The Marketplace Magazine January/February 2024

Where Christian faith gets down to business

January February 2024

MEDA at 70: Convention looks at past, present & future MEDA urged to tell its story boldly Sustainable agriculture in Africa Mennonite World Conference calls for more MEDAs Mennonites and Paraguay’s economy

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The Marketplace January February 2024

Roadside stand

Conversations are underway about international MEDA hubs César Garcia, Mennonite World conference general secretary, paid a strong compliment to MEDA at the organization’s annual convention in November.

MEDA’s efforts to create business solutions to poverty are so effective and important that the organization should work with churches in the Global South to create more MEDAs, he said. (See story, page 15).

That would certainly be consistent with MEDA’s strategic goal of achieving a North-South balance by shifting power to the Global South.

Mennonites in Paraguay seem ready to respond to that call. (See story pgs. 16-17) Werner Franz, another speaker at the convention, says MEDA Paraguay is open to discussions about working with MEDA as a partner rather than a client.

Another country that has been discussed recently as a possible site for new partnerships is Indonesia. A group of Indonesian businesspeople may visit the Philippines in the spring to see MEDA’s RISSA (Resilience and Inclusion through Investment for Sustainable Agriculture) project. Sunoko Lin The RISSA project focuses on the cacao value chain.

Sunoko Lin, a Los Angeles businessman with Indonesian Follow The Marketplace on Twitter @MarketplaceMEDA

The Marketplace January February 2024

roots who recently joined MEDA’s international board, will take part in that visit.

Nofziger recalls. Many of the loans were “$50 or $100, but to them, that’s the big dollars back in that day, and especially for Aid to Indonesian Indonesia.” entrepreneurs Projects included MEDA had a businesses such as a partnership bike shop, a computer with Indonesian shop, and street food entrepreneurs vendors, he said. beginning in the late Ten years later, 1990s, says Myrl Loewen and Nofziger Nofziger, a member of arranged a 10-day MEDA’s international trip to Indonesia with board. several MEDA members The relationship to see the impact came about due to the of these continuing efforts of Melvin J. efforts. The world was Myrl Nofziger Loewen, who died in dealing with the shocks September. of major bank failures in 2008.

Loewen, a member of the At some point, the Michiana MEDA board for five years in the (Goshen, Indiana) area MEDA 1990s, worked with the World hub board paid out Loewen Bank from 1970 until 1990. Around and Nofziger and took over 1998, he became aware of the responsibility for the loan project. needs of Indonesian Lending through HUPMI entrepreneurs, who continued through the 2020 were struggling due to pandemic. In 2021, the Michiana an economic crisis in board, which was reorganizing, that country. informed HUPMI that it would He convinced forgive any remaining loan balance Nofziger that they or interest. The remaining fund should each lend balance was used to provide $5,000 US to a group student loans. associated with Mennonite churches Wisdom from Wally in Indonesia. A Wally Kroeker, longtime editor new entity, HUPMI, of this magazine, was unable to the organization attend MEDA’s convention in of Mennonite November but sent along a written Business People reflection that was read at the and Professionals in opening evening session.

Indonesia, oversaw a fund that Here is a perceptive closing made loans to small businesses. comment from that reflection.

A 13-member group of “A good question for all of us to Indonesians provided HUPMI with ask, one longtime (MEDA) member a matching amount of money for said, is ‘What do you think God the loan fund. had in mind when creating you?’

Borrowers paid the going rate Many found the answer to that of interest on time without fail, question at MEDA.”

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In this issue

Features

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A new ally

Ahmed Hussen, Canada’s Minister of International Development, pledges support for MEDA’s work.

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Towards greater impact

MEDA needs to share what it has learned and promote the future it wants to see in the countries where it works, panelists at a MEDA convention seminar say.

A convention panel explored innovation and leadership in international development.

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For the love of neighbor

Mennonite World Conference’s César Garcia wants to see MEDA work with churches around the world to create similar organizations. For him, that’s an expression of the Golden Rule.

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Mennonites in Paraguay

While only a small part of the population, they play a large role in their country’s economic development.

Shorter good reads 22 Roadside stand 24 Soul Enterprise 22 Books in brief 3

The Marketplace January February 2024

Soul Enterp prise

The Emotional Journey of the Entrepreneur

by Jeff Haanen At some point in our entrepreneurial journeys, we need to not only ask What am I accomplishing? but instead, Who am I becoming?

I spent 10 years building an organization I truly loved, from the early founding days in an office by myself to an exit and transition to new executive leadership. After I was finished, I realized, however, that the journey took an emotional toll. The process of entrepreneurship had changed me emotionally and spiritually.

As I shared my story with friends and other founders — and listened to theirs — I found that entrepreneurs often experience four phases in their spiritual and emotional journeys.

The first phase is the launch.

This is fun.

Entrepreneurship at its inception is filled with casting vision, convening investors, building a product, growing a team, iterating a prototype, raising capital, and seeing your dream become a reality. Customers, employees, and revenue all materialize, it feels, from an entrepreneur’s wild idea. The overriding emotion here is exhilaration.

The second phase is trial. This is much harder than I thought. Now, the entrepreneur experiences real difficulty. The product line doesn’t fly; capital begins to dry up; employees quit; investors start The Marketplace January February 2024

Ray Dirks illustration

pressing for outcomes.

At this point, the entrepreneur doubles down and works twice as hard. Stress becomes as normal as breathing, and many times, it’s here that entrepreneurs develop unhealthy habits to cope. The overriding emotion now is anxiety.

The third stage is divergence.

Can I really keep this up? At this point, the organization has reached some kind of scale, and many entrepreneurs experience a divergence between their external and internal lives.

Externally, they project confidence to investors, employees, and customers. “We can do it!” they say. We have to. Internally, however, they face real doubt. They’re not sure if the company will survive.

And though their community has placed the entrepreneur on a social pedestal, they now seriously doubt their own gifting. They genuinely wonder if they can 4

make the transition from founder/ entrepreneur to CEO/manager.

And they feel trapped because they’ve made promises that they now must keep, though they don’t know if they can.

This phase is the most dangerous because here the entrepreneur gets used to being two different people: the confident, risk-taking, leader in the spotlight, and the chaotic, uncertain, stressed, frustrated, even fearful individual who wakes up at 4 a.m. solving problems. Sometimes entrepreneurs here start to believe their own legend and disconnect from reality.

This is when friendships and family relationships begin to suffer. They also can be drawn into the fast-paced speed of entrepreneurship, and find it difficult, if not impossible, to slow down, rest, and truly pay attention to others. The emotion in the

divergence phase is doubt. Not far behind is often shame, knowing there’s now duplicity buried in their character.

The fourth phase is reckoning.

Who am I becoming? is the question that quietly rumbles under the surface. Generally, before or during an exit (deciding to sell the business), the question of burnout arises.

They look for a way out. After putting so much into their business, they often ask daunting questions.

What have I sacrificed? What habits have I developed? What is worth it? Did I demand too much from

others? Will they love me when I’m gone? Who have I become?

Externally, people wonder why the now-wealthy entrepreneurs who’ve sold their businesses aren’t ecstatic. They lived the entrepreneurial dream. But internally, they often feel lost. Am I now better off than when I started?

