, but I underestimated the difficulty and the depth of which the experience would penetrate my whole self and the ripple effect it would have on all aspects of my life.  

In 2011 God called me out of my comfort zone and into a journey of entrepreneurship.  In His wisdom and grace, He opened my eyes to a problem, gifted me an idea, and aligned the burden on our hearts to pursue a dream that would somehow glorify Him! …

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Risk & Failure, DiscernHenry KaestnerAngela Smith Comments
Podcast Episode 23: Biblical Message of Generosity
Podcast Episode 23: Biblical Message of Generosity

God needs our success and our money to do his work on earth, right?? What is the most important question for us to answer: How to give, where to give, why to give? How do we define "net worth"? There may not be a more important topic for a Faith Driven Entrepreneur to tackle, than how to think about generosity. We worship a generous God who has given to us generously, and we, as do all Christ followers, have an opportunity to respond. How should we do it as entrepreneurs? How do we think about ownership? How do we think about giving? How do we think about God?

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Generosity, Stewardship vs. OwnershipFaith Driven TeamHenry KaestnerComment
"One of the best investments"
"One of the best investments"

Undoubtedly, you've come to understand that we are big fans of chaplaincy here at FDE.  Here's a video from one of entrepreneurs that Corporate Chaplains of America works with.  At Bandwidth, our first interaction with Corporate Chaplains of America was 10 years ago when Jeff Brown started visiting us every other Friday morning.  His impact on our staff was HUGE.  We'll tell that story on an upcoming blog.  In the meantime, please enjoy this video about Janet Ward Black's experience.

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Chaplaincy, Women Entrepreneurs, Legal / Religious Freedom, Crisis ManagementHenry KaestnerHenry KaestnerComment
The Baby Boomers Are Rocking The Startup World!
The Baby Boomers Are Rocking The Startup World!

Wait a minute, don’t most people envision the startup entrepreneur as a 20-something tech genius in a hoodie? You might be surprised to learn that it’s actually the graying 50-something in dad jeans.

Editor's note.  We've recently come across Gerald and Cana.Global, a faith based accelerator in Southern California.  You can see some more information about what he, and others in the workplace ministry space are doing here, and we thought that his perspectives on older entrepreneurs are intriguing. 

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Risk & Failure, CompetitorsHenry Kaestnerboomer startups, accelerator, CanaGlobal, Gerald DuranComment
Productivity and Grace: Management and Labor at a Denver Manufacturer
Productivity and Grace: Management and Labor at a Denver Manufacturer

There's a simple reason why manual laborers are called "blue-collar": The color blue, it turns out, hides dirt better than the white seen in office buildings. But "blue collar" defines more than work apparel, of course. It defines industry, even a way of life. And its stereotypes are often unflattering.

But a metal products manufacturer in Colorado is working to undermine those stereotypes, right on the shop floor.

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Company CultureHenry KaestnerRedemptive EntrepreneurComment
Podcast Episode 22 - Expressing Gratitude in the Workplace
Podcast Episode 22 - Expressing Gratitude in the Workplace

In this episode, Henry, William, and Rusty explore the topic of expressing gratitude in the workplace. They discuss how we can be more intentional with showing our thanks and appreciation to others as leaders. A starting point for this outpouring is finding a way to be grateful ourselves. When we do this, it resets our perspective and causes us to be grateful for others, their work, and their contribution.

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Generosity, People ManagementFaith Driven Teamgratitude, employee engagementComment
Never Alone in The Lion's Den
Never Alone in The Lion's Den

In 2008, Chuck Welden invited me to hear about a profitable business in India. With 50 people in the room, Tom shared his experience starting the business as a way to have an ministry impact. He spoke about others who intentionally sought to operate the business, deal with people, even handle the profit as a means to serve others and the Lord. I loved it. My faith and my work were not separate but work together to grow me closer to Jesus and others to know him through my example.

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Accessibility / Connected, MentoringHenry Kaestnerbusiness as missions, The Lion's Den, Andrew ClarkComment
God, The First Entrepreneur
God, The First Entrepreneur

The first thing God reveals about Himself in Scripture is not that He is loving, holy, omnipotent, gracious, or just. No, the first thing God shows us is that He is creative. In Genesis, He brings something out of nothing. He brings order out of chaos. He creates for the good of others. In short, God is the first entrepreneur.

“Entrepreneur” is a title thrown around so much today that it has become very difficult to define. I would submit that an entrepreneur is anyone who takes a risk to create something new for the good of others.

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Scripture, Excellence in Our Work, DiscernHenry KaestnerFaith and Work, Henry Kaestner, Jordan Raynor Comment
God Loves Cabinets
God Loves Cabinets

We get to see a lot of videos that are submitted to the FDE site.  None top the work that is coming out of Seattle Pacific's Initiative called Faith and Co. that features videos like these, an online course, and a group study guide.  If you've been reading the blog for a while, you might recall that we featured another outstanding story in April.  We LOVE excellent work....not just the best Christian version of something, but the best version period.  These guys have, in our humble opinion :), the best short business documentaries that we've seen.

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Excellence in Our WorkHenry Kaestnerperseverance, manufacturing, cabinets, Henry KaestnerComment
Podcast Episode 21 - How Faith and Work Come Together in Life: Part 2 with Vic Ho (Co-founder and CEO of Fivestars)
Podcast Episode 21 - How Faith and Work Come Together in Life: Part 2 with Vic Ho (Co-founder and CEO of Fivestars)

In part two with Vic Ho of Fivestars, Vic expands his thinking with regards to how faith and work come together in his life.

We discuss Vic's observance of the Sabbath and how it transformed his personal and professional life. How he changed from a constant worrier to a man of peace that knows God has Fivestars' destiny in His hands - the successes and the failures.

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GenerosityFaith Driven Teamcustomer retention, Victor HoComment