An MBA from Heaven: Biblical Wisdom Applied to the Business World

By Rabbi Shmulik Yeshayahu and Daniel Friedmann

An MBA from Heaven, in a most practical way, shows you how to build a successful career and business while contributing to a fair and just society. In a cohesive and engaging narrative it answers the big questions that preoccupy employers and employees. Real business stories are used to illustrate a huge range of topics. and many of the lessons apply to other life situations.
The book’s overarching goal is to help everyone in a company grow, advance, and contribute to the firm’s success while also developing into better people and achieving their full potential. You will learn how to:•Advance your career•Lead for lasting results•Gain trust and support•Approach negotiations•Build relationships with colleagues•Balance vision and implementation•Make time•Make decisions•Build teams•And 40 other topicsThe chapters follow a consistent format and can be read in any order and. A biblical passage is introduced and explained. A key lesson for a modern business problem is extracted from the passage and elucidated. Then a real business example is used to illustrate what has been discussed. Finally, the section is summarized in a few short sentences for future reference.Whether you’re a leader or manager seeking to better understand how to build and lead a successful business, or an employee needing advice on how to succeed personally, be an entrepreneur, and better contribute to an organization’s success, this book is for you.Order your copy today

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rabbi Shmulik Yeshayahu
• Release date: Nov 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005457754

Book preview

with Gratitude

With gratitude to G-d Almighty, I am excited to present this book, which I was privileged to co-author with Daniel Friedmann.

Through teaching many classes and meeting numerous individuals in my outreach work, I saw first-hand how the richness of the ancient Jewish teachings added value, meaning, and depth in all areas of my students’ and community members’ lives.

It was incredibly inspiring to work and study with Dan Friedmann, who is both an incredibly moral and learned individual and a very successful businessperson.

My learning and my style of understanding are shaped by the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe (of blessed memory), Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who was the chief pioneer in making Jewish teachings relevant to modern life in the twentieth century.

Pirkei Avot, known in English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims passed down to the rabbis from Moses onwards. In it, Ben Bag Bag, a rabbi and convert to Judaism,[1] explains in Aramaic—the everyday spoken language of the time—the relevance of the Torah to everything, from the lofty to the mundane and from ancient to modern times.[2]

בֶּן בַּג בַּג אוֹמֵר, הֲפֹךְ בָּהּ וַהֲפֹךְ בָּהּ, דְּכֹלָּא בָהּ. וּבָהּ תֶּחֱזֵי, וְסִיב וּבְלֵה בָהּ, וּמִנַּהּ לֹא תָזוּעַ, שֶׁאֵין לְךָ מִדָּה טוֹבָה הֵימֶנָּה:

Ben Bag Bag says, Search in it and search in it, since everything is in it. And in it should you look, and grow old and be worn in it; and from it do not move, since there is no characteristic greater than it.

The idea that we can discover purpose, direction, and all of the wisdom for life in the Bible is the motivation for this book. Even in the most mundane and potentially spiritually devoid areas of our lives, such as the workplace, we can benefit from the teachings in the Torah. Its lessons are relevant to this day and give direction and meaning to all we do. The purpose of this book is to find the connections and use this knowledge to elevate and enhance our business lives. The lessons are timeless and relevant not only in the workplace, but in our personal relationships and development.

The Torah precedes not only us but the creation of the world. In fact, the sages teach us that the Torah is the blueprint of the world, the architectural plan for the creation.[3] Hence, if we want to gain insight and understanding into anything we are experiencing, we should look back to the original plan. There, we find all the answers.

Thank you to my dear wife, Rivki, for all of her support and inspiration. In the words of the great Rabbi Akiva to his 24,000 students, referring to his wife’s inspiration and ongoing support: Sheli v’shelachem shelah hee[4]—What you and I have accomplished belongs to her. Rivki, you are my partner in all our community work and my pillar of support in our family life, and you challenge me to be my best self.

It is a grave responsibility to quote and explain the holy text of the Torah. I have done my best to describe the sources accurately, relying on Jewish commentaries for interpretation. With an awareness of my limited understanding, I request that if you find any inaccuracies or errors in the teachings that I explain, please contact me so that I can fix them for future printings.

Dr. Dania Sheldon provided extensive structural and copy editing and made numerous improvements to help clarify the text.

Our sincerest gratitude goes to Aaron Levitt, Anil Wirasekara, and Zushi Greisman, who provided invaluable feedback and corrections, to Marilyn Friedmann, who formatted the manuscript and e-book, and to Elmar dela Cruz, who designed the book cover.

