March 26, 2026

Business by the Book

Ruth 2:4 And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee.

My father was the vice president of sales and marketing for a subsidiary of a major oil service company. When I was in my mid-twenties I visited him at work one day. I was in town on business and wanted to spend some time with my dad. During our visit he was called out to the factory floor and I tagged along. I noticed something about my dad. He knew everyone by name. As we passed by each employee dad greeted them, he introduced me, and sometimes he teased them about something, or talked to them in a way as to indicate that they were having a long running conversation. He seemed to have a personal relationship with each employee even though sometimes he would only see them sporadically.

Boaz did the same thing in his day. He greeted the reapers of his field with a well-polished salutation. This …mighty man of wealth… took time to say hello to the workers of his field. No doubt he was checking on their wellbeing, surveying their work, and taking notice of anything that would be out of place, but most of all Boaz seemed especially interested in his workers being blessed.

You know, in every organization turmoil comes. It is inevitable. While difficulties cannot be eliminated some things can be done in order to minimize the effects of trouble. One of those things is to establish a good relationship with each person in the organization. And one of the things that goes a long way toward a good relationship is a warm, genuine, and sincere greeting. Boaz knew this, my dad knew this, and great leaders throughout the ages have known this.

Remember, a warm greeting leads to a warm reception. There are business owners and senior managers of businesses that fail to understand how important the rank and file workers are to the organization. They are vital to the overall success of any business. Get to know them, establish a relationship with them, learn to care about them, and good things will come your way. This all starts with a kind greeting.

Dr. William Howe