Entrepreneurs with Christian Values

What are the key drivers and motivations to lead a company as an entrepreneur, be it as an owner or as a manager? To gain profits and sustain the company? Create jobs and serve stakeholders? Accumulate power to increase influence and impact? To sustain the planet’s re-sources and the environment?

“Entrepreneurs with Values” – the title of this book – are committed to be faithful to their vision, values and convictions. They decide about profit, people, power and the planet in the light of their values. This means responsible, credible, long term oriented leadership.

The “Values-driven Entrepreneurs Training” VET is a fascinating and ambitious program first for Christian Entrepreneurs in China, espe-cially Small and Medium Enterprises SMEs, hence the subtitle “with a Focus on China”. It can also be used for SMEs from different values background and on different continents.

This handbook is the result of a three-year international cooperation between the global ethics foundation, Globethics.net, based in Gene-va/Switzerland, and the Kingdom Business College (KBC) based in Hong Kong and its Chinese entrepreneurs. It is the fruit of an intense cooperation between Chinese, Swiss and US experts and including Chi-nese Christian entrepreneurs who contributed the manifold questions and topics in the handbook they wanted to answer as practitioners.

This VET book is a Handbook for Trainers and Students (mainly En-trepreneurs who follow an Executive Master of Business Administration EMBA). It is a document that shall present all detailed information and requirements concerning the VET Criteria (ethical Compass) and Indica-tors (practical Roadmap). It gives the background information about the Christian-biblical foundation together with the relevant sustainability context and practical indicators for implementation.

The twelve chapters serve as twelve modules. A version in Chinese will summarize it in a short and practical way for the direct use of the student-entrepreneurs.

Being an entrepreneur with values is very demanding in daily deci-sion making. This handbook lists manifold requirements, standards and suggestions. But VET emphasizes a step by step approach: not every-thing can be implemented at the same time and in the short term. More important is a plan and the goals for each year to improve one at least one of the topics in the twelve sections. Therefore, this handbook does not intend to discourage, but on the contrary to encourage for little steps. Jesus’ ethical benchmark of the beatitudes in the Sermon on the mount (Matt 5:3-11) is very high and at the same time he told his disciples “My burden is light” (Matt 11:30). To follow ethical goals with perseverance motivates and makes it joyful to be an entrepreneur.

We hope that this book encourages to values-driven entrepreneurship in a Christian perspective. Do not hesitate to send us your feedback and suggestions to Christoph Stueckelberger (stueckel-berger@globethics.net) or Cui Wantian (moses-2004@163.com).