Video Transcript: "Risk Management"

And this unit will be talking about risk management. First of all, we're called to  identify our exposure to risk. So what are the potential areas of your business,  whether it's the reputation of your business, or you've got too much debt, or  you've got a product that's faulty, whatever it is, all these different areas are  potential areas of risk that could create hazards, potentially even shutting down  your business. One lawsuit could shut down your business if you're not  protected. And so what does the Bible say about this, Matthew 10:16, Jesus  said, Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. So be shrewd as  serpents and innocent as doves. And so Jesus recognized that there's risk so  and especially in business as marketplace Christians who have been entrusted  with the things that God has and really, this is a holy, sacred matter, the things  that we've been entrusted with in business, again, are no less holy than any  responsibilities you've been entrusted with through your local church. And I  mean, really, you are an extension of your local church in the marketplace, and  there's risk involved, because we're out in the marketplace, you are coming in  contact with wolves. You are coming in contact with threats to the life of your  business. And so Jesus is saying, I'm sending you out of sheep in the midst of  wolves, so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. And so in this  particular unit, we're going to really focus on this, this aspect of being shrewd as  serpents and and understanding how that relates to risk management. And so  we need to make sure that we are covered, that we are careful, that we are  good stewards, that we are that we are protected, and that we have first of all,  identified the areas in our business where there may be potential risk exposure,  and that's what we're going to dive into in This unit. So one way that we can  minimize after we've identified the areas of exposure to risk in our business,  which, again, it could be you've got a product that is that that people are could  potentially be injured by, or you have people that or organizations that would  want to attack your company on social media to harm your reputation. There are all kinds of areas you could get sued by employees, disgruntled employees, as  a result of something that that happened while they were working. There maybe  just no fault of your own, just that they're just, they just have bad attitudes, and  they want to kind of misery loves, company, kind of a situation. So we're going to get into some ways that we can manage that those sorts of areas of risk. And so plan wisely. This is what the Bible says, And this is one way that we can manage the risks that are inevitable out in the marketplace. Jesus said, For which of you  desiring to build a tower does not first sit down and count the cost whether he  has enough to complete it. So potentially, there are areas of your business  where you need insurance, where if you were to get sued or that, you know,  somebody got hurt, or whatever the case is, and, I mean, you could potentially  lose everything without that insurance in place. And so this is just one way  planning and making sure that you're covered in these various areas, and  planning is a very godly thing. Isaiah 32:8 says, but the noble man devises 

noble plans, and by noble plans he stands. And so if you're an entrepreneur and you're thinking about launching out and you're working toward launching out on  a new startup or with a new invention. And these are all things that I'm involved  in as well. There. There are certain risks involved with that, and one of the ways  

that you can mitigate those risks is by planning and assessing the various  threats, the various things that could potentially if you just will plan. You will you  will just greatly minimize and you'll be ready whenever those challenges come,  whenever those adversities inevitably come. And people that have already gone  down that path, they can help you plan. They can't help you foresee everything.  But there are certain things, especially for those who have been down that path  more than once, they can help you anticipate some of those things are good that are going to happen, so that you can take the proper precautions and with risk  management, I would also encourage you to guard your reputation. Proverbs  22:1 says, a good name is to be more desired than great wealth. Favor is better  than silver and gold. So be proactive about guarding your company's reputation  and your personal reputation as a business leader, as a business manager, and  because your name, I mean, we're you need to be concerned about your  reputation, your branding. We talked about that in a previous unit on marketing,  because, again, we're trying to make disciples. This is what we're called to do.  And when your company, when people don't perceive that they are imitating  Christ, or if they are to imitate you, that they are imitating Christ and you're not  giving a good reflection, they ultimately will assume that that the body of Christ,  that Jesus just doesn't look very good, and they don't want what we have as  Christians, and so we need to be very concerned and making sure that we are  guarding our reputation. That involves responding to and being proactive about  customer complaints, and particularly when they show up in your in your inbox  or over the phone before they reach out to, you know, Facebook and start  posting nasty articles on Google and different things like that that start to really  tarnish the reputation. Because some people, they'll do it just, you know, out of  spite, you know, they'll, they'll, they'll, they just kind of live for that. And yet,  you're really not the only one that has had to, has had to suffer the  consequences of their own insecurity, where they just try to, you know, you work your whole, you know your family, you build a company with your your family,  and spend decades doing it, pouring your blood, sweat and tears into it, and  then somebody they just didn't like your product or something like that, now  they're just gonna go rip you to shreds on social media, and they couldn't care  less, because they never built anything, and they don't understand but and so  I'm not necessarily talking about those kinds of complaints, because some of  those people, you know, they have a work a term associated with them, they're  called trolls, and they're just kind of the ones that just live under the bridge, and  they try to just kind of nitpick it at people, because they don't have anything  better going on. But then you have other customers that have very legitimate 

