| INTRODUCTION
When
I founded World Wide Technology, Inc., in 1990,
I wanted to run a company based on the teachings
of the Bible. Starting on a shoestring and personally
signing to borrow the much-needed capital made
this a high-risk venture, and I was well aware
of the high failure rate of highly leveraged start-up
companies. Even after nearly ten years of working
in sales for three established Fortune 500 companies,
as an entrepreneur I was a novice and as green
as they come. Despite that, I was certain I would
ultimately succeed. My confidence wasn't based
on a wealth of business acumen or a string of
successes under my belt. I felt this way due to
my unshakable faith in God. Having this faith,
I believed with all my heart and soul that he
would see me through.
At the time, many people thought that as an African-American,
I didn't belong in the world of high technology.
They resented my ambition and said I was in way
over my head. This attitude wasn't limited to
the white community; some of my most outspoken
critics were in the African-American community.
I grew up in Clinton, Missouri, a small town about
250 miles southwest of St. Louis. As a teenager,
I lived through the turbulent, racially tense
sixties. Looking back to my boyhood, I vividly
remember segregation--separate schools, sitting
in the balcony at the movie theater, being barred
from the public swimming pool, the for-whites-only
Wiley's Restaurant, and so on. The degradation
African-Americans endured in those days seemed
to occur in a different lifetime compared to when
I launched my company three decades later. Nonetheless,
there were still people who didn't relish an African-American
stepping on their turf. Still, so many positive
things had happened regarding race in America
since my youth, and there was no way I was going
to harbor negative feelings toward my detractors.
When I was a small boy, my mother warned me against
becoming bitter and resentful. “David, those feelings
are self-destructive and a waste of time,” she
cautioned me, always citing scripture to support
her comment.
I have been blessed to have a wonderful family--nurturing
parents and grandparents who enriched my life
with wholesome values. These hardworking, churchgoing
folks showered me with love and introduced me
to the Word of God. Although they had few material
possessions, they diligently taught me what was
really important--by example. Consequently, I
feel as if I inherited considerable wealth from
them. What's more, God blessed me with an exceptional
life partner, my wife, Thelma. Thelma has been
enormously supportive, and her unyielding commitment
to stand by me through thick and thin has been
a true inspiration. Her faith in the vision God
has given me is a great source of motivation.
Thelma demonstrates her faith in God by believing
in me. Bear in mind, she has no role in my business
but she knows it will succeed. I have an undying
need to make a difference in other people's lives--and
knowing Thelma recognizes this inspires me to
succeed because I don't want to disappoint her,
our children, David and Kim, or my extended family,
the men and women who work at World Wide Technology.
Looking back to 1990 and the many obstacles we
had to overcome, some people say we succeeded
against all odds. “It was nothing short
of a miracle,” I've been told. I concur,
but then when God is on your side, miracles happen.
And what happened to us can happen to you. On
what grounds do I make this statement? Because
the Word tells us so. Countless citations in the
Bible tell us we will be rewarded for adhering
to the Word of God. Throughout this book, I refer
to scripture to illustrate how this works. If
you believe in the Bible as I do, you will share
my belief that good things happen to those who
have faith. In Deuteronomy 7:12-13, it is written:
“If you heed these ordinances, by diligently
observing them, the LORD your God will maintain
with you the covenant loyalty that he swore to
your ancestors; he will love you, bless you, and
multiply you.”
The Bible tells us it takes faith coupled with
hard work to succeed and also imparts many valuable
lessons I have found applicable to working with
employees, vendors, and customers in ways that
assure prosperity. For instance, Jesus expounded
that we are here to serve others. His teachings
that we are put on this earth to love and serve
others are not idle words. They are not meant
to be spoken in church on Sunday but not practiced
in the workplace. There is no imaginary line that
separates my behavior in business from my private
life. Personally, I don't adhere to the belief
that “business is different,” and
that therefore a different code of ethics can
be applied.
On a lighter note, I'm reminded about the story
of a man who arrived at the Gates of Heaven. An
angel asked him to state his occupation. “I've
been a minister for forty-five years,” he
answered. The angel welcomed him into heaven and
led him to a modest house where he would be quartered
for eternity.
