305 A Character

Marketplace facts: Character and CompetenceMarketplace facts: Character and Competence

MARKETPLACE FACTS

CHARACTER AND COMPETENCEModule 305 A

Mario Denton

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Overall purpose of this series on Marketplace

To understand and learn from various marketplace facts so that you can: • Be more effective and anointed wherever you are in the marketplace.

• Adapt and benchmark your marketplace practices and principles discussed in this series.

• Use these material to facilitate the work of evangelism.



Character and competence

Character and competence are the two primary ingredients of

companies of excellence.



Character and competence• Arthur Schopenhauer reminds us

that: “men best show their character in trifles, where they are not on guard. It is in insignificant matters, and in the simplest habits, that we often see the boundless egotism which pays no regard to the feelings of others, and denies nothing to itself.”



Character and competence• “Some day, in years to come, you will be

wrestling with the great temptation…The real struggle is here... Now it is being decided whether, in the day of your…temptation, you shall miserably fail or gloriously conquer. Character cannot be made except by a steady, long-continued process.” (Philip Brooks)




• Character is that force that enables an individual to carry out a resolution once the mood in which that resolution was born has died.




• God’s idea of character is summarised in Psalm 51:6: “[He desires] truth in the inner parts…”




• Ask yourself, “Are you choosing to put a check on our thoughts, motives and actions in not allowing yourself a modicum of compromise?”



Character and competence• Perhaps a guideline on how we should

deal with our competitors, service our customers, and handle contracts and finances is summed up “WWJD”: “What would Jesus do?”

Or as I John 2:6 puts it, “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”




• To do what Jesus would do, we must aspire to become the kind of person who will naturally do what Jesus would do if he were in our situation.



Character and competence• Richard Foster states, “It is a question of

preparation and training, the question of spiritual disciplines and holy habits.

• When we are on the spot, when we are faced with the situation, it is too late because regardless of what we think Jesus would do, we will do what our nature and habits have trained us to do.”




• QUESTION: Are you electing, day-by-day…moment-by-moment, to prepare yourself, character-wise in the little things to respond as would Jesus…for the time when the heat is really on? If not, why not?



Competence. • QUESTION: Do your peers – those

men and women in the work place who are outside of Christ - see you as a person of competence and excellence who knows his craft and is giving it 100%?



Competence. • QUESTION: Do your peers see you

as someone who is just getting by; marginally qualified; and as a person who conveniently bends the rules when it is deemed necessary?”

• How does your example affect their response to things Christian?



Competence.• John Gardner reminds us that “the

society which scorns excellence in plumbing because it is a humble activity, and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy.

• Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.”



Competence.

God puts a high premium on competence and excellence.



Competence.

• After completing His creation, He “saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31a) Of the craftsmen who worked on the tabernacle it is recorded



Competence.• “[God]…filled them with skill to do all

kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiders in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers--all of them master craftsmen and designers.” (Ex 35:35) The term master craftsman here conveys the idea of one utilising imagination, inventiveness, purpose, thought, and intention. (See Ex. 26:1, 31; 28:6, 15)



Competence.

• “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.” (William A. Foster)



May I ask you a few questions?



Question 1

• Do you go the extra mile in getting the job done, even when it means no one else will know

about it?



Question 2

• Do you attack everything you do with fervour, performing at

the highest level possible?



Question 3

• Do you follow through…until the job is completed? With

excellence? Whatever the cost?



Question 4

Are you making every effort to stay current in your

profession? Or is it business as usual?



Psalm 50:15 (Living Bible)

• I want you to trust Me in your times of trouble, so I can rescue you.

- We all face tough times.- Tough times also represent opportunities.- It gives us an opportunity to trust God.-



Psalm 50:15 (Living Bible)

• As we trust Him, He can come and rescue us.

PRAYER: Lord, I place my full and complete trust in You. Deliver and rescue me I pray. Amen.



Prayer Focus• Father, In the name of Jesus, I

surrender myself to walk in the Word in the marketplace. Your word living in me produces the Life in this world.

• The word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. It makes my way plain before me.

• I boldly and confidently say that my heart is fixed and established on the solid foundation – the Living Word of God! Amen



Learning, application and commitment: James 1: 22-25

• “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.

• Do what it says. • Anyone who listens to the word but does not do

what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

• But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does.” (NIV)



Learning, application and commitment

• One of the principles that I have learned from this lesson was …

• I intend to apply this principle in my marketplace by: …..

• With the help of the Holy Spirit, I will begin applying this truth immediately.



Jesus said: Take what I have given you and change the world!



Sources and acknowledgementCHRIST@ WORK NEWSLETTER

• Copyright Notice• FCCI- Limited permission to copy without altering text or

profiteering is granted subject to inclusion of this copyright notice. Copy is limited to member and/or FCCI small group use.

Unauthorized use of FCCI, Christ@Work, Crown Companies, their trademarks or logos is strictly prohibited.

• The “Facts of the Matter” is also available through the Internet: www.factsofthematter.org. R. Dwight Hill.

• Slides compiled by Dr Mario Denton. • Please commit yourself to inform us of the results regarding the

effectiveness thereof should you wish to use this material.

http://www.factsofthematter.org/



Let's keep the good marketplace vibes alive. Let's network.

Become a member of the Crown Companies Marketplace Coaching Forum.

Tel (w) + 27(0) 82 88 29903. e-mail address:[email protected]

Website: www.crown.org.za

Blessings from Mario Denton




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305 A Character