Overview

Make Your Business Purposeful and Profitable At its best, business is both purposeful and profitable, dynamic and gainful, commercial and rewarding. Far from being opposites, good business and good behavior go hand-in-hand, and biblical principles can align with best practices. In Wisdom-Based Business, marketing and supply-chain professor Hannah J. Stolze draws principles from the Bible's wisdom literature and from evidence-based research to create a framework for business that is oriented toward excellence and sustainability. This book addresses import issues such as: The virtue of profit Servant leadership Wisdom-based values, such as long-term over short-term, stakeholders, and quality Beneficial outcomes of wisdom-based business, including reputation and comparative advantage The ultimate outcome of eternal impact Intended for business students and working professionals alike, Wisdom-Based Business demonstrates how to pursue profitability to the honor and glory of God. Unique among Christian books on business, it helps readers make the right decisions in business by presenting: Biblical Principles. Drawing upon the Bible's wisdom literature, each topic addressed is undergirded by insights from Scripture. Evidence-Based Research. Recommendations are thoroughly grounded in the best and latest research in the field. Case Studies: Each chapter demonstrates how the principles can be lived out in the real world, amid the inevitable challenges and competition all business confronts.  Any Christian who works in the marketplace or is training to work in the marketplace will benefit from Wisdom-Based Business' practical guidance on how to reflect Christian values in their corporate tasks and strategies--and on how those values can be not hindrances but keys to success.

Full Product Details

9780310107286

Table of Contents

Reviews

'In Wisdom-Based Business, Stolze brilliantly connects winning business practices to biblical truths. She leverages academic research and thoughtfully curated business cases to prove that business leaders can simultaneously pursue--and achieve--both profit and purpose. A must-read for all business leaders who strive to honor God in their calling.' * <b> KRISTIN COLBER-BAKER, global head, talent development, Mars, Inc </b> * 'More than ever, this generation of business students and experienced professionals want to connect their work with the deeper purpose of human and societal flourishing. Where is wisdom found that can provide such elemental guidance? This ground-breaking book from Professor Hannah Stolze, anchored in her thorough grasp of management research and coupled with her deep dive into Old Testament wisdom literature, provides just such new and exciting possibilities for business and business professionals. As you follow the author's intriguing story of discovery, Wisdom-Based Business reveals to the reader a business model grounded in evidence-based business research yet revealed clearly in an ancient Old Testament poem. This is the book that, if followed, has the potential of influencing and guiding Christians in business for decades to come.' * <b> GARY LINDBLAD, dean, Crowell School of Business, Biola University </b> * 'In Wisdom-Based Business, Hannah Stolze takes the integration of Christian faith and business to an unprecedented level of depth and precision. With impeccable exegetical rigor, she mines the wealth of practical business wisdom in the Bible, overlooked and overspiritualized since the dawn of the industrial revolution. She begins by recognizing, correctly, that the business woman of Proverbs 31 is actually a business woman, not a metaphor for wifely domesticity, and then proceeds to uncover passage after passage about business, hidden in plain sight. But what does this abundance of biblical wisdom mean in a world of data-driven management? As a professor of logistics, Stolze's knows this world cold, and she demonstrates how the biblical material undergirds, enriches, and, at times, challenges twentyfirst century empirical management science and practice. A lot in contemporary business is not godly, but it could be. Business can--and should--be a preeminent mission for people of faith seeking to make the world a make better place. Wisdom-Based Business shows how.' * <b> WILL MESSENGER, chief editor, Theology of Work </b> * 'In Wisdom-Based Business, Dr. Hannah Stolze first takes us to Proverbs and specifically Proverbs 31 with particular emphasis on verses 10-31 (the Noble Woman), which 'captures a woman who is leading a global company in ancient Israel to the benefit of everyone with whom she interacts.' In a scholarly way, she takes us into other passages of Old Testament scriptures to support the premise that 'all work can be a form of worship to God and service to others.' Stolze then takes us through eleven 'case studies' that solidify biblical teachings on how we should, as God's people, conduct business. In each case study, we better understand how we can take our faith into the workplace. Each case study introduces companies and their leaders who have exemplified one or more tenants of our Christian faith. Each chapter concludes with questions to help reinforce the lesson taught and to be learned. Wisdom-Based Business holds together well in its entirety, but each chapter also stands alone. I particularly enjoyed and found beneficial chapters on the 'Virtue of Profit,' the 'Foundation of Servant Leadership,' 'Supply Chain Orientation,' and 'Comparative Advantage.' Wisdom-Based Business is a challenging read, but Stolze's writing style quickly absorbs the reader into each chapter.' * <b> PHILIP M. PFEFFER, president and CEO of Treemont Capital, Inc., retired president of Random House, Inc </b> * 'Dr. Hannah Stolze serves as codirector of Wheaton's Center for Faith and Innovation--a place for top Christian executives to strengthen their marketplace leadership by examining best practices, reflect on biblical principles, and enjoy cutting-edge research. This rare combination of Christian conviction, business acumen, and academic rigor is on full display in Stolze's new book, Wisdom-Based Business. Readers will profit by gaining a more biblical and more practical understanding of what it means to do business for the glory of God.' * <b> PHILLIP RYKEN, president, Wheaton College </b> * 'Wisdom-Based Business is a needed invitation and illustration of the adventure for followers of Jesus to shatter the daylight between faith and vocation, sacred and secular, and to experience the wisdom of God prevail across all domains of life, including the heart of industry. Hannah Stolze's passionate curiosity of the intersection of faith and industry--particularly heavy industry, rigorous supplychain-intensive enterprises--is a needed advancement of the discussion about faith and work from the academy to the boardroom. I pray readers will be moved to pursue great business, greater purpose, and integrated faithfulness from the spurring of this book!' * <b> MIKE SHARROW, CEO, C12 Group </b> *

