Building a Culture of Collaboration (Leaders Need to Hear This) with Simon Mont

Kevin Baisley, founder of Listen 4 Wisdom, joins Doug to talk about obedience, joy, and building an app by faith with no tech background. Kevin shares how a counselor of 15 years turned a sleepless night into a tool that gives Scripture, psychology, and practical next steps in seconds, why he says to hug the cactus when life gets hard, and why specific prayers matter. Encouraging for any Christian business owner who feels unqualified for what God has put in front of them. In this episode Kevin's faith journey and the move from Minnesota to Florida The idea behind Listen 4 Wisdom Scripture, psychology, and practical steps in one answer Obedience and trusting God's timing Building an app with no tech background Hugging the cactus: facing hard things with faith Prayer, patience, and perseverance for entrepreneurs Where the joy of the Lord comes from Links Listen 4 Wisdom Try the app Turn your next faithful step into action with Goal Getting

What if the way you run HR, hire, and lead one-on-one is really a form of discipleship? In this episode, Doug Greathouse talks with Brett Billups, a longtime HR executive, former CHRO, and author of Biblical HR: Applying Eternal Truths to Everyday Work. Brett shares how biblical principles can transform HR practices and organizational culture, with a focus on leadership, discipleship, and strategic alignment for profitable, kingdom-focused businesses. Brett has led HR in Fortune 100 companies, for a large employee-owned general contractor, and for the world's largest chaplaincy service. He explains how he learned to connect Sunday and Monday, why he believes there is no such thing as work-life balance, only one life lived under God's priorities, and what HR looks like when it acts as a business driver instead of a paperwork department: planning the people you will need, hiring for heart, holding people accountable the way Jesus did, and why one-on-one workplace discipleship may be the missing piece behind employee engagement. In this episode: Why Brett says there is no work-life balance, only one life Religion versus relationship, and what changed when Brett realized he was not as saved as he thought What it means to pray without ceasing Moving HR from administration to strategy, with a simple people strategy model Why engagement and well-being matter more than any single training program Workplace discipleship: why Brett replaced staff meetings with weekly one-on-ones How to bring biblical principles into a workplace where not everyone shares your faith Hiring the heart, plus interview questions that reveal character Accountability and termination: the woman at the well versus the Pharisees The biggest lie leaders tell themselves about culture CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction to Brett Billups and Biblical HR 01:05 Observing Leadership Styles in Any Environment 02:06 Brett's Journey to Biblical HR and Faith 04:17 Connecting Faith and Work: Personal Transformation 06:57 Religion Versus Relationship 12:02 There Is No Work-Life Balance, Only One Life 14:32 What Praying Without Ceasing Really Means 16:29 What Surprised Brett Most About People in Every Sector 18:00 The Role of Joy and Culture in a Healthy Organization 19:44 Shifting HR from Administrative to Strategic 26:36 The Biblical Model of Selection, Engagement, and Development 32:39 The Power of Personal Discipleship in Organizations 39:32 Applying Biblical Principles in a Modern Workplace 41:37 Human Dignity and Hiring the Heart 47:13 Correction, Accountability, and Performance Management 50:25 Common Misconceptions About Company Culture 52:34 Resources and Next Steps for Implementing Biblical HR 54:09 Final Thought LINKS Brett Billups: https://biblicalhr.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-billups-3488666/ Book: https://a.co/d/00yjGVlm Turn your next faithful step into action: https://goalgetting.app Keywords (from Doug's show notes): Biblical HR, organizational culture, leadership, discipleship, strategic HR, Christian business, employee engagement, workplace transformation

What would it cost you each month to hire someone to build your software tools, run your research, and take your meeting notes? Doug Greathouse tells you what he pays for the same work: $135 a month. In this solo episode, Doug walks through what AI has actually done inside his business, with real costs and no hype. He shares the three jobs his AI tools handle today: building SEO, ads and social agents with Codex, a funding research agent built for a client, and an AI meeting notes pipeline. He is also honest about what AI does not do, and what it still takes from him: setup time and checking the work. Then the faith side. Using the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, Doug asks whether we are being faithful with the tools we have been handed, and why faithful means both putting tools to work and cutting the ones that do not earn their place. You will leave with a six-step assignment to find one repeatable task, price your own hour, test one AI tool for a month, and decide with real numbers. In this episode: What $135 a month of AI buys in a real business Three AI jobs: building agents, client funding research, meeting notes Why a hire is not the same as a tool Matthew 25 and stewardship of AI A six-step weekly assignment Get clear on your next 90 days with Goal Getting: https://goalgetting.app More episodes: https://profitablechristianbusiness.com/profitable-christian-business-podcast

