Humility and Self-Promotion

Today I had lunch with a very capable Christian writer who said, offhandedly, "I guess it is that writer's shyness. I don't want to engage in self-promotion." He's right. We shouldn't want to engage in self-promotion, because that's ugly and disfiguring. So what is a Christian entrepreneur (whether writer or otherwise) to do? Creating Value The foundation of all entrepreneurship is the creation or provision of value. We solve a problem in a novel way. That solution may be a book, or a product, or a service. Whatever it is, it must add value. If it doesn't, it isn't entrepreneurship; it is hoodwinking. The Christian who creates value ought not to be ashamed of this good! If what is created and offered truly adds value, then offering it (whether a book, patent, product, service, or whatever) can be love, not self-promotion. Indeed, clearly understanding the value that one is creating and offering is the best protection against self-promotion. It has to be good for others, and not merely for oneself, in order to add value. Love Creates Value This gets to the heart of gospel entrepreneurship. Love creates value for the good of others. Love is the heartbeat of gospel entrepreneurship. Its aim is not profit, but value. Profit is the proper adjunct of value creation, not its purpose. I have used my friend Joshua as an example before, and here again he is a great example. Joshua is a pharmaseutical salesman. He goes office to office to encourage doctors to prescribe the drugs his company develops and produces. On the surface, it would seem like it is in Joshua's interest to tell everyone to prescribe his drugs. But it isn't, and Joshua knows it. He is more concerned with adding value than selling his drug. So when a doctor describes a case for which the drug isn't a good fit, Joshua says, "My drug is not appropriate for that." If that sounds like the worst think a drug rep, who makes a living based on sales, could say, you need to think in terms of value. Joshua just added value by telling the truth. So doctors trust him more than the reps who "sell, sell, sell." And Joshua is consistently one of the most profitable salesmen in his region. Profit is the adjunct of value. By caring for his clients and telling the truth, Joshua adds value. I encouraged my Christian writer friend, "You have written this book to add value. You don't need to be ashamed of that. It isn't self-promotion to share value with others." I didn't say it then, but I should have concluded, "It is LOVE to share value with others. The fact that you created that value is an expression of that love."