Rabbi Shmuel Yeshayahu, Shliach, Vancouver, Canada

TABLE OF CONTENTS

with Gratitude

HOW TO READ THIS BOOK

INTRODUCTION

PART 1  •  LEADERSHIP

LEADING FOR LASTING OUTCOMES

LEADING AND ENCOURAGING WITH HONESTY

LEADING FOR INNOVATION

SHAPING A COMPANY’S DIRECTION

REALIZING YOUR COMPANY’S VISION

LEADING AND MANAGING: DIFFERENT ESSENTIAL ROLES

BALANCING VISION AND IMPLEMENTATION

SEEING OTHERS’ POTENTIAL

LEARNING AND LEADERSHIP

LISTENING EFFECTIVELY

BECOMING A GOOD PUBLIC SPEAKER

TURNING NEW ACQUAINTANCES INTO FRIENDS

SELLING EFFECTIVELY

CHOOSING THE RIGHT WORDS

SOLVING DEADLOCKED NEGOTIATIONS

VALUING SMALL DETAILS

DEFINING QUALITY PRODUCTS

HARNESSING FEAR IN DECISION MAKING

ADMITTING MISTAKES

BUILDING A TRUSTING WORK ENVIRONMENT

STAYING FINANCIALLY SECURE IN HARD TIMES

ASSEMBLING A TEAM FOR SUCCESS

VALUING TRANSPARENCY IN BUSINESS

GOOD ETHICS IN BUSINESS

USING INTUITION

ATTRACTING AND RETAINING INVESTORS

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR PHILANTHROPY

PART 2  •  THE Employee–Employer Relationship

MAKING YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE POSITIVE

BEING ASSERTIVE IN BUSINESS

ADVANCING IN YOUR CAREER

BUILDING HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS WITH COLLEAGUES

DEALING WITH MONOTONY

DEALING WITH MISTAKES

PLANNING AND APPLYING YOUR TIME

MAKING TIME

USING TIME: ARE YOU FREE OR A SLAVE?

DRESSING THE PART

DELEGATING EFFECTIVELY

ENSURING THE JOB GETS DONE

GETTING A PROJECT DONE

EMPLOYING DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT STYLES

BUILDING A HIGH-PERFORMING TEAM

GETTING TO KNOW A JOB APPLICANT

CONDUCTING EMPLOYEE EVALUATIONS

GIVING EFFECTIVE CRITICISM

HANDLING WORKPLACE GOSSIP

HANDLING WORKPLACE JEALOUSY

DESIGNING A WORKSPACE

PARSHA CROSS REFERENCE

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

OTHER BOOKS BY DANIEL FRIEDMANN

HOW TO READ THIS BOOK

An MBA from Heaven will help you and your company succeed, wherever you are in the organization. Its messages and lessons also apply beyond the business world and can improve your everyday life.

The book consists of 48 short chapters, each dealing with a key topic. The topics fall into two broad categories: leadership and the employee–employer relationship. However, the chapters are stand alone and can be read in any order. The table of contents is therefore the index—simply select a topic and start reading.

The underlying model for all of the topics is the Genesis Creation narrative, but the reader needs no familiarity with the Bible. The book’s introduction provides some key background on the model to help you get more out of the topics.

All chapters follow a standard format. A biblical passage is introduced and explained. A key lesson for a modern business problem is extracted from the passage and explained. Then a real business example is used to illustrate what has been discussed (highlighted in grey). The section is summarized in a few short lines (in bigger font) for future reference.

Two further notes about terminology and orthography. We frequently refer to the Torah, by which we mean primarily the five books of Moses and the related oral tradition (primarily the Talmud) and commentaries. In addition, we use G-d to treat His name with reverence and show respect.

Finally, as the book contains direct quotes from the Torah, please respect the divine text by not placing this book in the garbage.

INTRODUCTION

What does the Bible have to do with business? Everything.

First, the fourth commandment doesn’t simply tell us to observe a day of rest—we’re to work six days and then rest on the seventh. Working six days is part of the commandment.

Second, the Bible guarantees that we all have the ability to succeed: But you must remember the L-rd your G-d, for it is He that gives you strength to make wealth.[5]

It also provides practical advice, such as, make the hard decisions and do so in a timely way. He who waits for the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.[6]

And it counsels us on how to conduct ourselves responsibly as members of society: Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness and his upper chambers without justice, who makes his fellow man work without wages. [7]

As we go deeper into the biblical literature, it elucidates many subjects that have a direct bearing on business, such as respecting hard work, leading an ethical life, being charitable, treating employees well, going beyond the strict requirements of the law, and caring for others. Importantly, it teaches that the key to becoming wealthy is honesty in business.[8]

The real clincher is what biblical tradition says about the questions we’ll have to answer when our life ends. The first will be: Did you buy and sell with integrity? [9]

Why will the first question about our whole journey here on earth be about business? Because the Creation is a business enterprise between us and G-d.

