Week 5 part 2

“The Challenge to Become” Dallin H. Oaks October 2000

“In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.”

Elder Oaks said, “From such teachings we conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become.” I used to think that if I did more good than bad I was okay, that if I repented and stop doing bad I would still “make it” But what he says here is the true, it is who we become, it is how we treat others and how we let the Lord change our hearts.

Elder Oaks says, “All that I have I desire to give you— only my wealth, but also my position and standing among men. That which I have I can easily give you, but that which I am you must obtain for yourself. You will qualify for your inheritance by learning what I have learned and by living as I have lived. I will give you the laws and principles by which I have acquired my wisdom and stature. Follow my example, mastering as I have mastered, and you will become as I am, and all that I have will be yours.” This is something kids do not want to hear, they think that it is something that you can just give them and then they will have all you have, they just want us to hand them money, as a mother I tend to want to just give to them because I feel that they struggled right along side us but really what they need is learn for themselves, but I will help wherever I can. “This parable parallels the pattern of heaven. The gospel of Jesus Christ promises the incomparable inheritance of eternal life, the fulness of the Father, and reveals the laws and principles by which it can be obtained.”

Elder Oakes shares the parable of the vineyard and he says, “At the end of the day the owner of the vineyard gave the same wage to every worker, even to those who had come in the eleventh hour. When those who had worked the entire day saw this, “they murmured against the goodman of the house” (Matt. 20:11). The owner did not yield but merely pointed out that he had done no one any wrong, since he had paid each man the agreed amount.”

“Like other parables, this one can teach several different and valuable principles. For present purposes its lesson is that the Master’s reward in the Final Judgment will not be based on how long we have labored in the vineyard. We do not obtain our heavenly reward by punching a time clock. What is essential is that our labors in the workplace of the Lord have caused us to become something. For some of us, this requires a longer time than for others. What is important in the end is what we have become by our labors. Many who come in the eleventh hour have been refined and prepared by the Lord in ways other than formal employment in the vineyard. These workers are like the prepared dry mix to which it is only necessary to “add water”—the perfecting ordinance of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. With that addition—even in the eleventh hour—these workers are in the same state of development and qualified to receive the same reward as those who have labored long in the vineyard.” I am a convert and have often felt that I needed to make up for lost time and would need to catch up with lifelong members somehow, But I realize that I need to do my best and allow the Lord to use me to serve His children and my offering will be enough.

“The Heart of Entrepreneurship” by Howard H. Stevenson and David E. Gumpert Harvard Business Review

ENTREPRENEURIAL PROCESS

·         What resources do I control?

·         What structure determines our organization’s relationship to its market?

·         How can I minimize the impact of others on my ability to perform?

·         What opportunity is appropriate?

·         The entrepreneur, at the other end of the spectrum, tends to ask:

·         Where is the opportunity?

·         How do I capitalize on it?

·         What resources do I need?

·         How do I gain control over them?

·         What structure is best?

Where is the opportunity?

1.       Technology, which opens new doors and closes others.

2.       Consumer economics, which alters both the ability and willingness to pay for new products and services.

3.       Social values, which define new styles and standards of living.

4.       Political action and regulatory standards, which affect competition.

What resources do I need?

An Absence of Predictable Resource Needs Given the rapid pace of change in today’s world, one must assume that in-course corrections will be necessary.

External Control Limits Companies can no longer say they own the forest and will therefore do with it

what they want.

Social Needs The “small is beautiful” formulation of E. F. Schumacher and the argument that too large

a gulf separates producers and consumers are very persuasive.

The Need to Reduce Risk Managers limit the risk they face by throwing all the resources they can muster at an opportunity from the outset, even if it means wasting assets.

Fragile Tenure of Management At companies in which executives are either promoted every one-and a half or two years or exiled to corporate Siberia, they need quick, measurable results.

Focus on Incentive Compensation Concentration of resources upfront yields quick returns and easily measurable results, which can be readily translated into a manager’s bonus compensation.

Single-Minded Capital Allocation Systems They assume that the consequences of future uncertainty can be measured now, or at least that uncertainty a year from now will be no less than that at present.

STIMULATING ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Determine Its Barriers to Entrepreneurship Is a manager’s principal reward found in handling the company’s existing resources?

Seek to Minimize Risks to the Individual for Being Entrepreneurial When people are promoted for behaving like trustees while promoter types are shunted aside if not eased out, there’s little motive to be venturesome.

Exploit Any Resource Pool The huge resources that many companies have can be committed intelligently.

Tailor Reward Systems to the Situation For some, a primary motivating force is the possibility of becoming wealthy through ownership in a growing enterprise.