September 16, 2026

Business by the Book

Proverbs 12:27  The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.

Our nation was founded by people of ingenuity and resourcefulness. They could “make do” with what they had. If “necessity is the mother of invention” it is no wonder that Americans invented so many wonderful products. They had to. There was a time before Walmart, Ace Hardware, even Sears. There was a time when farmers, ranchers, and industrialists had to invent the products they needed and/or repair broken ones. These individuals were diligent and to them their substance was precious.

There many areas of life today that could be characterized by words like wasteful, careless, and even slothful. Put it in this context, at a great and plentiful Thanksgiving meal the food may be delicious, but not precious. It’s not precious in that there is plenty of food, an overabundance of food, too much food. Because there is so much food it could be wasted. We have all seen people who pile their plates up beyond the capacity of the plate only to throw some or most of it away. Because there is so much food it ceases to be precious. But a starving person eating a simple bologna sandwich will treat it as precious, making sure to safeguard every single bite.

Successful business people are resourceful. They are often times inventive. They are diligent. Of these an overriding characteristic is that they do not waste talent, time, treasure, or things. Everything they have at their disposal is maximized to its fullest capacity. In today’s extremely competitive business environment diligence, with all the promises it offers, may make the difference between success and failure.

You know those cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies that play each year. I love them. One of my favorites is called “The Christmas Card.”  The key family in this movie owns a saw mill somewhere in the northwest. Upon explaining the business to an outsider, the woman who is central in the story says: “If we didn’t use every bit of the tree (including the saw dust) we wouldn’t make a profit.”  Businesses of all sorts would do well to cultivate that mindset. “If we don’t squeeze every bit of possibility out of every resource that we have we will not make a profit.”  That, my friend, is a worthwhile corporate objective.

Dr. William Howe