Written by: Imani Missouri, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
A purpose-driven life - one that most aim to live and model but oftentimes get stuck with the demands of the world. Larry Julian, bestselling author of "God Is My CEO" explores this tension by reflecting on lessons learned in his journey and work with leaders reconciling work and faith. A Christian, he notes this tension of “Biblical Principles versus Bottom-Line Demands”. He says “This paradigm has demanded that we operate in two separate worlds; a deeply personal, private, spiritual world and a very public, demanding, competitive business world”. Additionally he says “we are challenged by questions like “Can I do what’s right and be successful in a competitive bottom-line world?” and “Can I be both ethical and profitable?”
A faith-driven leader and entrepreneur myself, I have experienced this tension. This tension is further compounded with the intersections of faith, race and gender; all salient parts of my identity and how I show up in the world and work. I have been blessed to share in community alongside others entrepreneurs who are and have been exploring similar questions in a safe and sacred space.
In this article, I would like to share some insights into the tug-of-war with measuring success solely by “marketplace” standards and offer up some recommendations from a fellow faith-driven entrepreneur I am coming to know. The overarching questions, “How do you measure success as a faith-driven leader” and “Can KPIs be faith-driven?” are anchors for this discussion. Andy Choi and I hold space for our respective and shared perspectives and lessons learned.
Andy Choi is the Founder and CEO of Do Good Points, a digital platform that’s working to bridge the gap between nonprofits and individuals seeking to make a difference in the world. Though he never imagined starting a business in the social impact space, starting Do Good Points felt like answering a calling to give back.
An entrepreneur at heart, Andy started his first business at 14 painting address numbers on sidewalk curbs for homeowners across the Bay Area. Within the first two years, the business was operating in three cities, with 21 employees. Since then, he’s led multiple ventures including two separate retail food & beverage businesses, an international eco-manufacturing company, multiple e-commerce lines, and an international business development consultancy.
Andy was raised in the Bay Area, and currently lives in Alameda, CA.
Thank you so much Andy for agreeing to share your reflection. The overarching questions for our chat today are: How do you measure success as a faith-driven leader? Can KPIs be faith-driven? With that, faith is believing in that which is not seen yet trusting God regardless, and it's a lifestyle. With that said, what has been your greatest faith challenge as an entrepreneur and or leader?
Andy: I always say “I'm a capitalist by nature”. I believe in capitalism but I think that word is loaded these days. It has a lot of negative connotations. Really what capitalism is is economics. It's commerce. It’s being numbers-driven, and I'm always looking at things with that lense, whether it’s business or my daily life activities. I tend to think - How do I make this more efficient? What is the return on investment? I'm constantly measuring, trying to increase efficiency and output.
People always ask, isn’t that incredibly exhausting? It’s just the way I operate and I believe God built me this way, haha. Even in my leisure, I consider what I am reading for example. If it’s not adding value then it’s a waste of my time.
If my faith is the center of my entire life and the foundation everything is built on, then all KPIs and how I measure them should all be Christ-centered. So then by measuring and identifying opportunities, is ultimately finding ways to draw closer to Christ.
Interesting. When did these considerations become more of an intentionality for you?
Andy: To some degree, I used to unconsciously separate faith and work. We spend so much of our life and time in our careers but I never saw my work as a form of worship. That wasn't always a clear thing for me. I would make money, I would tithe and I would give. As a result of that giving, I perceived it as then God provided. I experienced a huge shift. When you think about tithing and work in general, you don't give a portion of something you earn. The definition of a tithe is giving first. It's literally giving first and setting aside something in faith and hope before you even have anything. It’s not just the 10%, because when you think about it, God doesn't need something you've already collected. It's the act of faith by putting something up front. Really digging into that and working to be intentional about that really changed my career.
