Bradley Moore's Open Salon Blog

The Spiritually Astute Leader's Guide To What's Hot in 2010

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 06:12:53 -0500

It’s once again that time of the season when we shut the door on the year past and look forward to what lies ahead.

As a progressive leader who is highly tuned in to spiritual matters, you are probably wondering what trends and fashions might be specifically relevant for you in 2010. “Brad,” you might ask, “How can I maintain my coveted status as spiritually “in?” Ah. Well, thankfully can turn to me in your time of need. What management fads should you be paying attention to? What is the next wave of insider biz-lingo that you can casually refer to in conversations at dinner parties and conferences? How will you maintain your spiritual leadership-cred in those cut-throat business circles that you travel so comfortably in? Well folks, here are my takes for 2010.

In: UniTasking

Out: Multi-tasking

The cat’s out of the bag. A big study from Stanford proved once and for all that multi-tasking just makes us stupid. So put down that damn i-phone and stop browsing your email messages while I’m talking to you!

The onslaught of mobile technologies and social media addiction is sucking up our attention in the virtual world while we are attempting to do other things in real life at the same time, and it is getting a little out of hand. Heated discussions about the pros and cons of multi-tasking have been brewing in the blogoshpere from the likes of The Brittanica blog, with experts weighing in such as Maggie Jackson, author of Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age, and another by Nicholas “Google is Making Us Stupid” Carr. Continual multitasking, they say, prevents us from thinking deeply and synthesizing information, and weakens our ability to screen out the irrelevant. And really, how can we expect to be spiritually attentive to our surroundings when we are constantly pinging around between competing thoughts and tasks in our little heads? I think God wants you to pay attention to the person he’s put right in front of you during the exact moment you are there.

The solution? Unitasking, of course. A good post by intent.com on the Lost Art of Focus can point you in the right direction.

In: Trust

Out: Paranoia and Arrogance

Books like Trust Agents by Chris Brogan (on many business top ten lists for 2009) and The Trusted Advisor by Charles H. Green (an author I will be interviewing in a few weeks), David Maister and Robert Galford, are ushering in a new paradigm for how we do business. Instead of a zero-sum game of competing to win at all costs and then eating what you kill, these folks are initiating a hearty discussion on the forgotten role of Trust in business relationships. The idea of earning trust in order to do business sounds somewhat basic, dusty, old-school, even. I think this concept of trust in business got lost in the shuffle somewhere between 1972 and the Great Recession of 2008, as businesses hunkered down into quality and productivity tools like Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing, while looking for new and exciting ways to boost profits. And then the Wall Street quant jocks also starting messing with, um – what did they call it? Oh yes, Complex Financial Instruments. Who needs trust when we are making gobs of money?

For businesses, operating from a Trust platform may mean displaying greater transparency and honesty, or having outright conversations with consumers, as opposed to one-way advertising. For service providers, it means looking out for others needs and interests above your own selfish ambitions. Yes, it’s back to the basics, folks. You are a person, I am a person, and – hey, here’s an idea! Let’s treat each other like people rather than commodities for trade and merchandise! Ultimately, it’s good business to earn trust from those you work with. Why? Because, more people will want to do business with you. It’s called a “good reputation,” and it’s becoming more important than eating what you kill. Which brings us to our next Hot Tip for 2010:

In: Embedded Generosity

Out: Embedded Hoarding

The green shoots of corporate generosity were starting to sprout in 2009 as you noticed more and more companies channeling dollars to needy non-profits, and it will get even bigger in 2010. Why? Because of a handy little trick called Embedded Generosity, which means companies are making charitable giving easy. Embedded Generosity incorporates any initiative that makes giving and donating painless, pragmatic, or even better, automatic. The idea is that you go on a web-site to purchase something from a brand that you love, and you are presented with an opportunity to collaborate with that brand to co-donate with them. Some examples:

Australian Baby Teresa manufactures and sells a variety of 100% cotton onesies for babies, and, for each one purchased, donates another to a baby in need somewhere in the world.
IKEA’s SUNNAN LED desk lamp is powered by solar cells. The product retails for USD 19.99, and for every unit sold in IKEA stores worldwide, another one will be donated to UNICEF to give to children without electricity in refugee
TOMS Shoes donates a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair they sell online. As of August 2009, TOMS has given over 150,000 pairs of shoes to children in need. TOMS shoes plans to give 1 million shoes by 2012.
Servus, a Canadian credit union, began handing out CDN 200,000 in ten-dollar bills, giving 20,000 people the opportunity to create a Feel Good Ripple by spending the money on someone else. By pledging CDN 200,00 to the effort, the company hopes to start a ‘ kindness movement’ that will positively affect at least 20,000 people. Servus is distributing the bills through its branches throughout Alberta, and asking participants to write up stories of their kindness online.