What does it look like to make prayer part of the way you run your business, rather than something you fit in after everything else? Doug Greathouse talks with James Williams, author, podcaster, speaker and creator of Dark Waters, about what James calls partnering with God in business. James shares how he organizes his day around prayer, learns to discern the Holy Spirit's direction, and makes room for faith when work feels overwhelming. The conversation moves into James's views on spiritual warfare, repentance, generational patterns, and the relationship between priesthood and kingship. Doug and James also discuss business setbacks, sacrifice, removing distractions, and praying for protection over a business and home. In this episode: - Making time for prayer when business feels overwhelming - Hearing God's voice through prayer, scripture and experience - James's perspective on repentance and generational patterns - Why James connects spiritual life with business leadership - Learning from business setbacks and trusting God - Removing distractions to make room for spiritual growth - The "gates of prayer" and James's biblical explanation - Praying for protection over your business and home CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction and welcome to James Williams 01:40 Organizing the business day around prayer 06:06 Overwhelm, sacrifice and partnering with God 12:08 Hearing God's voice and discerning His direction 21:37 Repentance and spiritual communication 26:38 Generational patterns and the bloodline 32:55 Priesthood, kingship and business leadership 44:18 Removing distractions for spiritual growth 49:17 The gates of prayer and their biblical basis 54:35 Praying for protection over business and home 01:06:32 Where to follow James and a possible part two 01:08:22 Final challenge: make time to pray

What does it actually feel like to work for you? You can put Christian values on your website. You can talk about servant leadership. You can say people come first. But your employees experience your culture every single day—and their experience may tell a very different story. In this episode of the Profitable Christian Business Podcast, Doug Greathouse sits down with Douglas Shaw, author of Curative Culture: Stepping Away from a Toxic Workplace, to explore how leaders can build healthy, high-performing workplaces rooted in dignity, trust, accountability, purpose, and Christian values. Douglas says employees are constantly evaluating three things when they enter a workplace: Am I safe? Can I trust your intentions? Can I respect you? Those questions reveal far more about your real culture than a mission statement hanging on the wall. Douglas also challenges the idea that healthy culture means soft leadership. A curative culture still demands excellence. It still requires accountability. It still requires difficult conversations. And sometimes it requires removing someone—even a high performer—to protect the rest of the organization. In one of the strongest stories from the episode, Douglas explains why he hesitated to deal with two highly productive but toxic employees. A consultant finally challenged him: if leadership continued tolerating their behavior, the rest of the company would assume leadership approved of it. Douglas acted. The employees left. And something unexpected happened: Other people began to flourish. In this episode: What Douglas means by Curative Culture How nature helped inspire the idea behind the book How quickly you can sense whether a workplace feels healthy The three questions employees silently ask Why leadership owns culture How Christian leaders should think about the Imago Dei Why treating employees with dignity does not eliminate accountability How Douglas handled an employee he initially wanted to fire Why understanding context can change a difficult personnel decision How a firing can sometimes become a blessing Why healthy culture isn't "soft" How culture affects retention and profitability Why toxic high performers can damage the entire organization Why what leaders tolerate becomes part of the culture How to improve culture starting with leadership self-awareness Why leaders should ask, "How do I want it to feel to work here?" Why values must be embodied instead of simply written down How servant leadership changes the use of power Why great leaders ask questions instead of always making pronouncements How leaders can stay connected to employees How Douglas maintained culture after his company went remote Why remote teams still need intentional in-person connection Why asking employees for their opinions builds confidence Why purpose can keep employees engaged longer than compensation alone Douglas ends with a powerful leadership challenge: Help employees understand what they are actually accomplishing through their work. Don't simply give people a job. Help them understand the mission they're part of. Connect with Douglas Shaw Doug Shaw Perspective: DougShawPerspective.com Douglas Shaw & Associates: DouglasShaw.com Book: Curative Culture: Stepping Away from a Toxic Workplace Turn Clarity Into Execution Knowing your culture needs to change isn't enough. The Goal Getting App helps entrepreneurs turn one important outcome into a focused 90-day goal, identify the needle-moving actions that matter, and consistently execute. Start Your Next 90 Days with Goal Getting