What will I do next? Who am I if I’m not leading this business?

Our work forms us — and deforms us. Of course, not all entrepreneurs experience these four phases. But I’d argue most do. We might ask ourselves: How might a relationship with God influence the

A blessing for a couple transitioning the family business

by Lance Woodbury Starting your life together, full of promise You began to build a business Unsure of how the story would unfold You trusted in your determination and God’s providence.

In those days happiness found you Even amidst the struggle of a start-up Raising your children in a culture of commerce No boundaries between life and work and family You settled into your roles and the company grew Your kids-becoming-adults contemplated their return (so quickly!)

And you heard the faint signal, a call toward the future Pointing to this day — when stepping away — would be expected.

This transition is difficult; it isn’t just to a different role But to a new way of being present with your family To a new way of relating as a couple And it often feels fraught with frustration and false starts As you navigate the handoff of the family business, may God bless both of you with The courage to let go of that which you’ve controlled for decades The insight to recognize new and emerging directions The time to rethink and rediscover the next chapter of your life’s purpose And the skill to reframe your best contribution to your family’s business May God especially grant you and your spouse the ability to redefine your relationship and recommit to your future, and thereby bless you with a renewal of your life together.

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Lance Woodbury has worked with families on business transitions in the US for almost three decades.

You can read more of his work at lancewoodbury.com, including subscribing to his free weekly newsletter. Reprinted with permission.

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emotional and spiritual journeys of entrepreneurs?

And secondly, What practices might help entrepreneurs lead more emotionally and spiritually healthy work lives?

But for now, we need to acknowledge that entrepreneurs don’t just change the world; they themselves are being changed by the world around them. This move toward self-awareness is the first step toward living healthier emotional and spiritual lives as entrepreneurs.

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Jeff Haanen is a writer, entrepreneur, and the founder of Denver Institute for Faith & Work.

Volume 54, Issue 1 January February 2024

The Marketplace (ISSN 0199-7130) is published bi-monthly by Mennonite Economic Development Associates at 532 North Oliver Road, Newton, KS 67114. Periodicals postage paid at Newton, KS 67114.

Lithographed in U.S.A. Copyright 2023 by MEDA. Editor: Mike Strathdee Design: Ray Dirks

Postmaster: Send address changes to The Marketplace 33 N Market St., Suite 400, Lancaster, PA 17603-3805 Change of address should be sent to Mennonite Economic Development Associates, 33 N Market St., Suite 400, Lancaster, PA 17603-3805.

To e-mail an address change, subscription request or anything else relating to delivery of the magazine, please contact subscription@meda.org For story ideas, comments or other editorial matters, email mstrathdee@meda.org or call (800) 665-7026, ext. 705.

Subscriptions: $35/year; $55/two years.

Published by Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA). MEDA’s economic development work in the Global South creates business solutions to poverty. MEDA also facilitates the connection of faith and work through discussions, publications and conventions for participants.

For more information about MEDA call 1-800-665-7026.

Web site www.meda.org Want to see back issues or reread older articles?

Visit https://www.meda.org/download-issues/ The Marketplace is printed on Rolland Enviro® Satin and is made with 100% post-consumer sustainable fiber content, FSC® Certified to help meet client sustainability requirements, Acid Free, Elemental Chlorine Free

Cover photos by Michael Swan

The Marketplace January February 2024

Cultivating dreams, empowering communities Convention speakers tell stories of MEDA’s impact, in North America and abroad The opening session of MEDA’s 70th-anniversary celebration convention was entitled Cultivating Dreams, Empowering Communities. Robert Shuh, an Ontario entrepreneur who co-hosted the session with his wife, Lisa, noted that 2.6 million direct clients have benefited from MEDA’s projects and investments over the past seven decades. He cited a development industry estimate that the benefits of such work are multiplied 10-fold once the impact on children, the creation of decent work, and the surrounding community are tallied. That leads to the conclusion that 26 million lives have been positively impacted by MEDA’s work.

The Shuhs structured the evening as a party where a series of guests reflected on significant aspects of their association with MEDA. What follows is a selection of some of these anecdotes.

Photos by Michael Swan

Mary Fehr watches as Asrat Gebre holds up an Ethiopian cross.

A ticket to heaven Asrat Gebre was first a volunteer and then the first employee of MEDA’s work in Ethiopia. In 1969, those efforts included a cloth shop, a tailor shop, a drug store, and an agricultural project.

Gebre’s responsibilities included The Marketplace January February 2024

supervising those initiatives and assessing the credit needs of smallscale farmers.

Working with women in a culture that had rigid gender roles posed some challenges.

“Initially, we worked with men,” he said. “It didn’t really work. When 6

we started working with women, we got our ticket to heaven.”

“The question was not equality, it was complementarity. And we found out, on the ground level, that women were better entrepreneurs.”

“They did not become better because they were women; it was because they were caring.”

Happiness from serving others Ohio businessman Dan Sauder grew up hearing stories about MEDA from his grandfather Erie, who was one of the organization’s founders.

Erie Sauder made 18 trips to Paraguay over 30 years, Dan said. The last half of those trips were to work with indigenous people, teaching them banking and finance, “teaching them to have their own businesses also.”

At one point Erie was working in a woodshop in Paraguay’s Chaco region, when two indigenous visitors came to the door, shyly saying that they wanted to see the “MEDA man.”

When Erie Sauder introduced himself, the visitors took off their hats, bowed and said thank you.

Although Erie Sauder started Sauder Woodworking, a 2,000 employee, $600 million business, he said that the most rewarding thing he did in his life was working with those Paraguayans, Dan Sauder recalls. “That’s when it hit me: happiness in life doesn’t

Dan Sauder

come from things or (success in) business. It comes from serving others.”

Dan Sauder says his involvement with MEDA “has really shaped who I am as a businessperson.”

Networking with other Christian businesspeople helps him to “solidify who I am, and how I am, and how I want to run my business.

“My why for being in business now is — everybody matters.”

Sharing with the next generation Michelle Horning heads Goshen College’s business department.

She attended her first MEDA convention in 1990, as a senior in college. MEDA staffer Joyce Bontrager asked her to go to

Michelle Horning

Uganda for a week as part of a short project. That visit gave her a deeper understanding of MEDA’s work. Horning eventually served nine years on MEDA’s board.

Her academic role includes supporting Goshen students, some of whom attend MEDA conventions. “We want to help them understand that business has the potential to be a force for good, and to see everyone as a person who matters,” she said.

MEDA helps Goshen achieve this goal through its conventions, guest speakers and The Marketplace magazine, she said.

Empowering Kenyan farmers

counts in the end."

Working with MEDA also helped Vert to see bigger opportunities. The company saw mangos going to waste on their farmer suppliers’ plots.

As a business, Vert was also concerned about over-reliance on European markets. The need to diversify led Vert to get into pulping, turning mango pulp into preserves that it could sell to juice processors in Kenya and abroad. “That meant another revenue stream, both for the farmers and for Vert.”

From there, Vert next decided to get into the business of dried mangos.

Jane Maina heads Vert, a Kenyan business that works with 5,000 farmers and exports vegetables to the European Union. Vert was incorporated as a small family business in 2000.