Humans are an incredibly enterprising and productive species: we create with foresight, we save our money for the future, we invest our profits toward further profits, we strive to make our dreams come true, and we try to make the world better. The Bible tells us that the world was created for us to settle and build within it: He established [the world]; He did not create it for a waste, He formed it to be inhabited. [10]

So we are to inhabit the world and to work hard and honestly. But is that all, or is there a higher meaning and purpose?

The biblical literature elucidates how and why the world was created and our role here. By studying the biblical wisdom describing G-d’s enterprise—Creation—we can learn about our larger purpose and how to run our businesses, drawing on expertise from a source higher than any business school.

Creation: A Business Partnership

Creation can be seen as a business partnership. Let’s get to know the boss. Before the Creation process started, G-d composed the Bible. He then looked into it and created the world.[11] So the first thing we know is that He has a business plan containing the process for making the world. It also contains management information and behavioral values. In short, it’s a complete plan for the world enterprise. We also know that except at the very beginning of Creation, when something came from nothing, G-d concealed Himself by acting through nature. So G-d’s management style is to remain behind the scenes and exert influence rather than using an in-your-face, controlling style.

Now let’s examine His plan a bit more.

A good business requires a combination of leadership and management. Leadership is all about doing the right thing, while management is about doing it the right way. Through leadership, we establish the organization’s purpose, vision, and strategy. Through management, we detail the operating plans, schedules, and process manuals for the organization to run well and generate the desired results.

Let’s look more closely at purpose, vision, and strategy.

The Creation has a purpose. The purpose for which this world was created is that the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to have an abode in the lower worlds.[12] During Creation, G-d concealed Himself so we could exercise free will. The extent of the concealment is so great that we can even doubt G-d’s existence. It is our task to reveal G-d’s essence, transforming the world’s superficial obscurity into an environment in which … He feels (so to speak) at home.[13]

If we imagine an aerospace business, its statement of purpose might be to bring the benefits of space to Earth, meaning to use technology in space to improve our lives on Earth.

What about the vision of Creation, the long-term objective? It is to complete and repair the world. This means that while the world is innately good, G-d created it incomplete and made humanity partners in completing and perfecting it. That’s the enterprise of Creation, and we humans are both business partners and employees—very modern!

For our imagined aerospace business, the vision might be to provide information about Earth so everyone can better manage their activities. For example, think of Google Maps, which provides images with lots of derived information; we can use this to manage a forest, or make agricultural and land-use decisions, or plan a city’s expansion.

Finally, Creation gives us a strategy for how to accomplish the vision:

Work six days, rest one.

Invest in proportion to reward: According to the pain is the reward.[14]

Dig deep to innovate and find new ways: Delve in it [the biblical text], and continue to delve in it, for everything is in it.[15]

Make sure the intellect rules over the emotions: Judges and enforcers you shall place at your gates.[16] This can also be interpreted as Think before you act. The body is likened to a protected city, while the mind is likened to judges.

Setbacks are tests.Sometimes, a temporary setback is what we need for us to continue with greater vigor.[17]

Behave ethically.

In the satellite business, the strategy to reap rewards from investment might be to take advances in mobile phone technology—specifically, smartphones with cameras—which have been fueled by billions of dollars in investments, and innovate further with more investment to make micro satellites. After all, a satellite is basically just a flying smartphone. It’s a camera that can communicate with Earth to send images; it has a battery to power it and a solar array to recharge the battery, and it needn’t be much bigger than a phone. With a little work, voilà—an imaging satellite for 1% of what it used to cost.

What about management? How do we work with employees to implement the strategy to achieve the vision? Scripture contains a remarkable structure that explains a complete management process, which this book’s chapters will detail. Most of this, we’ll find, is about interpersonal relationships—how to treat people, particularly partners and employees, and how to deliver value and quality to customers.

In what follows, chapters are presented in two parts: one on leadership and one on management, or the employee–employer relationship. Although the chapters are organized as described above, they can be read in any order.

Most business books are written for CEOs and managers to help them run their companies better. This book, An MBA from Heaven, is different—as it’s written just as