God in Business

We watch soccer. We often see the players - in a game that it is a religion-like already - making the sign of the christian cross.

The Muslim players prostrate in front of the Heaven to the One who made possible the goal

Soccer seems very rational. We think the good team always wins. But like life itself, we should believe in miracles. Rejected by Chelsea, Mo Sallah saw the end of his dream. He went on loan to Fiorentina, then Roma and finally Liverpool where his career was redeemed

In the new culture of business startups, like soccer, there is a new religion where the position of God is vacant. Even more than soccer. So we have to borrow him from our ingrained traditions.

Shall we invoke God in Business?

Yes, we should, even we do it when no one sees us, as Harvard or Stanford or as highly regarded doctors

This story appeared in Sacramento Bee, May 28, 2019

A twelve people physician private clinic in Paradise, California is completely destroyed in the deadliest fire on record. The homes of the 75% of the staff were burned to ashes, the clinic would not have resurfaced to life , if it had not been 

... for an extraordinary "God thing" that the doctor owner firmly believes was an answer to prayer

The agony of driving out of town, on bumper to bumper traffic and gas stations with no electricity, while their homes were still burning is nothing compared to the sense of irreversible loss'

Yes, the paradise clinic seemed lost forever. But an unexpected visit by the CEO of Blue Cross gave the Medical Group a gift (not a loan) of two million dollars with no strings attached. Adventist Health also offered a donation with no-strings-attached, so the payroll was covered ninety percent. It felt as lottery win

The key moment is when Paradise Medical Group started a more modern facility with a stability to think beyond the two or three weeks ahead.

The question is how we can make the best presence in both Chico and Paradise - the  cities are fifteen miles apart

Here is the current website 

Doctors praying

The doctors are praying too. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov says

When a person is sick, a monetary redemption is a pre-requisite of any cure. Only after the redemption has been made does the Torah give the doctor permission to cure.

The ransom of a soul, is rooted in a kabbalistic worldview. As its name suggests, the custom parallels pidyon hashvuyim, the ransoming of captives. As Jews must ransom fellow Jews who have fallen into captivity, so we sometimes feel that we must ransom our souls, when we feel that they are held captive by misfortune.

How to bring God on our side

From an older paper by John Butnam from HBS

1. What is my purpose? The more you want to help others, the greater the influence you will have.
2. Tell a story on how you use your idea. A story people love and stirs sentiments
3. How can people put my idea into practice?  The more people use an idea, the more they will believe in it.
4.  All the most successful idea entrepreneurs stand on the shoulders of giants, and usually say so. In fact, it’s important you don’t try to own your idea. When you give as much of it away as you can, people will be more — not less — likely to credit you.
5. Have awe of God, be humble, all inspiration is from Heaven