In 2016, the company was the first lead firm partner of MEDA’s M-SAWA (equitable prosperity) Jane Maina heads a Kenyan firm that works with 5,000 small-scale farmers. project.

A new view of money Many small-scale Kenyan Early in David Boshart’s pastoral farmers own two acres of land or career, he preached a number less, she said. They have chickens, of sermons pointing fingers at a cow, and vegetables grown for people who “pursue wealth, build export on these small plots. “They businesses, and try to make a lot of also have to grow the food they eat money.” in the same plot.”

But he ended up chairing the MEDA’s support helped Vert Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical teach these farmers to comply with Seminary (AMBS) board as it began food safety standards, including a $20 million fundraising campaign training and audits. Maina to build a new library and some expressed gratitude for MEDA’s other projects. “I met some work and assured the audience amazing people who changed my that “whatever you are doing is way of thinking and changed my reaching the intended beneficiaries. way of being a pastor ever after.”

That is the job that you have been Boshart, who is AMBS’s current given, to ensure that what you do 7

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David Boshart

president, described that campaign as “a transforming experience for me, to journey with those people.”

“They had sat through their fair share of soul-crushing sermons by pastors who talked about people who pursue wealth or build businesses. And yet they remained deeply committed to the church, to Jesus, and they wanted to share their wealth in a way that would serve the Kingdom of God.” The lesson for Boshart was that “there is a spiritual vocation in business.”

Understanding the value of entrepreneurship strengthened Boshart’s affinity for MEDA supporters.

His gift to MEDA was some of his old sermon notes. He held up a stack of torn-up pages, to much laughter from the audience.

Learning to dream bigger Mary Fehr worked as an impact assessment intern with a MEDA project in Tanzania right after graduating from college.

During that experience, she was convinced by Sarah French — another intern, and later a resource development staffer at MEDA — to The Marketplace January February 2024

bike across Canada when they returned home, to raise money for MEDA. Their original fundraising goal was $1 a kilometer each, for a total of $16,000.

MEDA encouraged them to dream bigger, and subsequent goals of $100,000 and $150,000 were surpassed. They eventually raised $323,000.

That encouragement had an impact on Fehr. “I took that with me in life. Every opportunity has come out of another one.”

MEDA’s encouragement for her to dream bigger led her down a path to where she is vice-president of UniFab, a Leamington, Ontario, metal fabricating company. She is now working to take over the family business from her father, Abe. Not everything went smoothly during Fehr’s Tanzanian internship.

She saw some of the fraud that can happen in a development project and MEDA’s transparency in dealing with the situation.

“In that moment, I truly fell in love with MEDA the way they handled it. Everything they did was so honest, and they were so open.

“At that moment, I decided this was an organization that I wanted to continue to be part of.”

A lasting impact in Russia Art DeFehr’s father was an early MEDA participant.

In 1989, Art DeFehr became involved in an exploratory trip to the Soviet Union, where momentous changes were taking place. MEDA served as the umbrella group for the venture.

“Under perestroika, there was space for entrepreneurship, and the Soviet Christian community was engaging in these experiments,” 8

recalls DeFehr, a retired Manitoba businessman.

He was involved in organizing four Soviet-wide conferences on business and ethics from a Christian perspective. The response was overwhelming, and people came from all over the Soviet Union, he said.

Those meetings resulted in the formation of an association of Christians in business that continues today. Others had the idea to start Christian camps.

“Hundreds of these camps in Ukraine are now operating a refuge for people on the move.”

The most consequential outcome of the four conferences was the creation of LCC in Lithuania, a fully accredited, liberal arts Christian university with over 700 students.

Art DeFehr

Other results of MEDA’s influence were the introduction of new forms of agriculture to the steppes of Siberia and Kazakhstan, “which had dramatic results,” and the building of an agricultural equipment factory in Siberia.

MEDA even opened an office in Moscow for a time in the 1990s.

“There were many disappointments and some successes. … It was a great experience.”

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A greater focus on economic development?

Canada’s Minister of International Development pledges support for MEDA’s efforts

Michael Swan photo

Organizations such as MEDA and the peace came. are permanently out of poverty.” the Mennonite Central Committee “This person, who was educated Canada needs to do that by are making lasting impact

by MCC, wrote the first federal being deliberate with its interworldwide, Canada’s Minister of constitution of Somalia,” he said. national development dollars and International Development says.

Since becoming minister of by leveraging private sector dollars, “The work that you do may have international development last “something MEDA was doing way multiple and multiple effects, over so summer, Hussen said he has ahead of its time,” he said. many, not just years, but decades,” emphasized the importance of “We need to leverage dollars Ahmed Hussen said in a speech at Canada recalibrating towards from foundations and also leverage MEDA’s annual convention. more economic empowerment the efforts and financing from other “Knowing that MEDA came out in its international development partners as well.” of MCC is, for me, another amazing assistance.

MEDA has been involved in surprise.” these efforts “way before Hussen was born in it was cool to do so.”

Somalia. He emigrated to “I want to tell you Canada in 1993 and settled that as far as I am in Toronto, where he earned concerned, and if I can a law degree. help it, you have an ally Growing up in Somalia, now in international he heard stories about development,” he said. education being supported Hussen said that interthrough the efforts of national development the Mennonite Central dollars are finite. “We may Committee. Two people who not be able to get everybenefited from that support thing in every budget.” made what he termed Leveraging money “incredible contributions.” from other governments His first cousin became and foundations that a surgeon. After doing are “looking for a place medical studies abroad, to put their dollars that she returned to Somalia will ensure a sustainable Ahmed Hussen is Canada's Minister of International Development. and performed surgery “on return” won’t find a hundreds and hundreds of people, “Yes, there will always be room better partner than organizations in the midst of a horrible civil war, in our international development like MEDA, he said. “We in the and treated people on both sides, approach in Canada to respond government have to find a way to sometimes three or four sides (of to disasters, such as earthquakes, support that process.” the conflict).” hurricanes, floods, as well as war.”

“I will do what I can to make A friend of Hussen’s got his “Disaster relief will always sure that we talk to you, benefit education from an educational be there; humanitarian relief from your 70 years of experience, institution set up by MCC in will always be there. … The expertise, compassion, and belief Somalia, came to Canada, and development piece has to include in the ability of people to help became the first Somali Canadian economic development, and we themselves…” to become a lawyer in Canada. He have to always emphasize the Half of Canada’s bilateral later moved back to Somalia after importance of ensuring that people assistance is geared towards sub9

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Saharan Africa “because that’s where the biggest need is,” he said.

With that prioritization comes a duty to ask how those dollars can have the biggest possible impact on the ground, he said.

“I think there has to be room in there for organizations like yours to multiply our development dollars.”

Hussen believes that “the next wave of really prosperous people in Africa are not going to come from oil and gas. They’re going to come from agriculture, something that

“I want to tell you that as far as I am concerned, and if I can help it, you have an ally now in international development.” — The Honorable Ahmed Hussen, Canada’s Minister of International Development you know very well.”

“Food security is a huge issue in sub-Saharan Africa. When folks,

especially the youth, are not seeing agriculture as a viable career path, when women are having a hard time accessing capital or even accessing the legal mechanisms to own land and have the freedom to decide their own fate. In all of those discussions, you are at the heart of that because you bring 70 years of experience and knowhow together. We need you; I need you, and I will be open to not only listening to you but actually having you guide us in how to get that job done.”