In: Online community building

Out: Online personal brand-building

I, for one, am growing weary of the social media’s hype around the benefits of personal online brand-building. It is getting obnoxious and annoying. I am especially tired of seeing the same old folks tweeting and blogging too hard, desperately promoting themselves and their lame wares that come with their wannabe brand package. Instead I find myself migrating towards true online communities, like High Calling Blogs and Open Salon where ideas and opportunities are shared with people who I like, trust and have something in common with. Maybe it’s just me?

In: Zombies

Out: Vampires

I am not sure what exactly this has to do with spirituality and business, but Zombies are back in. Just so you know.

In: Something Other Than Zappos

Out: Zappos

Aren’t you just plain sick and tired of all of the hype and press around the online shoe company, Zappos? I’m going to throw up if I see another article gushing about this trendy darling of the new-media consumer. Enough, already! What I want to know is, how does anyone at that company actually get anything done when they are spending so much time travelling the world giving seminars, doing media interviews, and hanging out on social media sites? I am not sure yet what’s in, but I do know that it’s time to show Zappos the door and let some other up and coming online company have their 15 minutes.

In: Collaborative Capitalism

Out: Competitive Capitalism

There is a very healthy re-examination going on regarding the nature and role of Capitalism. Ken Kosta gave an excellent speech at Tony Blair Faith Foundation summit promoting a capitalism that does good for the sake of doing good. Fast Company wrote an article proposing an “Arms race of goodness“ for businesses, as opposed to contrived marketing campaigns just to sell stuff. Umair Haque of the Harvard Business Review blogs is writing about some innovative ideas such as constructive capitalism and about the economics of good and evil. Charles H. Green wrote an excellent post on his Trusted Advisors blog site recently called The Evolution of Capitalism, where he taps the phrase “Collaborative Capitalism” as the new method of business. He defines it as,

“It’s true collaboration and trust, working beyond corporate walls and across companies. Many of us are seeing this trend at the same time.

Way back in 2002—a couple recessions or so ago—I wrote a little article called The Death of Corporations. It basically said companies who competed against each other were, to use Robert Frost’s metaphor, disappearing not with a bang, but a whimper, as commerce gradually begins to operate across and through companies, rather than in the form of mega-goliath companies clumsily “competing” against each other, spouting their platitudes.”

All this to say, something is blowing in the winds our way that is causing many business thought-leaders to check the motives of how we do business, and get to the bigger picture – a spiritually-based approach to doing business. I may be the only one who dares to call it for what it is – spiritual, but hey, that’s my schtick.

In: Gen Y Leaders

Out: Boomer Leaders

The Gen Y gang seems to have really taken off this year, with a big boost from the press, who won’t shut up about the social media-savvy of this particular demographic cohort – as if they are going to run the world from their Facebook Page? Come on. All the same, the business media has hyped and fawned non-stop over this crowd, spawning a rash of articles and blog posts for executives and HR professionals to hurry up and get with the program: “Learn how to manage the digital-millennial generation, because they will be your boss some day! The Gen Y workers are a different species than the crusty old paper-bound Boomer managers!” Blah blah blah blah, etc, etc.

I secretly think that the real reason Gen Y has received so much attention lately is because the digitial publishers have finally figured out that this demographic would be the most likely potential readers for their online sites, thus the best path to boost readership. So the media promotes Gen Y as the linked-in, future-connected entrepreneurs who will shape our world to come. And they are probably right. So get over your resistance, your jealousy and all the other evils of un-enlightenment and embrace the powers of their youth and beauty. Oh, and you can learn from their social media skills, too.