It changed the way I approached business too. The project that I have now with Do Good Points, wasn't just me pursuing a business or a career in a startup. It was answering a calling for me. I felt God was like, “this is not about business and your KPIs, it's about being faithful” “I have this project. I have this vision and I want you to do it”. Answering that calling and trying to be faithful was key because the mission is bigger than me. God's going to achieve His goal with or without me. This means that my main struggle if you will is to just be faithful by adding value to this business. I have been really focused on that by asking myself: How am I drawing closer to God through this process? Ultimately drawing closer to Him is drawing closer to His mission so the business succeeding is a matter of, is it reaching God's mission?
Wow. “Is it reaching God’s mission?” I love that. You said that you felt this calling. That’s a part of the central goal. We both know that sometimes people feel like they're called to do something and it’s not quite it. They kind of veer off from the call in pursuit of something else. Did you get that affirmation that you were on the right track with what you're doing?
Andy: Yeah, absolutely. Unfortunately, it's just a painful process - being faithful usually requires me to pick myself up. There’s usually a point of feeling beat down, but God molds you through the process. Long story short, my beta version of Do Good Points was very successful. It was lucrative and things seemed to be going well. I had a moment when I took a step back and in doing so I realized there was tension with a former founder. God was like, “this isn’t the intention” “there's something bigger I want you to build”. I literally had to throw away a product in faith that was working in order to do something else. It is what the startup world will call pivot. Only this pivot didn't make any sense. Let me reiterate, it just didn’t make sense. Someone that was a business partner at the time who didn’t share my faith couldn’t grasp this pivot. He literally said, “Are you stupid?” I was like the fact that you would say that let’s me know that this is obviously not working. I knew there was something bigger here and that it wasn’t just a money thing. There I was trying to be faithful, feeling this calling to do good and I was faced with this decision.
I could have kept that product, it would have made money, and I could have tithed on that from that project. That would have been giving God something after the fact. Giving up this product, in worldly standards was stupid but to me that was just being faithful. I literally prayed, I talked to my pastor about it and it became clear that God wanted me to give that thing up. In my faithfulness, I walked away from the product. Faith oftentimes doesn't make sense.
That is huge and a great illustration of letting go of something that was painful. Your mind was attached to doing operations one way and then circumstances presented an opportunity for you to discern a course of action. I commend you for taking that step back and also seeking wise counsel, to help guide you in the process. KPIs evaluate the success of an organization or of a particular activity. They tend to be very bottom-line, and numbers driven. You include faith in the mix and it’s a leap to measure as it’s not so clear cut. What would you say to those who are struggling to grasp a faith-KPI?
Andy: There’s multiple layers to that. One, there is nothing wrong with being numbers driven. I think that is one thing we have to keep in mind. You can do business by doing good. Consider this, the church has business operations. God gives us resources in order to multiply those resources. That is part of our faith and being faithful. I can’t just sit here and say God is going to provide and not do anything. God put me here with capabilities so it is my responsibility to be intentional and successful in what I have been given. That is part of my walk and my work. A lot of people get that confused with the love of money. The Bible doesn’t say money itself is evil but it’s the love of money that is. I see money and numbers as resources; resources that are measuring factors. We should bring decisions before God and pray about those things. It’s a personal walk and relationship.
Other ways that I measure performance or growth is by constantly asking myself: Is this decision going to help me draw closer to God? It applies to anything and everything. I believe, as human beings, we tend to complicate our lives. I am always trying to get out of my own way which tends to add layers of complexity to decision making. The other measure is what I believe God values as a prime KPI - the people on my team. I think as a business owner, as an entrepreneur, it is harder said than done to invest and serve your team. As a servant-based leader, your team is the number one priority before business - before your P &L sheet and revenue.
In fact, if I can’t serve my team and be a witness to Christ then everything else is meaningless. In business the biggest opportunity that I have to praise God is by being reflective of my faith and modeling its principles for my team. These are people that are on the mission with me and whether they share my faith or not, I want them to say “Andy is a believer. There is something there”. That should be my testimony. With Christ at the center of it, that should be reflective in my work and it starts with my team. That is the biggest KPI for me. If I can’t serve them, there’s no point in serving a bigger audience. I aim to be as real with them as possible. Their growth and development comes before our business KPIs. How can we really do good if we are not starting with ourselves?