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A path to food security Support for sustainable agriculture is key, Ghanaian agtech pioneer says Michael Swan photo edge technologies.

Doing well and doing Sustainable good simultaneously agriculture is the key is the path forward to a better future for agriculture-related for small-scale businesses in Africa, farmers, Attah said. a leading Ghanaian “Sustainable farming businessman says. ensures that farmers “The future can not only keep their business of food yields but also improve security is helping them. Improved farmers be resilient yields mean greater in the face of global profitability and all the challenges, and to benefits that go with produce more, and it.” to sell more to boost However, he said revenues and profits,” Alloysius Attah’s company has improved the lives of 1.7 million farmers that the adoption of Alloysius Attah says. based agtech whose products sustainable farming methods by Attah, co-founder and CEO of have improved the lives of 1.7 small-scale farmers around the Farmerline, made the comments million farmers in 48 countries. Its world remains low. “This has been in a speech at MEDA’s annual Mergdata platform was recognized largely due to shocks affecting convention in Toronto. as one of the 100 best inventions of farmers but also largely due to lack He started Farmerline in 2013 2019 by Time Magazine. of access to high-impact products with only $600 US. Its earliest Last June, Farmerline was and tools that were invented over partnership was with the MEDA selected by the World Economic 100 years ago.”

GROW project in Northern Ghana.

Forum for its 2023 Tech Pioneer These include high-quality Since that time, Farmerline Cohort, a diverse range of seeds, organic fertilizers, and solar has grown to over 100 full-time companies that are addressing irrigation. staff and 3,000 commissioned field global challenges through cuttingAttah wants industry, officers. The company is a Ghana-

The Marketplace January February 2024

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“Our efforts, together, will make the difference to ensuring farmers can stand up on their own feet and do their part to ensure global food security.”

— Alloysius Attah

governments, and development partners to double down on sustainable farming practices, giving farmers and agribusinesses all the tools they need to succeed.

This would include increasing the access, distribution, and adoption of products and services that deepen farmer resilience.

Such moves “will improve farmer preparation for shocks,” he said.

Farmerline is working to address some of these challenges. It recently launched Mission 13, a partnership to reduce the environmental impact of farming and to support climate adaptation by small-scale farmers.

This includes the adoption of drought-resistant seeds, organic fertilizers, solar equipment, and innovative financing.

Accelerating innovative and blended financing, especially climate (mitigation) financing to farmers and agribusinesses everywhere, is also key, Attah said. “MEDA has been a pioneer in impact investment, and we can continue doing (that) for the next 70 years.”

Creating lasting profits and wealth for farmers everywhere will require maintaining a disciplined approach to addressing these challenges, he said.

Scaling with mission-aligned partners, including national and local governments, is important.

He said that being cost-effective and sustainable at all times should be another guiding principle. “If

cost-effectiveness is built into the model, the chances of withstanding shock — any form of shock, be that climate change or war — increases.”

Continuing rigorous impact measurement in all things to determine what works is the third guiding principle that cannot be overlooked, he said.

“If we continue to stay true to these three things, we will preserve what we’ve built together. We will continue to do great things that last.”

Attah praised Canada’s

International Development Minister, Ahmed Hussen, and the Canadian government for their continued support for initiatives in Africa. “Our efforts, together, will make the difference to ensuring farmers can stand up on their own feet and do their part to ensure global food security.”

Quoting convention master of ceremonies Marcus Shantz, Attah told his audience they “should never underestimate the spiritual essence of young adults with big dreams.”

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Inspiration and shared learning Attending MEDA’s 2023 convention was a “transformative and life-changing experience,” a Manitoba university student says.

“Seeing individuals who share a deep-rooted faith, a passion for entrepreneurship, a commitment to empowering women in business, and the heart to create business solutions to solve poverty was extremely inspiring,” Alea Enns wrote in a reflection following the event.

Enns is a fourth-year Bachelor of Commerce student at the University of Manitoba’s Asper School of Business, working towards a double major in Accounting and Human Resources.

The evident place of faith throughout the convention impressed Enns. “It was a reminder Alea Enns and Linnea Nelson which, along with social events and that our faith in God can be a powerful workshops, “fostered an environment of driving force in the world of business and collaboration and shared learning.” economic development.”

“It was evident that the MEDA A convention seminar by Everence community is not just about attending a executive Dave Warren about maximizing convention; it’s about building a network personal contribution to the common of support and collaboration that extends good made Enns think about ways she beyond the event itself.” can impact the world for good. “I often While Enns has an interest in see the cut-throat and selfish side of entrepreneurship, she had never business, but the convention showed me previously considered how she would how positive it can be to blend faith and go about it in her own life. Pitch business together,” she said. competition speakers inspired her to Enns was impressed by the think of creative ways “that I could use my emphasis on social entrepreneurship, God-given gifts to find a solution to an the pitch competition, and the stories identified problem.” of female entrepreneurs overcoming obstacles and succeeding. She also Alea Enns and Linnea Nelson are granddaughters of longtime MEDA supporters Bert and Lee Friesen. enjoyed the networking opportunities,

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The Marketplace January February 2024

Telling the story more boldly Convention panel urges MEDA to promote what it has learned Photos by Michael Swan

MEDA needs to be less humble about its achievements in order to have greater influence and impact, Joy Anderson says.

“I think the humility of MEDA gets in the way of the impact that it absolutely has to create right now, to be at the UN (United Nations) shaping the agenda, because if you’re not there, others less smart than you are,” she said.

Anderson, who heads Criterion Institute, commented during a panel discussion about innovation and leadership Calvin Miller makes a point as Christina Juhasz (l) and Joy Anderson look on. in international development at MEDA’s annual social change makers to demystify as a country director in Bolivia convention in Toronto. finance and broaden their before moving to CARE US as a Criterion Institute is a nonperspective on how to engage with director of economic development. profit think tank that works with and shift financial systems.

“Working with MEDA for 15 It is one of the consortium partners in the MEDA-led MasterCard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, a $200 million initiative to create jobs in sub-Saharan Africa.

Other panelists at the discussion were Christina Juhasz of Women’s World Banking, Alejandro Escobar of IDB (InterAmerican Development Bank), and Calvin Miller, a retired official of the Rome-based UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Both Escobar and Miller are MEDA alumni.

Joy Anderson Alejandro Escobar Miller worked with MEDA The Marketplace January February 2024

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years grounded me,” Miller said. “MEDA in Bolivia was ahead of its time doing rural finance and then branching into microfinance.”

He praised MEDA’s role in partnering with other organizations and the lasting impact of its work. “It’s that staying power that I think is so important when international organizations are so (short-term) project focused. It’s a whole different mindset, and that’s why MEDA makes such a good partner.”

Escobar started working with MEDA in Christina Juhasz praises MEDA's ability to "do it right."

1990 in Latin America, think going forward into the future, in Bolivia, and later in Peru. we need specialized organizations “A lot of the things that MEDA like this.” was doing in the field, even in the Juhasz believes that MEDA 80s and early 90s, it was really has a strong role to play in market ahead of the pack, (what) we were systems. doing with MEDA and with the MEDA was one of the first collaboration of MCC (Mennonite investors in the first private equity Central Committee) in some cases,” fund that Juhasz launched in 2012. he said.

