Defeating the Business Amalekites by Javnyuy Joybert

Let us dig out some business success principles from the Bible

In Exodus 17:8-13, the Bible reveals a compelling situation. Permit paraphrase the key areas of focus

Verse 9 “Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”

Verse 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.

Verse 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.

Every business has Amalekites that must be conquered if that business must remain sustainable and not die out. Business Amalekites can be

– Negative publicity

– Negative competition

– Poor sales

– Corrupt tax officials asking for bribes

– Bad or unstable political business environment

– Legal battles

– Unproductive employees etc

To conquer these Amalekites, we can pick out the following business lessons from the Bible passage and implement

1. Strategic Leader: For every business to go far, that business needs a strategic leader (CEO). A strategic business leader makes quick and effective decision, knows how to delegate responsibilities to the right people and is courageous in the face of challenges. Moses here is the strategic leader. He knew what to do and how to do it.

2. Operational leader and team: Every good business should have a very effective and dedicated operational leader and team. If Moses did not have Joshua to lead the operations they would have failed. There comes a moment in your business life cycle that if you do not recruit operations head to lead operations like marketing, production, distribution, customer service etc your business growth will be stunted

3. Executive Team: In this situation, the executive team or leadership team include Moses, Aaron, Hur and Joshua the Chief Operations Officer. A business that will go places should have an executive team that makes major analysis, decisions and take firm actions. One man cannot build an incredible business. It is imperative to have a Board of Directors, Advisory Executive Team Members etc.

4. Know How to Use Tools & Create Systems: The Bible says “…Moses’ hands grew tired”. I always say, “Human beings will always get tired but tools and systems never get tired, they only get outdated and can be updated”. The stone they gave Moses to sit on was a tool. It is imperative for a running business to provide all the needed tools (computers, good working tables, chairs, internet etc) the leadership and operational team requires to get the job done. Imagine if there was no stone? Imagine if Joshua did not have the right weapons to fight? They would have lost the battle.

Team members must also know how to create systems that can enable the business to run seamlessly. The Bible says “Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset” That was a system they created with the help of a tool which enabled that leadership action to last till sunset.

5. Always Know Your Next Move: The Bible records how Moses was giving firm instructions with no doubts. He was very sure of his next move. He said “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”

He knew his next move and was brave enough to make that move. In business, do not be reactive you have to be proactive and always know your next move.

6. You will fail in business if you tolerate laziness, inefficiency, laxity, poor dedication and never knowing what to do. The Bible says “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning”. In business if you grow tired, you lose focus, you don’t pay attention to the moving trends and economy your competitors will swallow you for breakfast.

Conclusion

Succeeding in business takes intentionality and for the business to experience positive long-term success and capturing the growing market share, the leader (CEO) and the team must all be actively present and committed.

Javnyuy Joybert

Business Speaker, Trainer and Consultant