January 21, 2026

Business by the Book

Genesis 11:6 … and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

Genesis 11:6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, …

To accomplish great things with any group of people that group needs to become one. It’s interesting that the very first group of people ever assembled was a marriage. Adam and Eve became a small group when God created them and put them in the Garden of Eden. Concerning this very first group the Lord said … and they shall be one flesh. Of a certainty a corporation, or a sports team, or a church, or a nation, can never be one in the same sense of a marriage. This is simply a statement of proof that being one is a priority.

There is no doubt that the Lord desired Israel to be one. One nation with Jehovah as its leader. Likewise, churches are to be one for oftentimes in the New Testament unity of spirit and thought in a church is promoted. This principle of oneness that is found in the three basic groups of society (home, nation, church) can also be found in successful businesses, civil groups, sports franchises, and schools of all levels.

A condition of oneness brings peace, unity, mutual acceptance, respect, and especially individual desire for the group as a whole to succeed. Being one is as difficult to obtain as it is easy to destroy. Develop a true sense of oneness and great things can be accomplished.

Oftentimes people resist being one with others because of a misconception of what it means to be one. Being one does not mean losing the individuality that makes a person unique. Quite the contrary! Being one is strengthened by each individual being strong in the areas in which they excel. When the Apostle Paul used the analogy of a church being a body he expertly taught that each member brings to that body a strength that body needs (I Corinthians 12). Great managers understand that people can be one and still maintain their own identity.

For example, my wife is an accountant. She sits in an office, the same office, every day doing something (I don’t really know what), but she arrives at work early, works all day in that office, which by the way is the quietest place on the planet. I could not do her job for any amount of money. Sitting in an office, the same office, seeing the same people, doing basically the same work every day is not for me. I’ve got to be out and about. Her strengths are different from my strengths but we are one.

Foster oneness by encouraging individuality. It sounds like a contradiction, but it’s not. Not everyone can be an accountant and not everyone can be a sales person. But when those who have individual talents become one, working together for the common success of both, that’s powerful.

Dr. William Howe