She praised MEDA’s ability to “do “From very early on, I think it right,” using rigorous evaluation MEDA was a pioneer in this whole without neglecting ethical field of impact investing, and through considerations. my years at the IDB, we’ve taken “What business leaves behind this to scale, in a certain sense.”

MEDA’s ability to combine investment dollars with technical assistance was an important spark to innovation, he said. “These To reach different futures, types of organizations that have the “we need to ground in flexibility to work and to create, to create relationships which are risky hope that a different sometimes and perhaps may not do future is possible.” — Joy well, but that’s what you have the Anderson, Criterion Institute capacity of doing. You can fail, and you can come back and try again because that’s what I think MEDA had done well in the past.”

MEDA has had a reputation for being focused on access to finance, agriculture, and food, he said. “I 13

is that ethical core,” she said.

People who say that attending to ethical concerns in private equity investments reduces returns don’t recognize that “a lot of that private equity returns is more legend than reality,” she said.

“They haven’t hit their own benchmarks.

They don’t ever.”

“What business doesn’t do is pay for the treasure of the Commons that they use, right? Whether that be biodiversity, whether it be clean water, whether it be community structures and relationships that they disrupt, there’s no price tag being put on that.”

In the US, there is currently a backlash against incorporating ESG (environmental, social, and governance) considerations in investment decisions, she said.

Some argue “that it is fiduciarily irresponsible to consider ESG factors.”

“An organization like MEDA, I think, is equal to the challenge of joining that conversation and saying no, in our experience, this is absolutely the only way that business and market systems should work.”

Anderson agreed. “I think MEDA has a moral responsibility to do what you were just naming and to be louder about what you’ve learned.”

She also urged MEDA and others to tell stories of the future that they want to see. “I don’t think we’ll get to the future if we don’t tell stories of the future,” she said.

“We don’t have that for women’s economic development in Africa. We don’t have that The Marketplace January February 2024

for .. rural communities in Latin America. We don’t tell stories about what would happen if all the things we did worked.”

To reach different futures, “we need to ground in hope that a different future is possible.”

In The MasterCard Foundation Africa Growth Fund project, conversations are beginning around what constitutes a vibrant labor market for women who are youth in Africa, she said.

“Picture that; what does that look like in 30 years? What are the trends that are leading toward that? And then how do we use our capital now to invest to create that future if we don’t have a picture of the future that we’re trying to create or pathways to it?”

Calvin Miller

People cannot rely just on things that are proven to get to the future they want, she said. “We have to lean into our imagination.”

MEDA has some advantages in pursuing this sort of conversation, Escobar said.

It is unique in being an association of businesspeople “who actually face similar challenges as the people you are trying to reach — environment, climate, technology adaptation, business decisions.”

“One of the things that I always found interesting is that MEDA members can connect with the needs of the people that you are trying to serve.”

Escobar also urged MEDA to work at incorporating a younger generation “of MEDA members who will bring in perspectives that you’re not even looking at or considering.”

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Recentering investment conversations around relationships Finance is not actually about money, Joy Anderson says.

“It’s about relationships and therefore about power,” she said in a panel discussion at MEDA’s annual convention.

“And the power in those relationships, what terms get set, who sets the terms?”

Anderson heads the Criterion Institute, a non-profit think tank that works on finance and gender-lens investing issues.

A “double PK” — pastor’s kid, meaning that both of her parents are ministers — Anderson says she was “born into the church, not into money.”

She got her start in impact investing while working on microfinance with the Methodist pension fund in 2002.

“It has been difficult to be somebody who works on both faith-based investment and on issues of gender rights.”

Although Criterion is not a faith-based organization, she is unapologetically “a person of faith, and also from my own background, what Jesus called us to do is transform relationships, and that’s what I think MEDA does.”

One of the things that Criterion The Marketplace January January February February 2024 2024

Institute is working on as part of the MEDA-led MasterCard Africa Growth Fund consortium is a “translation function,” providing context to the complexity of gender, she said.

“Because it’s not just, oh look, there’s a woman, right? … It’s their position in the family, the potential of gender-based violence, the complexity that exists around that experience.”

“What Jesus called us to do is transform relationships, and that’s what I think MEDA does.”

— Joy Anderson, Criterion Institute Too often, people with wellintentioned money decide that before they will invest, they “just have to fix” the entrepreneur, she said.

They want the entrepreneur’s business to be an export company, to become formalized, “to be disconnected from your community, and on and on 14

and on.”

“That actually takes away and increases the risk for the entrepreneur working in a community that knew how to do what they knew.”

A better solution, Anderson said, is to “fix the capital, not the company, because so often, and those of you who are business owners in the room know you’re figuring out how to do it (grow your business).”

“You just need the kind of capital that actually helps versus the kind that helps the investor.”

If the traditional use of capital created a problem, “then that same traditional use isn’t going to fix the problem.”

Criterion’s mission is about “changing who sees themselves as able to use finance to create change,” she said.

That perspective leads her to spend most of her time talking to women’s rights organizations, not people in finance. “We all think about having a voice in government, but we don’t think we should have a voice in finance because that’s for like people in suits.”

“This is where MEDA gets to be super authoritative because you’ve been doing this kind of work 30 to 40 years longer than other people.”

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Love your neighbor: Create more MEDAs Mennonite World Conference wants global churches to start more organizations to support entrepreneurs The head of an organization that serves 1.5 million Christians worldwide wants MEDA to work with churches to start organizations similar to MEDA in various countries.

“We dream of local businesspeople who experience business as a gift and a call in their everyday lives,” says César Garcia, general secretary of Mennonite World Conference (MWC).

Garcia made the comment in a Sunday morning address at MEDA’s annual convention in Toronto.

MWC is known for assemblies every six years, where members of its worldwide community gather for worship, service, and fellowship. But MWC is a global church that is much more than its events. It brings together followers of Jesus from all around the world, in the Anabaptist tradition, he said.

Having clarity about the why of what we do is essential to moving forward with a plan’s implementation, he said.

So, understanding why MWC sees the combination of business plus faith as a crucial component of its calling is an important issue.

MEDA’s experience and history of good work in creating business solutions to poverty are worth emulating, Garcia said. “MEDA’s 70 years of experience have produced inclusive, sustainable agrifood market systems, built upon gender equality and social inclusion, innovation and technology adoption, partnerships and contextual knowledge, environmental sustainability, and climate action.”

MWC expresses its gratitude to MEDA for the positive impact that it has made in many lives worldwide, he said.

But there is a more important reason that makes MWC want to see MEDA’s work replicated. That is the Golden Rule, the César Garcia biblical admonition to love your neighbor as yourself, he said.

That command appears eight times in the Bible, used four times

by Jesus. Jesus combined several Old Testament passages from the books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus to make a link between love and justice.

In both the Jewish and Christian traditions, love and justice go hand in hand. Love of neighbor is lived out in challenging injustice by changing social structures, he said.

The biblical notion that everyone is made in the image of God means no one should be without the basic needs of existence, he said.