In: Being

Out: Doing

This year, you must accept the fact that you will become more productive and effective as a leader when you slow down, stop for a breather, and take the time to remember who you are rather than what’s next on your task list. Take a few minutes to meditate every day. Read some inspirational books, or a passage or two from scriptures. Just stop the noise from time to time and think about the bigger, more important world that goes on around you in the spiritual realm. Trust me, you will do better. Business is important, but people are more so. Your accomplishments matter, but your health, peace of mind and connection to God’s greater purpose for your life matter even more. So take some intentional steps to calm down and just do nothing for a period of time, and soon enough you will hear that still small voice of God, and you will remember that life in 2010 is about so much more than your business and your career.

And regardless of your circumstances in 2010, don’t forget to breathe.

How To Know When You've Finally Arrived

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:12:06 -0500

I once heard a story about Henry Kissinger falling asleep in the middle of a very important meeting. Everyone noticed, but no one dared say anything because he was such a highly respected diplomat. The moment he came to, upon picking up the few fragments of sentences that were being discussed in mid-conversation, he immediately interrupted the group with some blinding insight.

I try not to fall asleep in meetings, whether I am making the presentation, or receiving one. Because, unlike Henry Kissinger, I am very concerned about what people think of me. I would rather make sure I come across as sharp and capable and prepared and on the ball. I guess I haven’t achieved enough yet in my career that would allow me such unguarded self-possession.

But that story puts things in perspective, mostly by revealing how insecure I must be. Here is a man who was so self-assured as to feel the freedom to doze off in the middle of some high-powered meeting. “What’s the difference?” he’s thinking. “I am smarter than all of these people, and I know what the end result is going to look like anyway. My time is better spent in a snooze.” If only I had such bravado!

I decided that Mr. Kissinger was an inspiring role model. If only I could be so well-respected, unquestionably smart and insightful! In fact, his example would be a good benchmark for success. Better yet, why not make it a goal? Yes, this is how I will know when I have finally arrived in my career: I can fall asleep during a meeting without giving a rip, because everyone knows that even in my sleep, I am a valuable team member.

Not that this could actually ever happen in my lifetime. But it did get me thinking about success, and the possibility to nail down a version of what that ultimately might look like for me. What will it take for me to finally calm down and truly believe deep down inside that I’ve made it?

Most of us view our lives as a series of plateaus to climb – when we have accomplished one thing, we start looking for the next. So our idea of “success” is a moving target, and in that case there is no true sense of arrival. On the other hand, scripture tells us to look to God, be content in what we are doing, stop striving (look at the lilies of the field!), and rest in the Lord. Also, remain humble, put others first, and submit to God’s will. Well, that’s all spiritually agreeable, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying, stop dreaming, stop reaching.

I started fishing around for a better definition of success (without a sleep reference), one that can integrate my desire for spiritual fulfillment right alongside my ambition and desire for achievement. Here is what I came up with.

My definition of success is this:

Achieving my full potential while fully surrendering to God.

What do you think?

Works for me.

Your Life is Perfect

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:11:52 -0500

I don’t usually quote scripture much here at my Blog, but I came across a passage the other day that struck me hard. It just so happened that it came on the heels of reading fellow O.S. blogger L.L. Barkat’s “Stone Crossings: Finding Grace in Hard and Hidden Places.” Sometimes words and messages can converge at just the right moment, burrow right down into your gut, and you just know that God is trying to tell you something.

I woke up extra early this past Sunday morning to spend some quiet time in scripture reading and meditation, with the sun rising low on the horizon, and the fireplace burning softly. It was a little piece of solace before the rest of the family arose. I wanted to catch up with God.

The passage I turned to was 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. In the first part, Paul is holding back from describing an incredible vision he had been given, where he was taken up into “the Third Heaven,” whatever that is. He uses words like “inexplicable” “paradise,” and “revelations,” so it must have been pretty much mind-blowing. It sounds like God decided to give him a personal tour around some of the peripheral heavenly places, just to give him a taste of what was coming. Now, that must have made Paul feel really, really important.

But then he immediately contrasts this astounding Vision with talk about a pain-in-the-ass chronic problem that is driving him crazy, which he calls his “thorn in the side.” God won’t take it away from him.