I love all of that. It’s like scripturally you are a shepherd in charge of a flock. God is indeed holding you (us) to the standard of being exemplary servant leaders. A lot of people throw out the term “servant leadership”. Let's be honest they’re not always clear on who or what they’re serving. I pulled this note during one of our discussions where you said “How am I worshipping God with whatever I have?”. That’s another faith- KPI wouldn’t you say?
Andy: Yes. I think God calls us to give from what we have today and be faithful in whatever that is in the now. This goes back to the statement I made earlier where I separated faith and work. I thought I am going to make a certain amount of money and then bring that back to God. That was a mistake. God calls us to be faithful and as such I have an opportunity to make an impact today and be a witness. It’s definitely something I have been working towards.
When I am pitching Do Good points one of the things I say is that “Everyone has an excuse of when I have more time or when I have more money is when I will do good”. “There's never enough time or money so how do we do good today?”
That is so true. I appreciate that you are offering practical questions that people can consider when making decisions in business and in their lives. What have you seen as a shift in your leadership as a result of centralizing these questions as indicator prompts? Going back to servant-based leadership, that has been a big thing in my journey. It is still something that I am constantly learning and God is shaping every day. When I really think about what it really means to be a servant-based leader it really means someone who is able to truly empower their team. I don’t believe workers work for their manager. Leaders work for their workers. My job is to empower people on my team to be the best they can be and do the best they can do. It’s not just a sales KPI or metric but their personal development is a growth metric. This requires understanding who they really are as individuals and thriving to celebrate their success whether that be with the company or growth outside of the company. I ask myself, how am I enabling their growth? I let my team know, “the moment you’re not growing, then this is not the right place for you”. It may put business in a bad place when someone leaves but in my faithfulness, I believe God will send the right person when they move on. Ultimately, God has a plan and intention for our paths crossing.
Amen to that reflection! A lot of people have a challenge with those transitions. I have first-hand experience with supervisors who preferred to box me in. It was clear they didn’t understand what you shared about faithfulness. There was a tension because I knew what God was doing through me - complete whatever that assignment was for that particular time frame, and then when it was time, move on. In addition to perusing the faith-driven entrepreneur resources, what resources would you recommend for this intersection of faith, purpose, leadership and business?
Andy: For me it’s mentorship. It’s bigger than podcasts and books for me. I have amazing mentors - people that are intentional in their faith walk. I have found that it’s the best way to learn from someone who has already done it and is doing it. I can’t stress how much of a game-changer it is. For example, I used to only talk to my pastor solely about spiritual development and discipleship because I saw business as separate but now he’s someone I go to regularly for guidance and prayers. Also, as I built the business one of the first things God blessed me with was a mentor who is absolutely doing Kingdom work. Being able to have intentional open conversations with him about the struggles I have faced has been rewarding. I joined groups like Faith-Driven Entrepreneurs because I realize how necessary it is to not go at this alone. Finding the right person to connect with and hold you accountable is very necessary.
Thank you Andy for your insight. For the readers out there, I will echo Larry Julian in closing, “God designed you to work. Work was designed by God”. How will you measure your success performance differently?
Imani Missouri, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Imani Missouri is the Principal Owner of Faith Forward LLC, where she leverages the essence of faith to coach leaders toward their purpose. She has a number of faith-centered sub-brands that motivate women of color to reach their full potential in the professional sphere and beyond. Some of which include the Forward 40 (4tea) podcast, which highlights the experiences of 40 women of color on the rise in the nonprofit and social enterprise sectors. She is also the founder of The Forward Academy, a faith-centered professional development platform for women of color seeking to define themselves beyond their titles. Her career spans experience in the nonprofit, community development, and education sector. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for DIFFvelopment, a nonprofit that creates historically and globally conscious Black visionary leaders who believe in Black business, take responsibility for developing solutions to the issues Black people face, and have unshakeable pride and confidence in themselves. She is also a member of the Medal and Nominating Committees for Smith College.