'Dr. Hannah Stolze serves as codirector of Wheaton's Center for Faith and Innovation--a place for top Christian executives to strengthen their marketplace leadership by examining best practices, reflect on biblical principles, and enjoy cutting-edge research. This rare combination of Christian conviction, business acumen, and academic rigor is on full display in Stolze's new book, Wisdom-Based Business. Readers will profit by gaining a more biblical and more practical understanding of what it means to do business for the glory of God.' * <b> PHILLIP RYKEN, president, Wheaton College </b> * 'In Wisdom-Based Business, Dr. Hannah Stolze first takes us to Proverbs and specifically Proverbs 31 with particular emphasis on verses 10-31 (the Noble Woman), which 'captures a woman who is leading a global company in ancient Israel to the benefit of everyone with whom she interacts.' In a scholarly way, she takes us into other passages of Old Testament scriptures to support the premise that 'all work can be a form of worship to God and service to others.' Stolze then takes us through eleven 'case studies' that solidify biblical teachings on how we should, as God's people, conduct business. In each case study, we better understand how we can take our faith into the workplace. Each case study introduces companies and their leaders who have exemplified one or more tenants of our Christian faith. Each chapter concludes with questions to help reinforce the lesson taught and to be learned. Wisdom-Based Business holds together well in its entirety, but each chapter also stands alone. I particularly enjoyed and found beneficial chapters on the 'Virtue of Profit,' the 'Foundation of Servant Leadership,' 'Supply Chain Orientation,' and 'Comparative Advantage.' Wisdom-Based Business is a challenging read, but Stolze's writing style quickly absorbs the reader into each chapter.' * <b> PHILIP M. PFEFFER, president and CEO of Treemont Capital, Inc., retired president of Random House, Inc </b> * 'In Wisdom-Based Business, Hannah Stolze takes the integration of Christian faith and business to an unprecedented level of depth and precision. With impeccable exegetical rigor, she mines the wealth of practical business wisdom in the Bible, overlooked and overspiritualized since the dawn of the industrial revolution. She begins by recognizing, correctly, that the business woman of Proverbs 31 is actually a business woman, not a metaphor for wifely domesticity, and then proceeds to uncover passage after passage about business, hidden in plain sight. But what does this abundance of biblical wisdom mean in a world of data-driven management? As a professor of logistics, Stolze's knows this world cold, and she demonstrates how the biblical material undergirds, enriches, and, at times, challenges twentyfirst century empirical management science and practice. A lot in contemporary business is not godly, but it could be. Business can--and should--be a preeminent mission for people of faith seeking to make the world a make better place. Wisdom-Based Business shows how.' * <b> WILL MESSENGER, chief editor, Theology of Work </b> * 'In Wisdom-Based Business, Stolze brilliantly connects winning business practices to biblical truths. She leverages academic research and thoughtfully curated business cases to prove that business leaders can simultaneously pursue--and achieve--both profit and purpose. A must-read for all business leaders who strive to honor God in their calling.' * <b> KRISTIN COLBER-BAKER, global head, talent development, Mars, Inc </b> * 'More than ever, this generation of business students and experienced professionals want to connect their work with the deeper purpose of human and societal flourishing. Where is wisdom found that can provide such elemental guidance? This ground-breaking book from Professor Hannah Stolze, anchored in her thorough grasp of management research and coupled with her deep dive into Old Testament wisdom literature, provides just such new and exciting possibilities for business and business professionals. As you follow the author's intriguing story of discovery, Wisdom-Based Business reveals to the reader a business model grounded in evidence-based business research yet revealed clearly in an ancient Old Testament poem. This is the book that, if followed, has the potential of influencing and guiding Christians in business for decades to come.' * <b> GARY LINDBLAD, dean, Crowell School of Business, Biola University </b> * 'Wisdom-Based Business is a needed invitation and illustration of the adventure for followers of Jesus to shatter the daylight between faith and vocation, sacred and secular, and to experience the wisdom of God prevail across all domains of life, including the heart of industry. Hannah Stolze's passionate curiosity of the intersection of faith and industry--particularly heavy industry, rigorous supplychain-intensive enterprises--is a needed advancement of the discussion about faith and work from the academy to the boardroom. I pray readers will be moved to pursue great business, greater purpose, and integrated faithfulness from the spurring of this book!' * <b> MIKE SHARROW, CEO, C12 Group </b> *

Author Information

"Hannah J. Stolze (PhD in Business Administration, University of Tennessee; MA, Wheaton College) is associate professor of marketing and supply chain management at Wheaton College. A former member of the U.S. Army, where she served as an import specialist, Stolze has for the past ten years researched more than 40 companies in the areas of global supply chain management and social and environmental sustainability. C. William Pollard joined ServiceMaster in 1977 and has served not once but twice as its CEO. His first term as CEO was from 1983 to 1993, a period characterized by major change, including the introduction and growth of the company''''s consumer group. In 1999, Bill returned as CEO and served for sixteen months until the process of electing his successor was completed. During his leadership, ServiceMaster was recognized by Fortune magazine as the #1 service company among the Fortune 500. ServiceMaster was also identified as a ""star of the future"" by the Wall Street Journal and recognized by the Financial Times as one of the most respected companies in the world. In 2004, Pollard received the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Business Ethics at Notre Dame."

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