Lessons Learned

There were several concepts that stood out to me in the talk given by Elder Gay in Entrepreneurship and Consecration:

·        Money is never a determining factor for peace, but the attitude toward money can bring peace

·        God gave man the challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished things

·        Pioneers use adversity as the pathway to accomplishment

·        1 in 10 companies that are doing what is ‘right’ fail (those who seek to maximize profit as top priority, don’t tend to last.  There must be more.)

·        Limited view when money is focus

·        Two purposes to business: to provide for basic needs and to provide for others

·        Talent of men, given by God, is to benefit the whole people, to uplift the masses and rescue them from poverty.

·        Singular priority, awaken among members the need to rescue

·        Leave comforts of home and go to the rescue, Lord is mindful of everyone.  Have I rescued anyone lately?

·        Charge of people of enterprise: let every man esteem his brother as himself

·        The only way to be prosperous in business, is to take care of the poor and needy, and be one.  Keep on the charge to esteem our brother as ourselves.

·        Engage in enterprises that are His will.

Questions and answers regarding, What is Business For?

• Based on what you read in the first two pages (pages 3 and 4), why are virtue and integrity so vital to an economy?
  
  Markets rely on rules and laws. When virtue and integrity are lacking in a market, the participants lose trust in each other. Virtue and integrity also keep greed in check, and when a market lacks these, it is every man for himself.
  
  
• According to Charles Handy, what is the “real justification” for the existence of businesses?
  
  Handy says that we think sometimes that business is meant to make money, but he argues that the real reason is much greater.  He says what it really is, is that a “group of people come together and exist as an institution which we call a company so that they are able to accomplish something collectively that they could not accomplish separately–they make a contribution to society a phrase which sounds trite but is fundamental….We hanker to leave a footprint in the sands of time…”
  
  
• What are two solutions proposed by Handy that you agree with? Why?
  
  One solution he offers is that we ought to measure outcomes for others as well as ourselves.  Does what we do provide solutions that help other people and not just line our own pockets?  I agree with this because I believe that the more generous we are with each other, the more the Lord is generous with us.  If we are selfless, we open the door for the blessings of heaven.
  
  Another solution he discusses is our need to have balance in life and not spend all our lives focused simply on our work, so that we forego all other pleasures of life.  I agree with this as well, and suggest that this is an issue of balance.  When we have balance in our lives, we are more capable, and less quick to burn out.