July 23, 2026

Business by the Book

I Chronicles 12:32 And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.

The sixth leadership trait that we see in the men who assembled to make David the King of Israel is that they had an understanding of the times.

Solomon, David’s son and successor to the throne, wrote the Bible book we call Ecclesiastes in which he stated: To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Then he goes on to record the famous list of times:  A time to be born, and a time to die:… This simple portion of Scripture (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) has taught wise people of every generation since its writing that there is definitely a time for everything under heaven.

Leaders have an understanding of the times. Followers may not, but leaders do. Knowing what time it is, and what should be done during that time, is an earmark of great leaders. Farmers know that you do not plant during the harvest, you harvest during the harvest and you plant during the planting season. Likewise, leaders know the time, they have an understanding of what time it is and they lead others accordingly.

Sometimes it is a time to press; sometimes it is a time to hold back. Sometimes it is a time for aggression; sometimes it is a time to be passive. In new organizations it may be a time to bend rules or policies or procedures. Mature businesses should not bend these for in doing so it may hinder the entire organization. Startup businesses are at a different time in the life span of a business therefore, they must perhaps enter into more risks, demonstrate more latitude with employees, or be more accommodating to customer demands. Established businesses with a solid customer base can be more conservative, stricter with employee matters, and more rigid concerning customer demands. Different stages of a business will necessitate different ways of carrying on that business. It depends on what time it is in the business life span.

I once knew a man who was starting a new business, a tree trimming business. He was good at what he did, but he was new in the business end of the tree trimming business. He asked me how to start with pricing. After learning how much capital he had, which was not a lot but sufficient, I told him to begin pricing very low, get as much business as he could. Then, as he became busier he should begin to increase the prices he quoted. Take the prices as high as the market would bear and begin to glean the jobs, pricing the easy jobs accordingly and the more difficult, less productive jobs at a very high rate. Thereby, if he got the easy job the profit would be substantial based on time spent on the job site. If he received the difficult job, there was enough profit in it to make it worthwhile. After about a year he told me that his prices had more than quadrupled and he was still turning business away. At the beginning it was a time to just get business, later it was a time to obtain profitable business.

What time is it in your business?

Dr. William Howe