“I don’t care how important you are,” God says to him. “Deal with it.”

A life-altering Vision, and then the dregs of life. All bound together. Isn’t that just how it is.

Visions and Thorns

As I read this passage, I thought about all of my super-sized visions for life – the plans I get so excited about looking forward to, everything I’ve accomplished and still want to achieve, all of the versions of the terrific me that are out there still waiting to come true.

And then I made a mental list of the thorns, all of those painful imperfections, and believe me – I have plenty: my nagging personality flaws, the frustrations from everything that isn’t happening the way I’d like it to, the weaknesses I hold on to, all the ways that I don’t measure up, and all the things that are just plain wrong.

Grace in Hard Places

The glory and the dregs of life. God gives us both, usually all at once. And they come together in one messy, beautiful, achey package.

L.L. Barkat’s book beautifully recounts the disparity of finding grace in hard places, as she walks through the story of her own life, and how her faith grew in spite of the messiness of childhood shame, questionable parenting, an abusive step-father, to name a few inconveniences. Barkat recognizes the startling truth of grace: that it is present whether we know it or not, no matter the “bedraggled virtues, gross should-haves, errors of the day, recurring failures.”

In that 2 Corinthians passage, Paul resolves this spiritual disparity with the realization that,

"God’s grace is sufficient for me. His strength is made perfect in my weakness.”

What a relief.

I like this picture of grace. It rests on us quietly, as we go about our business.

The Thorny Me

This is me, reaching for the stars while knocking the glass off the table, watching as it shatters into a zillion pieces on the floor.

This is me, leading a business towards some bright and compelling future, only to be plagued by periodic bouts of fear and insecurity in my attempts to bring us there.

This is me, casting about for a grand and exciting version of my future self, but held down like gravity by the authentic reality of the present tense.

This is the thorny me.

Thank God, his grace is sufficient. I don’t need to strive so much, because grace is enough. It always goes before me, no matter what. And this life?Well, it will never be perfect. But so what? God himself said that He makes it perfect, and all of those weaknesses of mine just polish it up even brighter. They just make me depend on Him a little more.

The thorny me will never get everything I want, the way I think it should be. The thorny me will get tired, anxious and frustrated, and will make a lot of mistakes along the way. But God’s grace is enough.

It’s perfect.

Photo by nAncy, used with permission.

A Tasteful Examination of Christians and Salty Language

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:11:02 -0500

Is it okay for Christians to Curse?

I have a friend who works in the Christian publishing industry. He was recently telling me how conservative it is, and for emphasis, he added, “We can’t even print the b-word.” I scrolled through a catalogue of words in my head, trying to guess which b-word he might be referring to. There were so many choices. Was it bitch, bastard, balls? Surely any one of those could be the vulgar culprit. Or, perhaps there was some other curse word that I hadn’t been exposed to yet; some urban street-slang that these publishers were on to, one that would soon be infiltrating our suburban high schools, possibly even making its way into the mouths of our church youth. I remained silent, not wanting to guess the wrong word or expose my lack of street cred regarding the youthful slang that the Christian publishers were so down with. God forbid, I certainly didn’t want to show my age. Not hearing a response, my friend volunteered the answer to this trivia question. “The word is ‘breast’.” He said. “Breast. Can you imagine that?”

No, I can’t. What I can imagine, though, is the abrupt and final termination of any misguided notions I had for snagging a book deal within the Christian publishing industry. I pictured myself sitting across the desk from a pastorly editor, who is suddenly infuriated upon reading the word “ass” in my manuscript. Enraged and offended, he pulls me up by the ear and briskly marches me through the building, shoving me out the door, back onto the cold, harsh streets of Grand Rapids.

I never thought of the word ‘breast’ as risqué, really, not when it is used in an appropriate context. I mean, we are all adults here. And I bet most readers are either women or married men, which means that we either have them, or have had them in our sights at one point or another. Why work so hard to pretend that the breast is not a functional part of a Christian’s every day lifestyle? Read the Song of Solomon, for goodness sake.