“Every human should experience the dignity that seeing the fruits of their labors produces.”

While humanitarian relief is essential in the short term, it can humiliate the recipients. An African proverb states that the giving hand is always uppermost, while the hand that receives is always lower, he said.

In the long run, job creation 15

and employment promotion are more important than aid, he said.

In 1973, MEDA helped Garcia’s church in Columbia start a foundation to help local entrepreneurs through small loans. That work continued for decades, providing opportunities to women and other victims of the country’s civil war.

MWC continues to “dream of local businesspeople who experience business as a gift and a call in their everyday lives,” he said.

“We dream of local entrepreneurs who work together to help new entrepreneurs create sustainable business solutions to poverty like MEDA experienced in Columbia.”

“That is why we want to see many MEDAs around the world. It has to do with the Golden Rule.”

This summarizes the central message of the Judeo-Christian faith, he said. Versions of this idea are also found in Islam, Buddhism, and other faiths.

“People of faith have the framework for the reasons why it is crucial to share their profit. They know why it is essential to create opportunities for entrepreneurs to start new businesses that will support others to replicate the same process.”

“Love your neighbor as yourself. Let’s ask God for the courage to do so.”

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Punching well above their weight Paraguayan Mennonites have made major contributions to their country in the decades since MEDA’s initial investments Mennonites in Paraguay have poverty in many ways.” the early 1950s, after MCC director achieved disproportionate influence He has identified 150 or Orie Miller gathered together a in the country’s economy in the 70 200 Mennonite businesses that group of Mennonite businessmen, years since MEDA’s investment in employ between two and 2,000 it started working both in the the Sarona dairy there. people each but admits that he Chaco region of western Paraguay But that key role often goes has stopped counting. He also and Friesland in the east. unrecognized. listed a series of schools, hospitals “MEDA members wanted to “We are hardly existing in the and other Paraguayan institutions share their faith, their abilities, minds of many people,” Werner started by Mennonites. and their resources to meet Franz said in a seminar presentation Mennonite assistance in the human needs through economic at MEDA’s annual convention. “The country predates MEDA by two development.” reign of God, the power of God is in decades. In 1932, the Mennonite The acronym MEDA, the the middle of us.”

Central Committee began playing a shorthand for Mennonite Economic Franz is a retired pastor, author, “crucial role in the first 20 years for Development Associates, could also seminary president, and professor.

Mennonites to survive in Paraguay.” have an alternate meaning, he said.

He witnessed the founding of MEDA MCC helped to build the Trans“Mutuality, Empowerment, Dignity, Paraguay in 1986 and the creation Chaco highway and a number of Agape love.” of a number of other organizations organizations in Paraguay, he said.

MEDA helped many businesses “with this MEDA idea.”

Once MEDA was created in besides the Sarona Dairy in photo by Michael Swan Mennonites make up only about half a percent of the population of Paraguay, a country of six million inhabitants, about half the size of Ontario, Canada. There are 20 Mennonite immigrant communities in the South American nation.

Those communities are responsible for 70 percent of all of the processed milk consumed in the country. They also provide between 25 and 30 percent of meat exports, 20 percent of the country’s cattle, and close to 10 percent of its soybeans, Franz said.

“They are there everywhere with the gospel of progress, MEDA could be shorthand for "Mutuality, Empowerment, Dignity, Agape love." — Werner Franz business solutions to The Marketplace January February 2024

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Paraguay. These included the Sinfin Tannery and the Fortuna shoe factory, a foundry smelter to cast machinery parts, a bottling plant, and a separate project with indigenous people.

Some projects were very short, with one being transferred to local people after a few months, he said.

Over time, the Mennonite communities acted like magnets, attracting people to the economic opportunities their enterprise offered. “There’s work there, there’s development there, there’s food there, and there are good people there,” he said.

The same dynamic played out in other areas where Mennonite colonies are concentrated.

ASCIM, the Association of Services for Indigenous Mennonite Cooperation, promotes indigenous groups. It works with 17,000 indigenous people in 19 communities through partnership programs. That is less than 20 percent of the indigenous communities in Paraguay.

Franz’s younger brother, who heads ASCIM, thinks another 250 years of support for indigenous people will be required.

In 1975, Fecoprod, the Federation of Production Cooperatives, was established.

This organization, initiated by Mennonites with MCC assistance, now has 175,000 members. It is a large part of the Paraguayan economy, he said.

This organization has $3 billion in sales and employs almost 13,000 people. It operates four meat processing plants with export capacity, a tannery, seven dairy plants, and two powdered milk plants.

“What happened with MCC, and what happened with MEDA, was kind of putting a chip into us, a DNA, that was there already, but it was reinforced.”

After MEDA ended its work in Paraguay, new organizations and businesses in the same spirit carried on.

In 1996, MEDA Paraguay was formed as a separate organization.

It initiated several domestic projects.

These included the Codipsa starch factory, Dirssa, which works with charcoal, ProDir, which does loans, TobaSia, a brick factory that works with indigenous people, and the Apissca honey/beekeeping initiative.

“A number of these today don’t exist anymore. They were started and then discontinued.”

Codispa, the largest MEDAcreated, North America-supported business that survives and thrives, now operates four plants, with about 200 employees, he said.

It produced on 10,000 acres of land last year, buying manioc from 1,500 farmers, with about 10,000 people affected positively by its operations, he said. Sales in 2022 reached $51.1 million US. The 2023 projection is to produce on 15,500 acres and pay over $8 million to its supplier farmers.

With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about $5,000 US per person, Paraguay is one of the poorer countries in South America.

But poverty in Paraguay is now

“MEDA members wanted to share their faith, their abilities, and their resources to meet human needs through economic development.”

— Werner Franz

much lower than in the rest of Latin America, he said.

In 2002, 58 percent of Paraguay’s population lived in poverty or extreme poverty — people living on less than $1.90 a day. By 2019, that had dropped to 27 percent, compared to 30 percent in Latin America as a whole.

That said, Mennonites in Paraguay face a number of challenges. The economic progress they have helped to promote can be a blessing or a curse, Franz said.

The average Mennonite income is probably at least 10 times that of the average Paraguayan, he said.

Cultural differences and economic inequalities are sometimes obstacles and are also opportunities to share progress, he said.

There is also the question of whether businesspeople will be key players for shalom — a Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare, and tranquility — or agents alienating people from God. The church can be a help and sometimes a hindrance for people in business, he asked. Given that governments, the church, and business all target the same people with similar goals, “why should we not work together in synergy?”

“We have often, in the churches, complained about business and corruption, but we have forgotten that churches, without business, would almost not exist. And the other way around, probably too, in our context.”

Forty-three years after MCC ended its efforts in Paraguay on good terms, mission complete, conversations are taking place on whether MEDA Paraguay can work together with MCC and MEDA as partners rather than as recipients.

While it is unknown what form that might take, there is an understanding that partnership is critical, he said.

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Zambian seed loan firm wins $10,000 from MEDA pitch competition photos by Michael Swan

A Zambian firm that helps farmers Award. Raitagyana is an India-based gain affordable access to highfirm integrating infrastructure, quality seeds won $10,000 at education, and market access MEDA’s annual pitch competition. services for small-scale farmers. It AgriEn Network was one of four will receive six months of executive agriculture-related businesses to coaching services from Florida come away from the contest with a leadership development specialist cash prize. Started in 2020, the firm Dawn Graber of Design Group works to improve the productivity International, as well as a $5,000 and livelihoods of small-scale farmers runner-up prize funded by the by providing flexible seed loans and Schlegels. knowledge transfer services.

