Our August 2003 speaker was Tim Marusich. Tim is CEO of BlueHornet Networks, Inc.
Tim's shared how his company is in the midst of a merger, so although he is under incredible stresses and time constraints he is experiencing right now, he responded to the Lord's call to speak at CEO when Jim Cary called him.
Tim's goal in business is to apply Christian principles effectively. After starting Blue Hornet, he began by taking a "greed is good" poster down that someone had put up at the company office. His goal was to instill integrity in his company and show how "good guys" CAN win in business.
He shared about some high risks he took to maintain his Christian integrity. He fired his co-founder when un-necessary and unfair production pressures were put on his developers. He made himself vulnerable to show how he was capable of making mistakes - he did not sweep his errors under the rug - he acknowledged them and learned from them. Likewise, he permitted others to make mistakes, both financially and technically.
Tim shared some key lessons he has learned:
He also noted the things that are the most important to focus on:
To finish his presentation, Tim talked about working with other people and how challenging it is. He noted that no one can never completely understand another person's motives. Most important is understanding your own motivations and making sure they are not driven by greed, but by a desire to be Christ-like. Ultimately, Tim affirmed what Jesus tells us - if you talk the talk, walk the walk!