It’s not that I am a foul-mouthed libertarian. I have always been fairly conservative when it comes to language. The Christian publishers’ attitude reminded me of my own conservative upbringing, and the taboo that was expressly reserved for any utterance remotely resembling a curse word. I never, ever heard swearing in my home, growing up. Even the words that were quoted during King-James bible stories in church and Sunday School, words like “hell” and “ass” (the animal ass, not the body part), were strictly verboten. However, with age, a more robust group of Christian male-friends, and quite possibly hanging around too much with my own teen-age daughters, I have definitely loosened up my tongue a bit. Especially as I started writing, I developed a healthy respect and appreciation for the use of a salty word now and then to round out a story, or to drive home a point for emphasis.

Plus, it’s pretty much how we talk. “We,” meaning the friends from work and church who I spend time with, those with whom I fellowship with and share my life with, even the most spiritually mature brothers and sister in Christ. We feel quite free to use an off-the-record reference now and then. Not every day, not usually in a crowd, and certainly not in every conversation, but occasionally, yes. I know several men, spiritual pillars of their churches, who will occasionally drop the word “shit” into their conversations with me. And hey, to me, it usually sounds just fine. Sometimes that is exactly the right word choice, just what the doctor ordered. “Golly, Brad, I think I just got on my pastor’s shit list,” one gentleman confides. Other times these folks are referring to the actual tactical meaning of the word, especially coming from those who are associated with the agricultural industries – those hard working men and women who till the soil and work with livestock. “I was out in the barn and got shit all over my shoes!” the godly Christian farmer will say to me, and he doesn’t even know that it was once a forbidden word in my Evangelical fundamentalist household growing up. None of these gentle folk are being vulgar, foul-mouthed, or inappropriate. We are just friends, talking to each other about our lives, in our own tongue.

So why can’t it be so in my own writing, where I am also sharing my self and spiritual life with my friends, you the reader? How we talk in real life is not at all like the Christian publishing market portrays. I’ve been a Christian for a long time, but sometimes I can not relate to the sanitized, simplistic, hyped-up and over-spiritualized language that is often passed for inspirational literature. Everyone is trying to out-motivate everyone else. I worry that these authors and publishers are more concerned with spiritually one-upping the reader, rather than getting down to the mat, revealing the messy truth of life, which is where the bulk of my real, normal life is taking place. It just doesn’t sound real.

Of course there’s still plenty of insights and inspiration to be gained from reading and listening to the pastors, motivational speakers, theologians, and writers who are out on the circuit today. And God knows we all can use some wisdom and guidance on our journeys of faith. But lately, for me, I am too often left with an awkward disconnect between their well-meaning spiritual advice and my real-world experiences. It’s as if these experts don’t quite get what my life as a “normal” person is like. I mean normal in the sense that giving spiritual advice is not my primary occupation.

I can understand the reluctance of Christians to print or speak words that may compromise or call their piety into question. Maybe they find it hard to know where to draw the line, and thus prefer to err on the side of caution. None of us want to fall under James’s admonition of being unable to tame the tongue, “uttering both praise and cursing out of the same mouth” (James 3:9-10).

I try to imagine if Jesus ever used a cuss word. Especially the teenage carpenter-apprentice Jesus, after accidentally hitting his finger with a hammer. I doubt it. But what about the disciples?

Take Simon Peter, for instance. Well, no question there. Peter definitely cursed. He was the one with the potty-mouth, the one that the other disciples had to keep apologizing for. “Oops, sorry Jesus, about my brother’s TRASH-MOUTH. He got into this bad habit of cursing when he was working in the Gallilean Fish Workers Union a few years back. But he’s a good guy. PETER CAN YOU PLEASE JUST TONE IT DOWN? Goll-lee! Jimminy Crumpets!” Peter was probably no different from any other fisherman you might be acquainted with – you know, “salt of the earth” and all. He may have toned it down some after becoming a full-fledged apostle, but I can still see him dropping some Aramaic f-bombs when he got worked up – he did have a temper, after all.

