Using things, Loving people (especially for marketing people)

Guys, just want to share with you this wonderful excerpt from Tony Campolo's book: "Everything You've Heard is Wrong". I hope that after reading this excerpt, you're going to have a different point of views in reaching people's need.

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In a sales conference sponsored by a large insurance corporation, the executives invited speakers of caliber to share their most successful marketing techniques. The crowd was all ears to the how's of setting up clients, of pushing the right motivational buttons, and of closing a deal while one is ahead. Supposedly the best marketing strategies, the formulas sounded more like techniques manipulating people.

Campolo himself was given the task of ending the day with a motivational talk that could psyche up the sales team to get the job done. He surpised everyone with his opening words, "Everything you've heard today is wrong!"

Disbelief ran across the faces of the company's executives.

Campolo said people are not things to be manipulated with the right techniques. People are not creatures to be used to further our own economic ends. People are sacred because the eternal God has chosen to make each one of them his home. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect.

Campolo went on to say that, far too frequently, we relate to people as though they were objects instead of subjects. People in the marketplace deserve something better. He continued, saying, "You don't have to manipulate people if you're selling something they really need. All you have to do is show them the seriousness of their need and then demonstrate that what you have to offer can meet that need."

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As for my reflection, Campolo couldn't be more right. We live in a secular world that concerns itself with nothing more important than meeting quotas and closing sales. We have considered these more pressing than meeting people's need.

While I believe in the importance of sales conference and seminars, these should not be held at the expense of making us emotionless, money-grabbing mercenaries out to manipulate innocent victims who happen to be the consumers.

During my lunch break at Asiatrust Bank. After I have eaten my lunch, I usually went to National Bookstore Crossings. As I walked passed by the "Business section" of the bookstore, I saw volumes of devoted books to techniques and schemes aimed at manipulating the customer into saying "YES" to that valued order are being displayed.

I wonder how many of our companies have already hired experts to talk about how customers can be manipulated. It's high time for us to get back to the basics.

The basics are the decent principles focused on meeting people's need. The money earned from this kind of deal is not mercenary's income. While this may mean a much lesser value, nothing can surpass the fulfillment and the joy of knowing we've done well in the eyes of men and God.

God's Word in PROVERBS 12:17 says, "A good man is known by his truthfulness; a false man by deceit and lies."

How would you like to be known?

Family Feud

Family Feud <----- Situations such as these can happen when God is not central in the family. If His Word does not wholly guide a family, expect that love for money will gradually creep in until money becomes their god. Eventually people are killed and destroyed by it.

The father, being the founder of a business, usually controls it. He goes on to assign specific duties within its operations to his children. When conflicts arise, they are resolved in the light of the father’s authority. Since all transactions revolve around the patriarch, trouble creeps in when he dies.

I’ve seen businesses crumble the moment this happens. It happened to some of my father’s friends. And it even happened to some of our relatives. The children start to fight bitterly over the spoils left to them. Some of these conflicts are never settled.

I’ve read some stories that had the same kind of situations in Francis Kong’s “The only real matters” book.

Leonard Sheon is the founder of U-Haul, which later became Amerco, a $1-billion revenue enterprise. He thought it wise to transfer the stocks, totaling 95% of the business, to this eight sons and five daughters while they were still young.

In 1986, two of them, Mark and Edward, seized control when they voted their father out. Sam, the eldest, quit after some time and the family split in two. Edward and Mark were running the firm while Leonard and Sam were suing to regain control. Stockholders’ meetings fumed into fistfights. As things became worse, the old man could only grieve and say, “I created a monster.”

Some conflicts are never settled. In 1924, Adi Dassler and his brother Rudolph opened a sporting goods company in Germany called Adidas. In 1948, they broke up after a bitter legal battle that led Rudolph to set up Puma. Since then, the two never spoke to each other again.

Today, Adidas is among the top companies in sporting goods while Puma trails not so far behind. Still the battle is on as the Dasslers avoid each other like the plague. In fact, this has contaminated the workforce. Adidas employees seldom, if not never at all, socialize with Puma workers.

It is always very sad when families are torn apart by the issue of money. Blood relations are too often ignored when power and control are sought. Children misread the values of diligence, hard work, and industry as clean and effective means of acquiring wealth and power. The focus is put on money, and no longer on the gratification and the nobility of doing one’s best in the work. Instead, the signal children get from hardworking parents is that there is nothing more important to life than earning money and gaining profit, all for the cause of a good and comfortable life. In turn, siblings compete for their father’s attention; they do everything they can only to get hold of the business. Almost too often, stories that go this direction end tragically. It is lamentable to see a once thriving business fold up, but more so around the breaking up of a family.

If you are a father reading this blog or soon to be a father and is in charge of a business, God’s Word says, “The Lord is our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. And you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” Deuteronomy6:4-7

Teach your children to love God above anything else. Their lives and their future-in fact, their eternal destiny- are far more important than your business. Teach them fear of the Lord, for no business school can do that. Only you can. If you do so, both your family and business will flourish.

Go and bring your family closer to God. That is the father’s main business.

Its better to give than to receive

In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts20:35

As we have our Bible study last night at our youngpro fellowship. This verse blown me very hard last night. It makes me realized that as a working professionals, we need to have a different point of view as treating our work as vocation instead of an occupation.

Firstly, let me give you the difference between OCCUPATION from VOCATION.

Occupation- the act or fact of occupying, or of taking or holding possession. the state of being employed or occupied.

Vocation- calling by God to his service in special work or in a special position, or to a state of salvation; a fitness for God's or other specified work.

