Bible and Management Lessons
By:
Sonal Garg
MBA(IT) Semester-I
Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad
Psalm 28 “To u, O Lord, I call; my rock, do not refuse to hear me,
For if u are silent to me, I shall be like those who go down to the Pit”.
Many of my readers might feel that what on earth does the Bible have to do with management? Everything! The Bible is probably the most widely-read book in the world. It is revered for its religious precepts and guidance, its wisdom, and its literary beauty.From time immemorial religion has and would influence each of our lives, our thoughts and our beliefs. We read and appreciate the theories of Koontz, Drucker and many western management scholars but the fact that religion has influenced their lives cannot be overlooked.
The Bible is the greatest collection of leadership case studies and is full of insightful lessons for today’s managers and leaders. I have tried to explain a few, with relevant examples from the holy text.
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
“If ye faith…nothing shall be impossible unto you “(Mathew 17:20)
Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities. Without a humble but reasonable confidence you cannot succeed. But with sound self confidence you definitely can. Emerson said “They conquer who believe they can”.For Example consider Sam Walton who after closing down of his first store, shifted his base and bean all over again. He started all over again but because he ‘believed in himself’ and kept on trying till he succeeded. The most powerful force in human nature is the spiritual power technique in the Bible. Very astutely the Bible emphasizes the method by which a man can make something of himself.
Remember: God is actually with you & helping you
Repeat: “God is with me; God is helping me; God is guiding me”
“If God be for us, who can be against us?”- Mathew 17:20
Believe, believe so it drives home the truth that faith moves mountains.
HONESTY AND INTEGRITY
God’s honest truth. Actions that back up the words and words that are congruent with the actions. People of integrity and honesty, people we can trust- that’s what we look for in our leaders.
…A false witness will not go unpunished,
And a liar will not escape….. (Proverb 19)
A lie is an ugly blot on a person;
It is continually on the lips of the ignorant.
A thief is preferable to a habitual liar,
But the lot of both is ruin.
A liar’s way leads to disgrace,
And his shame is ever with him.(Sirach 20)
Moses, who brought God’s warnings against lying, stealing, and coveting to his followers in dramatic fashion, was a man of great integrity himself. The Ten Commandments are very explicit: ‘‘Thou shalt not steal.’’ ‘‘Thou shalt not murder.’’ ‘‘Thou shalt not give false testimony against thy neighbor.’’ ‘‘Thou shalt not covet they neighbor’s house . . . wife . . . manservant or maidservant . . . or anything belonging to thy neighbor.’’ That’s four commandments out of ten that deal directly with integrity and honesty.
Jesus Christ brought the message that ‘‘the truth shall set you free,’’ and he was willing to die for the truths he embodied. And fortunately today we have been blessed with a number of modern business leaders who realize that without honesty and integrity, material ‘‘success’’ rings hollow indeed.
Charles Wang ,chairman of Computer Associates heads a $4.7 billion company, but he argues that effectiveness often boils down to truth telling, not dollars.
“To be a successful person . . . you have to have integrity. Your word has to be everything you’ve got. You must have a moral compass. That’s especially true if you’re a leader because you’re exposed more. People will get a sense of you, and if you are not true . . . they’ll get a sense that you are sleazy . . . We buy a company, there’s a contract that’s just terrible, but you inherit all the contracts. You can argue the guy had no authority to sign it, but you . . . honor the contract.’’
Warren Buffett , who has risen to the top in the rough and tumble world of investing, notes that lack of honesty can create adversity. You might think that his hiring criteria would be aggressiveness and hardheaded numbers-crunching. But listen to his real hiring criteria: ‘‘integrity, intelligence, and energy. Hire someone without the first, and the other two will kill you.’’
The Bible is very specific about doing business honestly: ‘‘Do not have two differing weights in your bag—one heavy, one light. Do not have two differing measures in your house—one large, one small. You must have accurate weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land.’’ (Deut. 25:13–15)
“Truth shall set u free”