Two other runner-up firms also Yvonne Mtumbi Mwanza of AgriEn Eighty percent of Zambia’s local received $5,000 cash prizes: Network makes a virtual pitch food supply is produced by small• Village Solar of Malawi run successful pilot projects. scale farmers, said Yvonne Mtumbi provides affordable, durable, and D-Prize has provided venture Mwanza, AgriEn’s co-founder. warrantied solar lamps to empower capital support averaging $15,000 Many of those farmers are facing farmers within the Lilongwe Agrito more than 250 organizations challenges, she said.

Cooperative Union. The initiative over the past decade. It does Mwanza told the story of saves households up to $35 two global calls for applications Isaac, a farmer who has low yields annually and extends working annually, awarding prizes that and “does not have the necessary hours, allowing farmers to engage supply firms in the Global South skills to mitigate or adapt to in essential evening tasks and with resources for their first the challenges that his farming eliminating health risks associated three months of operations, said currently presents.” with petroleum-based fuels and D-Prize’s Will Snider.

There are over 550,000 farmers indoor air pollution.

In 2022, over 5,000 startups that are experiencing low or • Ibukia Shambani, a Tanzanian from 93 countries applied to declining yields in Zambia’s Eastern not-for-profit organization, works D-Prize’s competitions.

Province. Most of these are farming to improve the lives of rural smallThe MEDA pitch competition, on less than five hectares, she said. scale farmers. It does this by funded by the Ron & Barb Schlegel AgriEn provides input loans helping to finance and distribute family in honor of former MEDA for soya seeds, taking 50 percent farm inputs, crop insurance, president Allan Sauder, also payment up front and the balance training on good agricultural received extra funds this year to in grain after the harvest. practices, post-harvest support, support all of the finalists.

The $10,000 award will allow and the creation of Youth Village Difficulties obtaining visas meant AgriEn to work with an additional Entrepreneurs groups to empower that only one team could attend the 300 farmers and digitize its rural communities and enhance convention in person. The other database to better allow it to track food security. three made virtual presentations. each farmer with whom it works.

Explaining the decision to award Another new feature of the This year’s competition differed cash prizes to all four finalists, contest was the People’s Choice from previous contests in some Ron Schlegel said that it was “truly respects. A partnership impossible to try to with San Franciscodistinguish and separate based D-Prize meant that when you have four that all of the finalists had are so good.” previously won initial “It is important they seed funds from D-Prize’s all go back and develop global competitions and their ideas,” he said.

Nikita Vardiparti of Raitagyana Sushant Swami of Raitagyana

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The Return on Investment of Relationships A Texas recruiting firm went from modest returns to exponential growth after prioritizing people over profits.

By Leslie J. Thompson During his 25-year career in the human resources industry, John Luke Spitler has helped hundreds of organizations navigate economic turmoil, generational changes in the workforce, and adopting new technologies.

But it wasn’t until his own company faced a major hurdle that Spitler learned the true secret to long-term business success.

“Our turnover had increased — we were losing some really talented people — and we recognized what had gotten us to that point was not going to get us to the next destination,” recalls Spitler.

He is the founder and CEO of The Encompass Group, an HR consulting firm based north of Dallas, Texas, that provides recruiting and employee administration services.

“For the first time, we saw a potential decline in revenue, in engagement, in employee satisfaction, and in development and retention. It was a great wakeup call,” he says.

The solution was a radical cultural transformation in the workplace, requiring the company’s leadership team to candidly reassess its priorities. Spitler started a bold initiative to develop the firm’s employees personally and professionally and conduct

Photos by Leslie J. Thompson

John Luke Spitler is founder and CEO of The Encompass Group.

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The Encompass Group's leadership team focuses on developing its employees, both personally and professionally.

business by a set of core values aimed at lifting others up, fostering innovation, and working with excellence.

The result was an immediate rise in employee satisfaction and dramatic revenue growth that has continued year-over-year since Encompass made the shift. Now, the company is guiding its Fortune 500 clients to new levels of success by helping organizational leaders identify a purpose beyond profits and recognize the value of their people.

The Turning Point The decision to make employees’ well-being a primary focus at The Encompass Group happened swiftly, but the turning point was years in the making. Since founding the company in 2004, Spitler had grown his small recruiting agency into a thriving enterprise of 15 employees that survived the 2008-2009 recession.

Over the next decade, the firm expanded beyond recruiting services to offer complementary business solutions, like payroll The Marketplace January February 2024

processing and employee benefits administration. Its client roster grew to include companies across various industries, from retail and restaurants to construction, technology, and financial services.

Although revenue numbers were strong, the leadership team got too comfortable, Spitler admits.

“We were patting ourselves on the back for the record growth we experienced, and if I’m honest, we probably took a little bit of it for granted,” he says.

Earnings started to level off, and employee morale began to wane.

“We clearly knew what we were doing and thought we just needed to work harder,” says Spitler. To drive productivity, the company instituted rewards and incentives focused on sales quotas and fiscal goals. Rather than moving the needle for earnings, the strategy created an overly competitive environment that left employees feeling isolated and exhausted.

A Blessing in Disguise By 2019, Spitler could see the writing on the wall. “People 20

were struggling personally and professionally,” he says.

Eventually, he called together the leadership team to discuss his concerns. If The Encompass Group was having these challenges while the firm was still growing, he surmised, it could eventually be swept under by a tidal wave of employee turnover. Something needed to change.

“There was always a feeling of belonging and care and wanting people to succeed,” notes Joyce Godbey, Encompass’ vice president of talent acquisition services. “Not being able to figure out what was missing, that was frustrating,” she adds.

But when the 2020 pandemic hit, the team discovered the key to meaningful transformation.

After sending employees home in compliance with mandatory lockdowns, Encompass Group executives became acutely aware of the fact that people were scared. The fear and uncertainty perpetuated by government mandates and media reports left workers feeling anxious and alone.

They needed peace and comfort, says Spitler, whose strong Christian faith informs his approach to servant leadership. They needed support and reassurance that the company had their back.

“In some ways, COVID was actually a blessing,” he says.

The shutdowns provided an opportunity to initiate meaningful conversations around employees’ families and personal needs. As The Encompass Group reopened its office after a ten-week hiatus, “We decided we want to be about our people, and people development is going to be our focus,” Spitler says.

The workplace became a safe space for employees to share openly, to be cared for, and to be heard.

A Paradigm Shift The following year, Spitler proposed a radical idea to the leadership team: setting aside two months to focus entirely on developing employees instead of making quotas. Essentially, they would ignore the profit and loss statements and income reports and drive efforts to support and uplift

their people.

“There was an energy of rejuvenation and excitement,” says Joyce Godbey of employees’ reaction to the news.

The boost in morale soon became palpable. Rather than easing up on their work, employees wanted to make sure they did their job with excellence because they felt valued, Godbey notes. “They wanted to give that value back,” she says.

