spark360 Behind the Scenes: The CEO Institute

Cliché demons, get thee behind me. I was strongly pulled toward using the well-worn phrase “practice what you preach” in relation to our spark360 profile on The CEO Institute, Lane Kramer’s Dallas-based business mentoring group that combines executive coaching with Biblical values.

But thankfully, there’s really no preaching involved here. Kramer is refreshingly stereotype-free when it comes to talking about how his Christian CEO peer group can help senior executives deal with growing their business in positive ways. That’s very important in these divisive times in our nation’s history.

Whether it’s journalism or content marketing, one must tread carefully when dealing with issues of faith – faith in personal lives, faith in the workplace. Discussing Christian faith integration in business plans can conjure up a lot of misconceptions and inaccuracies to those who might be skeptical about such things. And given these post-ironic times we live in, not to mention various past scandals involving those who claimed to judge lest they be judged, such skepticism waits right around the corner, ready to pounce.

Kramer is also aware of these attitudes. “We have to be careful about what claims we make,” he warns. “We don’t tell anybody that your business profitability is going to triple in the next 90 days. But essentially, if you take Biblical principles and apply them to a business, the business is going to perform better. The people will get along better, the employees will function as a more cohesive team, they’ll do a better job of taking care of the customer, and the result of all that is that the shareholders ultimately win.”

Makes sense from both a business perspective, and a “people” perspective. And it makes it easier for me to send clichés back to cliché hell where they belong.

- Renay San Miguel