The Pope and the CEO > Cyberside Chats
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A Cyberside Chat With…Kenneth Goodpaster
We continue our Cyberside Chat feature with Kenneth Goodpaster, who is professor of business ethics at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. 1. What does “prosperity” mean to you? Prosperity signals to me a kind of abundance, success in the pursuit of “the good things in life.” So for someone who believes that the good things in life are material, prosperity will look like wealth, “financial independence.” As I grow in faith, my idea of the good things in life changes – so my idea of prosperity changes. 2. Describe one moment that exemplifies to you the intersection of faith and business. Perhaps the moment when a business person or entrepreneur realizes that s/he wants to market goods that are truly good and services that truly serve. This is a liberating moment, but it calls for great faith. Someone once said that the only true independence (liberation?) is dependence on God. 3. Name one person you’ve always admired and what they taught you about living an integrated life. Tom Holloran: lawyer, C.E.O., and eventually professor of business and professor of law. At lunch our faculty would often gather together at a common table, and occasionally there might… Read more
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A Cyberside Chat with…Tomás Sebastián Seromik
Today we continue our Cyberside Chat series with Sebastián Seromik, a contributor to this blog who also works for SEVEN Fund. 1. What does prosperity mean to you? True human flourishing. Becoming the person that God meant for me to be – this covers all aspects of life – spiritual, material, physical, emotional, etc. 2. Describe one moment that exemplifies to you the intersection of faith and business. I had a business school professor at the University of Michigan, Lloyd Sandelands, who taught a fantastic course on organizational management. At the end of the course, he told us that managing others required one to manage oneself, and that, in his mind, the best approach to this was a faith-filled approach. I had never heard someone teach that, and after talking with him, and how his Catholic faith affected his work, I realized that I, too, could integrate my faith with my professional life. 3. Name one person you’ve always admired and what they taught you about living an integrated life My grandfather. His dedication to God, his family, and his work has always astounded me. Each year of his life has been a year of growth. And the best part… Read more
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A Cyberside Chat With…Andreas Widmer
Today we are introducing a new feature that we hope to run frequently on our blog. The idea is to interview people with quite a bit of experience in the business world and in their life of faith, and draw insights from them on the intersection between these two areas of life. We begin the series with this blog’s founder, Andreas Widmer. Andreas is co-founder of SEVEN Fund, an organization that promotes enterprise-based solutions to poverty. 1. What does “prosperity” mean to you? When a person lives a balanced live and can thrive at it. This goes far beyond material sufficiency, but it does include it. 2. Describe one moment that exemplifies to you the intersection of faith and business. It is very difficult to separate the two. My faith informs my understanding of the human person, and the business of business is the human person, as Lloyd Sandelands said so well. 3. Name one person you’ve always admired and what they taught you about living an integrated life Blessed John Paul II. He was the same person in everything he did, and he was a master at balancing his spiritual, family, professional, intellectual, social, physical, emotional, recreational … he… Read more