What began as an experiment transitioned to a paradigm shift as the company experienced organizational transformation.

The leadership team developed programs to help employees thrive personally and professionally. They brought in guest speakers to present on topics like positive parenting strategies and estate planning.

The result was that employees felt more confident at home as well as in the workplace, and their productivity increased as a byproduct. “That tidal wave I was afraid of in the beginning started moving the other direction,” Spitler says.

The office likewise changed

The Art of Talent Many of today’s executives started their careers 10 or 20 years ago, when hiring practices and workplace dynamics looked markedly different. But the current labor shortage, combined with shifting employee expectations tied to low unemployment and remote work opportunities, has caused a dramatic change in the marketplace.

This perfect storm requires that organizations have a competitive advantage to survive and grow in the new era, says John Luke Spitler, author of the newly released, self-published book, “The ART of Talent: How to Attract, Retain, and Transform Your People for Organizational Success” (Avalanty Publishing).

That advantage comes from a positive corporate culture, which not only attracts the right employees but ensures those within the organization grow personally and professionally.

Drawing analogies from such classic works as the Mona Lisa, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, and Michelangelo’s statue of David, The ART of Talent blends Spitler’s personal love of art with wisdom gleaned from 25 years in the human resources field.

Spitler, founder and CEO of The Encompass Group, a recruiting and HR consulting firm, is committed to helping business leaders create purpose-driven companies that value the artistry of their employees.

“If you want a greater competitive advantage, pour into your people,” he says.

“People are not a means to an end; people are the end.”

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Leslie J. Thompson is a Texas-based book coach, speaker, author, and ghostwriter who has provided editorial consulting to John Luke Spitler.

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from a competitive environment to a place of collaboration and teamwork. Executives and employees went out of their way to offer help, and lending support became the norm, he notes.

To complete the transformation, the company redefined its purpose from building a profitable business to glorifying God and enriching the lives of others. As the firm began operating with this new focus, client satisfaction skyrocketed, says Spitler, as did employee engagement and retention.

Although the volume of work remained the same, earnings increased dramatically. In less than two years, the firm went from stagnant growth to doubling its revenue. It now has more than 50 employees.

Paying it Forward Today, Encompass is modeling for clients how to rethink business strategy and pour into the employees working in their offices, factories, stores, and distribution centers.

“Not every organization is hard-wired to do what we do here,” notes Tony Bridwell, Encompass’s chief talent officer.

Conversations generally focus on helping decision-makers understand the benefits of putting people first, he says, rather than forcing change. “We lay a lot of foundation work with our clients to get them on a path where they can have that ‘a-ha moment’ in the future,” he says.

Ultimately, the key is for leaders to identify and communicate the purpose, vision, and values of their organization, says Spitler. When executives and employees share a common understanding of the company culture and make people the priority, they can achieve outstanding results.

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Books in brief

Facing the hard questions around spiritual maturity Working from the Inside Out. A Brief Guide to Inner Work That Transforms Our Outer World by Jeff Haanen (IVP, 2023 160 pages. $18 US) Many people, the author writes, live lives that are disintegrated, not integrated. The rate of narcissism in our society has skyrocketed over the past 20 years.

For some, work can seem meaningless, difficult, and sometimes painful.

Haanen, the founder of the Denver Institute for Faith and Work, found himself experiencing struggles even while building an organization that has helped many integrate their occupations and sense of vocation.

The answer to this problem, he argues in this thoughtful and vulnerable book, is living out faith in our working lives. He views transformation as a threepart process that begins with the interior life, continues to the exterior life, and is then manifested in civic life.

“The great challenge for the body of Christ today is not to transform society, but to transform ourselves,” he writes. “The question we should be asking is not how we change the world. It is first, who are we becoming?”

He outlines the importance of seeking deep spiritual health and thinking theologically as key to the interior work. Embracing relationships and creating good work is central to the second.

Serving others sacrificially flows into civic life as a result of this The Marketplace January February 2024

journey of selfexamination.

Haanen reminds readers that Christian identity requires embracing high commitment, costly discipleship, sacrificial service and courageous witness.

The average adult spends 90,000 hours at their job(s). The path to growth that Working from the Inside Out suggests is neither simple nor easy but worth exploring. Worth buying and reading more than once.

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Rethinking our relationship with work Faithful Work. In the Daily Grind with God and for Others by Ross Chapman and Ryan Tafilowski (IVP, 2024 112 pages $15US) Much of the content of this slim volume will be familiar to anyone who has read other books about faith and work, including the one reviewed above.

But Chapman, who is Jeff Haanen’s successor at the Denver Institute for Faith and Work, and Tafilowski, a 22

theology professor and pastor in Denver, have put together a useful guide for people who are new to the topic.

They draw heavily upon and credit the work of others in this area. Os Guinness, Tom Nelson, Dorothy Sayers, and R. Paul Stevens are among those cited and recommended for further reading in the book’s bibliography.

A chapter on being Monday through Saturday missionaries notes the importance of both volunteers and businesses that create jobs.

A subsequent section, entitled “Rest for and in the Working,” is particularly useful in our oftenfrenzied era. Reflections on rest as a practice and rest as a state of being are apt reminders. God does not intend a work-life balance approach, the authors argue. Such a posture “sets work and life in opposition to one another, with changes to work getting all the attention.”

The authors also wrestle with the challenges of Christian engagement in politics in a polarized society. They note that “during an election, no matter whom we vote for, we’ll be endorsing some of our values but betraying others.” But rather than calling for withdrawal, the authors reference Reinhold Niebuhr’s doctrine of Christian realism and the Apostle Peter’s suggestion that believers “Fear God and respect the king.”

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Books in brief A call for Christians to focus on Jesus Divine Gravity.

Sparking a Movement to Recover a Better Christian Story by Meghan Larissa Good (Herald Press, 2023 232 pages $18.99 US) The author tackles challenging issues with wisdom, wit, and humor.

In “Divine Gravity,” Good, a Mennonite pastor, explores eight theological rediscoveries that she hopes could lead to the re-formation of Christianity in the 21st century.

This book was birthed due to her conversations as part of the Jesus Collective, a network for pastors and

churches passionate about advancing a Jesus-centered Kingdom.

Some of its content, such as the premise that Jesus is the authoritative lens through which God is seen and the Bible is interpreted, may seem common sense to Mennonite readers.

Others provide much to ponder, like the notion that Jesus’ people are sent as ambassadors for God’s reconciling work and the implications of that distinctive role.

On the importance of humility, she suggests this is not an absence of strong convictions but “an acknowledgment that we are cracked

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teapots trying to contain an Ocean.”

There are no quick fixes to our spiritual disconnects. Good notes that “human formation has no microwave setting... Character is more of a slow cooker exercise.”

The road to a Jesus-focused Christianity requires a mature spirituality marked by sabbath-keeping, scripture reading, fasting, and prayer.

That prayer should be bold, leading to courageous witness and self-sacrificial love.

A number of contemporary viewpoints on religion, including the Noah, Joshua, and Stay-atHome approaches, are examined and found wanting.

People are becoming like the God they worship. The problem is, “that God simply isn’t Jesusshaped,” she notes.

For Good, confessing Jesus as Lord is a commitment to relational proximity.

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