FCCI

I’m fascinated by the new television program called “Undercover Boss”.  Admittedly, I don’t rush home to watch every episode, but I’ve seen enough to, well … be fascinated.

If you are not familiar with the program, it centers around a different CEO and his/her company each week.  The first 45 minutes show and tell of the experiences that CEO has when he/she goes “undercover” to work as a new employee in a variety of functional areas across the scope of the organization.  For example, the CEO of Roto-Rooter helped clean out clogged sewer lines, the CEO of 7-11 learns to make coffee, several experience their customer service call centers … and all the while, the people they are working with have no idea who this new person really is – and that can be hilarious.  Of course, it can also be other things – several CEOs have been told they have no potential for the job they are trying to learn, I’ve seen one actually get fired!  The most common result is that the CEO finds that his company has some amazing people who love the company, who have great ideas, who may be living in incredibly difficult circumstances, who don’t really understand the big picture, or who are hungry for input and encouragement.

In the final 15 minutes of each show, the CEO reveals his/her true identity to the people they have been working with, and gives them personal feedback – which is usually wonderfully affirming and often quite emotional.  It all makes for pretty good television.

Part of the fascination for me, however, is how clearly biblical truth pops up in the most unique places!  No … verses don’t scroll across the bottom of the screen, nor does anything else happen to highlight the moment, but if you have been reading Proverbs lately, they can be hard to miss.

Examples:  You don’t have to be in customer service call center environment very long before you see the truth of Proverbs 15:1, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”  Or watch the tension and anger melt away from a rumor-believing employee when he hears from the CEO that his company has no plans to close the plant he and his friends depend on to support their families – and resource their small community – and you know the truth of Proverbs 25:25, “Like cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a distant land.”

How about the anger felt by the CEO who had to watch a salesman overcharge a customer because “he can afford it” – anger reflecting Proverbs 20:23, “Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord, and a false scale is not good.”
Perhaps the most frequent truths that I see reflected in the experiences of this program are those found in verses like Proverbs 22:1, “A good name is more to be desired than great wealth,”  27:2 “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger and not your own lips.”  25:11 “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances”.  And in those final scenes, as the excellent employees stand before their boss, and then as the CEO stands in from of his/her entire organization, Proverbs 22:29 says to me “Do you see a man skilled in his work?  He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.”

Have you ever walked around your company and looked for Proverbs … for “truth”?  It’s a great exercise, and you may be surprised at both the encouragement and the challenge it can be.  Of course, Steve Marr would also remind you … and me … that the best way to see Proverbs come alive in your company is to immerse yourself in them on a regular basis.  Then they become a lens through which you can daily see the truth of how you and your company reflect the character of your real Boss ... and that’s a reflection that you never want to be undercover!

Your Fellow Truth Seeker,

Doug

President and CEO
Fellowship of Companies for Christ International / Christ@Work

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You don't waste your life by where you work, but by how and why.   John Piper