What about Paul? Rumor has it that if you look carefully at the original Greek manuscripts, you will find that he used a saucy word in one of the epistles, and not by accident. This scandalous idea was first presented to me over twenty years ago while in college, by a speaker at one of our Inter-Varsity Fellowship meetings. This gentleman was expounding on Philippians 3:8, “I consider everything a loss compared to the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” After the speaker preached on the magnitude of Paul’s commitment (“So should ours be,” he said), he went on to tell us that the word “rubbish” is not quite the literal translation. He continued on this tangent and with a wink and a sideways smirk told us, “You folks might find it interesting that the original Greek word Paul uses here is a slang word. It means something a little more explicit than the word ‘garbage.’ It actually refers to human excrement.”

“Whoa! Dude! All right, Paul!” That’s what most of us guys were thinking. But I never heard anything more about that translation again, and avoided saying that particular slang word for human excrement when describing my commitment to Christ, or in any other context, for that matter. Fast forward twenty-five years. A few months ago I stumbled across that same proposition while reading a book called “The New Christians,” by Tony Jones. Tony makes the exact same point in a little sidebar – that the Greek word Paul uses in Philippians 3:8, skubalon, is the equivalent of our vernacular word, “shit.” Most bible translations will use words like “refuse” or “dung” or “garbage.” But the real translation from the Greek is a slang word for human excrement. You know what it is, so I won’t say it again.

Well, there you have it. Paul used a street-word for its shock value, to get his point across. But Paul wasn’t “cursing” just then, was he? He was using a slang word in a certain context to bring a punch to his very strong point. There are certain slang words that are actually appropriate at times, more relevant or at the very least functional. There’s a big difference between using slang and actually cursing. Cursing involves outright vulgarity with an intention of offending and condemning the listener. Which is not what I, nor my good brothers and sisters ever intend when speaking. And, I guess that’s my point. Or my question. Just what exactly qualifies as a curse word anymore?

I serve on a Board with one of the pastors from a mega-church in our area. A couple weeks ago we were about to receive a presentation from someone who wasn’t quite so polished in his use of language. Like Peter, I warned the pastor that the presenter may accidentally drop a couple of off-color words into his presentation, by accident. Words not typically heard in his weekly sermons. This pastor replied: “So what. I think an off-color word can be refreshing once in a while.” This is actually code for “I am so effing tired of being censored by the Evangelical language police.”

Can you imagine that? A pastor who welcomes salty language as “refreshing?” Maybe I can someday imagine a world where Christian-oriented material is published with language that really sounds like me, my friends, my church, like we are having a real conversation about real life. Not that it would be nasty, irreverent or blasphemous, and certainly not cursing others, just talking. That’s quite a stretch, I know. But, dang-it-all, I can dream, can’t I?

When Jesus Was a Consultant

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:11:09 -0500

I worked as a management consultant for fifteen years before settling down with the company I am currently with. Like attorneys and used-car salesmen, consultants are subject to their fair share of derision and ridicule. I honestly couldn’t tell you why, since it is such a fine and upstanding profession, but I hear it all the time. An enthusiastic colleague will approach me in the hallway with a loud voice, coming a bit too close to my face, saying, “Hey, Brad! You were a consultant, right? Well, you know what they say about consultants?”

“No,” I say patiently, wondering if this could possibly lead to even a tiny shred of amusement.

My colleague continues. “Consultants are the ones who borrow your watch to tell you what time it is!”

Yes, ha ha. That is so funny. Especially the 50^th time I’ve heard it.

Or, how about this clever twist on the light-bulb joke:

Q: How many consultants does it take to change a light bulb?

A: It depends – How large is your budget?

Now that one really is funny.

Some have even gone so far as to claim that consulting is the oldest profession in the world, pointing to the serpent in the Garden of Eden as the first consultant. “Come on, Eve! Take a bite,” says Eve’s crafty advisor. “Trust me, it’s best practice. That apple will make you really, really smart. And pretty, too!”

You can go ahead and make all the consulting jokes that you want. The truth is, being a management consultant rocked. It was stimulating, challenging, and you got to see the direct results of your work. I liked the way you could walk into a business situation without any preconceived ideas of what was what, get a lay of the land, and then generate a solution which usually made a great deal of sense to everyone in the room. Then after the brilliant implementation was complete, you shake hands, pack up your PowerPoint presentations, collect your fee and move on to the next job. It was very rewarding.

