Sin in Stakeholders

Management must recognize the bias to sin—the inclination to think and act contrary to God’s standards—in all people and, therefore, in all stakeholders: owners, managers, workers, associates, suppliers, subcontractors, customers, and regulators. One way to detect the level of sin in anyone is to listen to what he or she says. Wise managers are good listeners and understand that to deliver excellent value requires stakeholders who are internally motivated to obey God’s standards, that is, people who are self-governing under God. The best way to build people who are self-governing under God is to build a culture of discipleship that empowers stakeholders to mature spiritually. For those stakeholders who refuse to be discipled, the only options are sin management or termination. Given that sin management never works well, termination is generally the best choice.