A second man approached the Gates of Heaven, stating
he had driven a taxi in New York City for the
past forty-two years. An accompanying angel took
him to a stately mansion to be his home for eternity.
The minister was upset to see the taxi driver
receive such a fine home while he did not. “I
was a minister and served the Lord for forty-five
years,” he exclaims to the angel. “And
he was a taxicab driver. There must be a mistake!”
“No,” replies the angel. “Around
here, we go by results. When you gave your sermons,
people slept. When he drove a taxi, people prayed.”
I also go by results, and I can attest that when
you do business by the Good Book, you get results.
It works like this: Adhering to the principle
of loving and caring for others, my company focuses
on providing the best value and service we possibly
can. Companies that do this are generally successful.
Likewise, we're interested in attracting and retaining
the right people. Once they come aboard, our objective
is to provide them with opportunities to succeed.
This is what gives me the most satisfaction. Nothing
is more rewarding to me than knowing that our
people are prospering and able to provide their
families with such things as fine educations and
new homes--all of which result from the leap of
faith we took when we began this company.
My company is also my ministry. It provides not
only an opportunity for me to conform to the lessons
from the Bible, but also a platform on which to
serve God by being his ambassador in the business
world. As 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “So we
are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making
his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf
of Christ, be reconciled to God.”Our pastor
at Union Memorial United Methodist Church, Dr.
Lynn Mims, has visited our company on several
occasions and knows this successful enterprise
is built on biblical teachings. In 1999, Dr. Mims
called me at my office and asked if we could get
Thelma at home to join us in a conference call.
When she joined us, Dr. Mims talked about a vision
God had given him. He said: “I want you
to take the principles you practice at your company,
and use them to conduct a Sunday school class
for businesspeople. When you do, others who follow
your lead can also prosper by doing good.”
Having been active church members for more than
twenty years, we wanted to support Dr. Mims and
our church. But due to our busy schedules, we
were concerned about making such a time-consuming,
long-term commitment. Our skepticism was merited--we
were already finding it difficult to get to church
on time, never mind committing to being there
promptly and prepared to diligently teach a class
every Sunday. “We'll have to pray on it,”
we told him.
That night, Thelma reminded me of what Jesus said
in Luke 12:48: “From everyone to whom much
has been given, much will be required; and from
the one to whom much has been entrusted, even
more will be demanded.” We prayed and God
showed us that this was what he wanted us to do.
In the morning, we called Dr. Mims to tell him
we were ready to start the Sunday school class
immediately.
Today, our class, Doing Business by the Book,
has been well received and attendance keeps climbing.
Forty-plus people come each Sunday, including
a wide range of businesspeople--some just starting
new companies, others successful business leaders.
Past and current governors of Missouri have attended;
other dignitaries have included U.S. senators,
U.S. congressmen, members of city and county councils,
and clergymen from other denominations. We encourage
class participation, and attendees frequently
give testimonies. In this open forum, attendees
receive counsel on how to apply business lessons
from the Bible and, in turn, prosper. Most important,
they understand the importance of learning the
Word of God and their responsibility to be an
ambassador of God. Thelma and I have totally submitted
ourselves to God, and class members know that
if they follow God's Word, he will energize them
too and they will prosper.
Our classes have been so well received, we want
to impart these lessons to everyone. I am reminded
of what Thelma recently advised a young woman:
“Give your full tithe to God because it's
not really yours. All of it belongs to him anyway.”
She then added, “Besides, he's only asking
for 10 percent of it.”
My wife and I feel we've been blessed so we can
become a blessing. The lessons we continue to
learn from the Bible make us prosper, and it's
our responsibility to share that blessing with
others. It isn't something we keep for ourselves.
It didn't belong to us. It was given to us. For
this reason, we share it freely with others. Our
popular Doing Business by the Book class is the
catalyst for writing this book. I want to share
what we have learned so you too may be blessed.
And when you are, it will be your turn to share
your blessings with others.
(Click
here to view this chapter in PDF.)
|
