FOCUS Magazine

From the Daily Bread Bison are made in such a way that their natural inclination is to look down; the design of their necks makes it difficult for them to look up. In contrast, giraffes are designed in a way that makes looking up easy; the way their necks were made makes it difficult for [...]

A part of a good quality program is to identify the value of each individual by defining his or her work in job profiles. Then through written procedures communicate how each person’s job inter-relates to achieve our company goals. Every person, therefore, is essential and valuable as part of the whole. By ourselves, we may [...]

As I reviewed the cover of the 2002 summer edition of FOCUS, I couldn’t help but be proud and impressed with the leadership found on Ergon’s internal audit team. So many people from throughout the company have volunteered extra time and effort to make our company the best. I personally want to thank each one [...]

I read a story about a Scottish athlete in the 19th century who decided to enter a discus throwing competition. He made an iron discus based on a description he read in a book. What he didn’t know was that the discus used in official competition was made of wood with only an outer rim [...]

A professor in the business school gave a pop quiz to his students. They breezed through the questions, until they read the last one: “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?” Surely this was some kind of joke. Everyone in the class had come in contact with the cleaning woman [...]

From the Daily Bread In 516 B.C., the Jews completed rebuilding their temple in Jerusalem, but the city’s wall remained in shambles for the next 70 years. These walls represented power, protection, and beauty to the city and were desperately needed to protect the temple from attack. God put the desire to rebuild the city [...]

Whether you have seen the following “seeds parable” in print or online involving a wise parent, Emperor, or CEO, it’s message and truths bear repeating. A successful businessman was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, [...]

Where we were working was hot, dirty, and the air around us smelled bad. We had traveled thousands of miles to do some work projects, and on this day we were painting the back of a classroom building at a school for the deaf. The only people who would ever see this part of the [...]