I recently developed an even greater admiration for the profession when I discovered that Jesus himself had a brief stint as a management consultant. That’s right, Jesus was a business consultant. You can read it for yourself, right there in the Gospel of John, chapter 21. At this point in the gospel story Jesus had already risen from the dead, but he was a little spotty on making public appearances. The disciples hadn’t seen him in a while, and I am sure they were getting antsy, unsure of what they were supposed to do next. Maybe they were bored, too. One day Peter looks out at the lake and says, “I’m going fishing.” Just like that, like he couldn’t take one more minute of waiting around for nothing to happen. A few of the other disciples jumped on board. “Good idea, Peter. I’m with you.”

So off they went into Peter’s boat, back to their old fishing jobs that they knew so well. And who knows? Maybe they were even hoping to make a couple of bucks while they were at it, in an attempt to do something productive instead just sitting around all day in that stuffy Upper Room.

They ended up fishing all night long without getting any results. Not only had Jesus stood them up for the past few weeks, but they couldn’t even do their old job right. Nothing seemed to be going their way. Those fishermen were probably not in the best of spirits by the time the sun began to rise that morning. Next thing you know, Jesus shows up on the scene. He’s walking along the beach in a oh-it’s-no-big-deal-I-am-risen-from-the-dead-and-I-think-today-maybe-I’ll-just-make-a-fire-and-cook-breakfast-for-my friends kind of casual way. The disciples didn’t really noticed him.

Jesus calls out to the boat from the shore, “Hey guys, have you caught anything?” And they shout back, “No!” Then Jesus goes into consulting mode and offers some business advice to his client: “Throw your net down on the other side, and you will catch some fish.”

Well. I am a little surprised that none of those hearty fishermen had thought of that idea before. They had been working all night, after all, and I am pretty sure there were some seasoned professionals in the crew. But that’s how it is when you are a consultant. You always see the thing that is so obvious, yet no one else has noticed because they are so darn close to it.

Upon hearing this very basic suggestion on how to do their jobs better, the men shrug their shoulders. “Ok, what the hay,” they mumble, and down goes the net, across to the other side of the boat. And, Surprise! The net immediately fills up with fish, becoming so heavy that they can’t even heave it up onto the boat. “Who was that mysterious consultant on the shore?” One of them probably asked. “We should hire him on a regular basis.” Then it suddenly dawns on John. He lets the net slip from his hands as he slowly turns towards the shore. He takes a closer look at that consultant on the beach. He is frozen for a second and the breath goes out of him. “It is the Lord!” he whispers. Then his face lights up. “It’s Jesus!” He shouts to the others. “It’s him! Jesus came back to see us!”

Hearing this, Peter plunges into the water, splashing and flailing back to shore so that he can be the first one to reach Jesus while the others lug in their awesome haul. As the disciples make their way back to the shore, they smell something good and notice that Jesus has a nice toasty fire going with a couple loaves of bread and some fish on the stove. Then they all share a very nice reunion brunch.

I think of how often that story plays out in our careers. We all have gone through periods where we are beating our heads against the wall trying to make ends meet, doing our best to hit goal or meet projections, and nothing is happening. And maybe you haven’t seen Jesus in a while, either. You are frustrated, sweating, cursing, despondent and exhausted, wondering where Jesus went and why he hasn’t shown up lately to help you out. “Why does he not understand my situation!” you think to yourself.

Then Jesus breezes in and says, “Hi! Watcha doin’?” It seemed like he wasn’t paying much attention to you, but maybe it was the other way around. The truth is that Jesus knows much, much more about your little situation than you give him credit for. He usually has a plan, too, but for some reason he doesn’t think we always need to know about it. But this is what I do know: Jesus cares deeply about the details of our business lives, as much as he cares about any other aspect of our lives. He knows how hard we work, how important our jobs are, and how discouraging and bleak our circumstances can be at times. And although he may not necessarily create a magical path to success for our every endeavor, he certainly is active, moving and breathing in and among our very existence, flowing through all of our creative efforts.

We should not hesitate for one second to ask Jesus to help us with our jobs, because he obviously wants to be involved. Sometimes he may even surprise us with a big catch, followed by a lovely brunch to celebrate.

Or, he may send in a consultant.