How am I really doing?

A Mid-Year Personal Assessment for Christian CEOs and Business Owners

Special Note:  This Personal Spiritual Assessment has been made available to us by Joe Petersen a member of C12 since 2009 and the Dallas/Ft Worth C12 Area Chairman since 2013.  Joe shares that this assessment is an edited portion of the monthly curriculum supplied by “The C12 Group” for use by its members across the country. 

Leaders commonly takes a mid-year inventory of the economic dimensions of their businesses.  You’re already familiar with such metrics as net income, profit margin, ROI, market share, and sales growth. This special mid-year assessment however focuses on a completely different set of criteria.

What is it that we should be looking for as we examine our spiritual lives?

The focus of this ten question assessment is personal criteria. These criteria pertain to growth, the kind of growth that will lead to eternal fruit. These questions are indicators of spiritual growth which we can all use to measure what kind of a year we are putting together in Christ’s eyes.

For each of the following ten questions, rate your performance over the first six months of 2015 from 1 to 10, (with 1 being low, 5 being average and 10 scoring as high) as measured against your potential or opportunity: 

1. Am I spending more time with the Lord? This means all kinds of time: daily quiet time, prayer during the day, evening meditations, and the sense that He is in you and with you in the everyday decisions you make as you operate your business. Our ministry in business or anywhere else will never grow if our relationship with God doesn’t. Wherever each of us may be in this relationship, there’s plenty of room to grow. How are you doing so far this year? RATING ________

2. Are my family relationships are being strengthened? Were you able to spend more time — and more quality time — with your spouse and children? We need to look at these relationships right after our relationship with God. We can’t really get closer to God and not be convicted to love and serve our spouses and children. Did you make more time available to your spouse, as your top ministry priority, and less to your hobbies or business? If so, you’re off to a great start for 2015. RATING ________

NOTE: Why do we start our mid-year audit of our business by talking about God and family? Because we can only bring to work what we already have in Christ in our lives and homes. It is a simple law of physics to know that you are not two different people. You are one person, living an integrated life before the Lord. You can’t successfully be one person at church on Sunday and a completely different person the rest of the week. Our ministry in business is simply an extension of our lives in Christ, not separate from it. Pretty radical, huh? Not at all.

3. Am I spending more time listening/relating to my team members on a one–to–one basis? You’re putting together a good year if you care more for your lost employees (or customers, vendors or competitors), seeing the horrible prospect of their eternity in hell more painfully. You are also doing well if you frequently pray for their salvation, and even better if you actually do something more to impact them for eternity. RATING ________

4. Do I see the people around me more as objects of my personal ministry than as objects to be exploited for my personal gain? This statement is intended to specifically refer to friends, employees, vendors/suppliers, partners, customers, and other significant relationships and day-to-day contacts. As you encounter people each day, do you see them as opportunities for “transactions” or for “relationships”? If you increasingly see yourself as an entrusted servant to them, rather than master over them, you’re off to a great start in 2015. RATING ________

5. Am I even slightly less acquisitive than I was six months ago? The urge to acquire things is of the flesh, not the Spirit. Any honest Christian knows that there’s no joy or peace in things. Materialism is a curse; a true cancer of the spirit. Have you freed yourself, even a little, from its grasp, and are more able to steward your gifts with an open hand before the Lord? RATING ________

6. Am I truly more thankful for what I have and content with all aspects of my life? Given that we are among the most materially wealthy people in the history of the world, how can we not be thankful? Why do we need more? Can you say to God, “Thank You, Father. I have more than I deserve or need” with a truly grateful heart? If so, you’re headed in the right direction. RATING ________

7. Do I have more peace in my heart? This is especially true if the peace is not related to circumstances, since these always change. If your peace is dependent on circumstances, it comes and goes with the changes. Do you more clearly see God’s hand in your circumstances? RATING ________

8. Am I learning more about my profession and am able to apply greater leadership skills and technical expertise in my field? If you believe that: A) your business is a gift from God; B) as steward you’re to run it for Him with excellence; and C) you’ve made the time to learn and apply better ways to be that steward, you are putting together a terrific year. RATING ________

9. Am I taking measurably better care of my body? Do you get the exercise you need? Is your diet healthier than last year? Are you allocating sufficient time to the rest and maintenance of your body? If His temple in you (your body) is in better shape than it was just six months ago, allowing for the wear and tear of time, you’re doing well in 2015. RATING ________

10. Is there more eternal fruit being produced through and around me, due to my effort and influence? Eternal fruit is defined as “lives turned toward God.” Are the people around you more favorably aware that you are an ambassador for Christ in and around your business? Have more people been helped because God has entrusted the business to your care? Are more Christians being influenced to grow in their faith because your business has brought you, reflecting Christ, into their lives? If so, you’re in middle of a great year! RATING ________

  ________  GRAND TOTAL FOR THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THE YEAR

(Total your score above for each of the ten questions above)

You may be thinking, “How can I really measure these things?” Some aren’t easily quantifiable, at least not in an exact numerical way. However, if you’re unsure, and really want to, you can know your measure. Ask God to reveal to you the truth in each of these areas. He will show you as you pray and study His Word. Sometimes He will answer through people who know you well, such as your spouse, close friends, or perhaps your personal advisory board of peers. 

To summarize, let’s take a few minutes to transfer our score from these questions (with 1 being low, 5 being average and 10 scoring as high) to this circle graph below. Each portion of the wheel relates directly to a particular question from the previous pages. This type of ‘balance wheel’ is a popularly used coaching and assessment tool. To maximize its usefulness, connect the dots to see if your wheel is balanced or lopsided. If you have completed this survey in previous years, you can also use different symbols and include these points on the balance wheel to look for overall progress and trends. 

Based on your completed balance wheel, what important commitments are you ready to make for the balance of 2015? 

Joe Petersen has worked as a development, construction and marketing professional in various facets of the real estate housing industry across the United States. After a stage IV blood cancer diagnosis in 2012 and twenty-six intensive chemotherapy treatments, Joe has completely refocused his professional efforts to workplace ministry. The C12 Group, is a unique, faith-based, executive peer advisory board made up of CEOs and company owners that meet each month to study and share excellent business practices and solutions from a Christian perspective. As a C12 advisory board, members learn how to better grow their businesses, to improve execution and to challenge, encourage and hold each other accountable as they become better leaders. Learn more at  TryC12.com or connect with Joe on LinkedIn.