complaints, and it is very important that you respond to those in a timely  manner, and that is one of your greatest opportunities to be remarkable to your  customers and to your clients, is in those moments, view those as opportunities, not as inconveniences, But as opportunities to really win over a client. And I've  had that happen many, many times in my company, where there was something  that maybe just didn't go exactly right, and that just presented an opportunity to  correct the situation, but then also to put in other measures that just really  wowed them. It's like, wow. They ended up and I ended up improving my  business significantly as a result of somebody voicing something that I just really never would have known about had they not expressed their their distaste for it,  or their complaint about how they had been served. And so also manage your  company's reputation on the internet. So Google your company, and don't do  this in a vain sort of a way to see, you know what kind of you know, just do it,  have the right heart about it, but monitor your company's reputation on the  internet. So if people are posting nasty things about you on the Better Business  Bureau website or on their Facebook page or wherever, make sure that you are  engaging with those comments, even if they're trolls. I mean, because that's out  there for everybody to see, and it's a sad thing, but people will be influenced by  what some of those trolls say, if there are enough of them, and that's also where you can really encourage your satisfied and happy customers to go on and  leave reviews for your company to help kind of balance out that ratio, because  when people see people at this point in the age of the internet, they understand  that some people are just going to troll every chance they get, and they're just  going to kind of try to tear down other companies and people that are doing  really make an impact in the world, and they feel like that's their way to make an  impact is just to kind of tear people down. But they don't. They just don't really  value your name. They couldn't value your good name, which is to be desired  more than great wealth. They just, they just couldn't care less. But you care, and you really should care, because you are reflecting the character of the Lord  Jesus Christ. Another way to manage your risk debt and making sure that you  are staying out of debt. The Bible says proverbs. In Proverbs 22:7, the rich rules  over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender's slave. So as a company,  you don't want your company becoming a slave to lenders, because that is  going to greatly restrict and inhibit the opportunities and the options that you  have as a company, when your cash flow gets tied up and having to repay  debts, and so don't use debt as a bailout. I mean, you really need to focus on  how to limit and reduce your expenses. I mean, just looking for any ways that  you can cut back and, more importantly, to increase revenue. You know, you  don't want your people to have this idea that, well, just because we're not really  doing the business now, we can expect to get laid off and be without jobs. That's just going to destroy morale. The real focus should be on, yes, managing costs,  but not cutting your cost to the bone, of cutting down on your people that 

depend on those jobs and that you need that morale. You need them to know  that this is a safe place to work and that their job is not that they don't have to  worry about whether they're going to be able to feed their family just because  the company isn't doing well, but really focus on ways that you can increase  

revenue. So while debt really shouldn't be used as a bailout, potentially debt  could be used to expand capacity, ideally, you'd be able to fund that with cash  flow. But sometimes some of those machines are just so incredibly expensive,  and some of those factories that the cash flow just isn't available when you  have, you know you have the demand. The demand has been there over a  certain period of time that's been sustainable. You know that demand isn't going  anywhere, at least for the foreseeable future, and then it may make good sense  to go ahead and invest in that, in that new machine, to expand your capacity.  Another way to manage your risk, for your company, is to diversify your assets  and diversify what you're doing in your company, Ecclesiastes 11:2, says, Give  portions to seven, yes, to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come  upon the land. So even though you're doing, I mean, I'm in the book publishing  industry, and so there, there have been a lot of threats to the printed books, and  so that's why I certainly need to make sure that we are that we are making sure  that our authors books are published as ebooks, and that we are understanding  And staying in tune with what's happening and the shifts in our industry, and  that's what enables us to innovate, because some of those industry changes are presenting a risk to your profitability, maybe not today, but a year down the road. And so there look for other opportunities, other profit centers and your business  that could potentially be used to increase revenue and but do it in a way that's  not going to compromise your brand. It could mean that you need to start  another brand. And that's been a strategy that's used by many very successful  companies. Is, you know, let's not necessarily try to have a one size fits all  brand, that everything just sort of comes up under that umbrella, but that we  would have a different brand for each different segment of the market and and  the different markets that we're trying to. Reach, and that's one way to diversify  your assets that might not necessarily mean that you need to develop those  brands in house. Sometimes the most efficient way to do that is to acquire new  businesses and new brands from outside of your company that still match your  company's culture, or that you can you at least agree on the essentials and that  you without totally doing away with that culture that made that company or that  brand so successful to begin with. And so to wrap up this unit on on risk  management, and they're going to be some other resources to go and dive into.  But wrapping up the lecture here, I would also say, regarding risk management,  to fear not. So, For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of set of a sound mind. So it's not as if we are out there all alone in the  marketplace trying to just survive, but that we are truly partnering with God in  business, because this is his mission. This is his business. We are not the 

masters. We are not the leaders. We are simply the stewards and the managers of what he entrusts to us in the marketplace, and all we have to do is just be  faithful with what He tells us to do with the resources that he puts into our hands and and he will. It's really going to be his responsibility to protect us, and so we  don't need to be fearful. We don't need to be timid, because that's not the kind of spirit we've been given, a spirit of power, of love and a sound mind. And the  Bible also tells us there's the wrong reference there that is not Isaiah 41:10, but  it's in Philippians actually, do not be anxious about anything, but in every  situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God,  and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your  hearts and your minds, and Christ, Jesus, And that is my prayer for you, and  may God continue to bless your business and help you to imitate him and reveal that image to the world around you in the marketplace,