Business Adviser Magazine September 2013 | Page 10

he turned work
“I must work the works of him that sent me.”
–John 9:4

into cause

A

s Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him” (Matthew 4:17-20). And then he put his arms around them and began to show them the Big Picture, one day at a time. Study after study now confirms that people function better in their specific tasks when they know the big picture of which they are a part. A recent survey presented in the book Values Shift: The New Work Ethic and What It Means for Business, by John B. Izzo, Ph.D., and Pam Withers (Fairwinds Press, 2001), reveals that 91 percent of staff workers at every level would like to know details of the budgets of their organizations, even though their paycheck may be only a very small part. One of the main reasons people underperform in their jobs is that they don’t know “why” they are doing them in the first place. To understand why this knowledge is so important, consider an example from the human body. Science continues to reveal the higher intelligence at work in our bodies. For example, red blood cells do the same thing in the body forever, but they never tire of their work. The red blood cell’s job is to take oxygen to other cells in the body and exchange it for carbon dioxide. In this nonstop activity the red blood cell is not depleted but in fact nourished by its “job.” Scientists now know that the red blood cell contains within it the complete DNA code for the entire body. In other words, it carries a map of the whole body in its structure even as it continues to carry out a single, specific, highly specialized task. Some scientists theorize that perhaps because the red

blood cell “knows” the function of the whole, it can be content in its “micro” task, and perform it without exhaustion. In fact, every cell in the body contains the DNA code or “map” of the whole. Could it be that God already knew what management theorists are just now discovering-that even the least part of the body performs best when it “knows” the map of the whole? If you have ever had the privilege of encountering an enthusiastic janitor or a humming cook or a singing maid, you have probably met the equivalent of a red blood cell that does not tire of its task because it knows its energy exchange is vital to the organization as a whole. The number three reason people now stay in their jobs, again according to John Izzo, is that the mission of the organization engages and excites them. People also leave their jobs because the mission of the organization doesn’t excite or engage them. Perhaps as we move into a society that is literally linked by the dynamic exchange of intelligence, we experience a greater need to know the “macro” p lans of our organizations so we can be fully engaged in our “micro” tasks. This represents a huge shift from the isolated feudalism or smokestack industrialism that preceded us. Leaders who believe that they can threaten red blood cells into doing their jobs are asking for trouble up ahead. The famous basketball coach Pat Riley says, “You don’t have to yell at someone who wants the same thing that you do.” Teambuilders inspire people to look up. Jesus did this with Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, as well as with all his other disciples and followers. By revealing the Bigger Picture,

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BUSINESS ADVISER