Indeed God called us and put us in our workplace not just to serve as a dummy in our pre-occupied occupation but to give and contribute for the sake of good welfare in our workplace. Its not just about going everyday to work and waiting for the pay check. True work as vocation means working wholeheartedly, treating our work as a calling by God to us, giving our best at work and never thinking of how much to receive versus the workload that we produced.

We knew that we need salary for our livelihood but it should not be just our basis for our occupation. May wer treat our work as vocation.

Indeed Jesus Christ said "it is more blessed to give than to receive."

God bless.

My quality of a woman

This month is a "LOVE " month for most people especially those who had a girl/boyfriend. Many of my friends were asking bout my love life status. Well for me, by God's grace, I hope that I could find someone who has the ability of this:

"A woman who hides herself to GOD. So when time comes that man seek his woman; he should seek God first in order to find the woman he loves".

This statement has been my sort of qualification in considering the girl of my dreams.. by God's grace. =)

Advantages of life

Why is it some people born with many advantages in life? while some are very unfortunate? This thoughts has been lingering in my mind everytime I saw scavengers in the streets and begin to make comparison with my advantages that I have from them.

Each person born in this world have different status in life. Some born in a wealthy family, some born in a poor family, some born with broken family, some born with blessed family, etc. Indeed you ( yes you!the reader of this blog) and me are very fortunate for being born in this world with more advantages in life than them. But we should not spoil the advantages God designed for us. We should use it for His glory. Remember it is not bad to become rich or born rich, not bad to have a lot of money or possessions in life, as long as you are not controlled by them, for as long as you have the heart to share your blessings with others and for as long as you're using it for the glory of the one who's the giver of your advantages.. GOD

Unfortunately, many of the people in this world have such advantages in life but their not using it for the benefits of others. Some even abusing it by taking drugs, spending their money to gamble, some are using their advantages by coveting to adultery etc. In the book of Judges13, before the birth of Samson, the angel of the LORD told the mother of Samson that even if she is sterile, she'll conceive and have a son. The angel of the LORD have revealed that her son would have advantages. No razor will be used on his head, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines. Judges13:5 Fortunately, Samson born with advantages tag in his life. He had incredible strength that he only possessed. He is strong and very skilled Nazirite but he don't use it for good. He killed and shed many blood. He abused the advantages that God had gave him.

May the the story of Samson be a good example to start to reflect in our own lives. Evaluating our advantages that we already possessed since birth, making good use out of it and to bring glory to the one who's the giver of all gifts. May God receives all the glory from the advantages that he puts in us before we had born in this world. Godbless. (";)

Harry talk!

Its been a while since the 7th finale chapter of the Harry Potter book were out of the bookshelves. And today, most of my officemates were asking me if I had finished reading the book 7 of the Harry Potter series. Some even told me that they read each chapter thrice before jumping to the next chapter just to make sure that they understand the flow of the story clearly.

I was thinking and imagining that what if the book that my officemates were talking about is the Bible... the talk of the whole office, the one that they read thrice just to make sure that they understand it clearly before reading the next chapter. I hope and pray that the eagerness that they had in reading those Harry Potter books may one day shift to the Word of God. The Holy Bible

I pray that the devil may not win over those people who love reading those what I so called junk and witch books Harry Potter. Instead, may God's Word be introduce to them and may they have the same eagerness to learn and understand the Word of God.

Controlling emotions

I have a friend who have an emotional struggle at work. The problem is not about her work, but her struggle is her partner at work. Yep! She is quite in-love with her guy partner. They've been together everyday for almost 9hrs a day, and seven days a week including attending at the sunday worship service.

Her problem is not bout falling in-love with the wrong guy.. her problem is that she is not quite sure if that is love or not. First thing is that the guy is soooo much kind to her, a gentlemen and they are both growing as Christian. She is afraid that maybe she is just fun of the guy for being sooo kind to her and she is not sure if the guy also wants her or maybe the guy will reject her if she honestly tell it to him.

For my advice and point of view... Don't let your feelings control you. Instead, you should be in-control of your feelings. It's like anger. Of course you can control your angerness. If you let your anger control or swallow you, you will surely be defeated. You should always use your head/Wisdom and not heart cause heart is just mostly emotional. Pray to God, pray that you can discern and take hold of your feelings. I know that opposite sex attracts each other and its really possible specially in the case of my friend. But we should always look on the prons and cons first and be prayerful that thy Will be done.

Let us always focus on God's love as said on 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and let us always read our Bible and pray to God for wisdom everyday.
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" Psalm111:10 .

Mankind's step to doomsday!

Do you guys familiar about the Doomsday Clock? Which was created by these scientists at the University of Chicago after the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Japan to end World War II. Given the idea that mankind now had this ultimate destructive power, they were contemplating what the repercussions of this would be and the idea that the end of the world could be imminent. It is written in the Bible that the days are evil and so mankind! Remember that the Prince of this world "Satan" currently in his throne ruling us. (John14:30) And the knowledge and intelligence of mankind for their invention of such destructive device is obviously came from the otherside and not from God.

But being a Christian is an exception, because Christians are Christ centered and they have been born again with Christ. And instead of conforming into this world, with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells among Christians, they are under God's guidance and providence and He will not allow them (Christians) to be taken away from His grasp. Galatians2:20, John16:8-11, John10:29

I agree that as mankind progress from generations to generations became more intelligent and wise. But, they lack Wisdom that comes from the giver of all wisdom...that is from God. And their knowledge and intelligence about such things like the Doomsday clock and the capability of mankind to invent such destructive device is only a result of mankind turning into evilness from generations to generations.

I am thankful because I'm a Christian. Hope that in some way and somehow, each people will open their eyes and have the opportunity to know the truth.. the good news which is the Gospel of Christ. To be able to accept Christ as Savior. Indeed God will savour them with Wisdom to create and invent things that will give life to humanity..instead of destructions.