Three Keys to Leaving a Lasting Impact

If you have invested years in building a business, it is likely you want to maintain your company’s impact into the future. While there can be great personal gratification in building something of substance that has a lasting impact, we believe that preserving legacy is significant from a biblical perspective, too.

We teach that legacy matters for the following reasons:

First is the concept of ownership: We believe that God owns the business, as He owns everything. Psalm 24:1 states, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”

Second is the concept of perspective: We believe that God thinks generationally, as described in Deuteronomy 6.

Third is the concept of purpose: We believe that a business can shine God’s light in the darkness, as instructed in Matthew 5:16: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

In our experience working with business owners around the country, we have found there to be three key ingredients critical to any business’s legacy:

1. Develop a Common Mission (Mark 12:28-34; Ephesians 5:15-17)

When you combine the Holy Spirit’s leading, your company’s Kingdom positioning, and your company’s “why” and “how,” these things together lead to your company having a Kingdom mindset and generational engagement in the mission.

2. Identify Core Values (Galatians 5:22-23)

When you review your company’s existing values, determine what is core, and assess your current leaders, this helps lead to the development of a Kingdom culture and consistent behaviors across the organization.

3. Cast Vision for the Future (Ephesians 5:15-17)

When you develop a 10-year target, express your vision so that people understand what it means for them and are inspired. Doing so helps lead to the creation of common goals, shared passions, and an attractive environment at your organization.

Application

Here are some questions to consider as you reflect on how this information applies to your business:

1. Does your ownership team submit to God’s purpose and direction for the business? If so, how?
2. Do the ownership and leadership team invite the Holy Spirit to guide the business? If so, how?
3. Is the company’s purpose clear? If so, how did you determine it?
4. Are the company’s mission, core values, and vision clearly communicated throughout the organization? If so, how do you consistently communicate and reinforce these concepts?
5. Are employees’ activities and behaviors consistent with the company’s values? If so, how do you reward these behaviors?
6. Are structures present to protect the mission of the company from drifting off course? If so, how do you reward these behaviors?

Blue Trust’s Business Consulting division leverages biblical wisdom and practical expertise to advise business owners as they seek to faithfully steward the companies with which they have been entrusted. To learn more about building a legacy that lasts within your organization, visit our website.

 

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.