We Can’t Do It Alone: Why We’re Part of C12

How the C12 Community Is Helping Us Build a Great Company for a Greater Purpose

Excellence is one of our core values. And to us, it goes much deeper than just an aspirational word or high-level description.

Excellence drives our daily commitment to always deliver the very best value to our customers. It also creates an uncompromising Christian environment that fosters a spirit of doing the right thing at every level within our company.

Our Christian principles and commitment to honor God above all else are the foundation of everything we do at Gregory Construction. At the same time, we are always seeking better ways to manage our business, serve our customers, strengthen our partnerships, and develop our leadership team.

Like so many things in life and business, it’s about balance. We insist on a challenging and positive work environment that pushes everyone in our organization to be accountable and continually improve, without ever compromising our values or faith.

Why We’re Part of C12

To help us strike the correct balance as we navigate an often-challenging business climate, we actively seek resources and partnerships to help us be our best. A portion of Gregory’s leadership team are members of C12, a dynamic forum designed exclusively for Christian CEOs and Executives.

C12 is a national organization with regional forums or peer groups comprised of leaders from a variety of industries that work together to make better decisions and grow their businesses while staying focused on the eternal impact more than the bottom line.

In addition to the powerful benefit of building relationships and learning from like-minded leaders, C12 also provides us with helpful tools, resources, and a curriculum we can work through with our own leadership team and apply to our daily management.

At the heart of C12’s materials is the 5-Point Alignment Matrix that helps organizations continually evaluate growth strategies, financial stewardship, cultural development, and operations by focusing on 5 core areas of the business:

• Revenue Generation
• Operations Management
• Financial Management
• Organizational Development
• Ministry

For us at Gregory, the 5PAM methodology is an excellent tool we use to help form our strategic plan and drive our weekly management meetings. It’s so easy to get overly focused on the biggest challenge of the moment (like business development or a tricky operational issue) and neglect other important areas (like ministry).

The C12 5PAM model helps us dynamically gauge the health of our business considering all 5 of the core factors. We use this tool to set targets, regularly measure our progress, and make timely adjustments.

We can’t do it alone.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Psalm 27:17)

C12 is like an ongoing fitness program for your business. If you commit to going to the gym regularly, you will become healthier!

Beyond the critical resources, training, and tools we receive from participating in the C12 program, Gregory Construction receives exponential benefits from being a part of the greater C12 community. These include:

• Wise business advice from experienced executives
• An ongoing call for accountability to our mission (and purpose!)
• Opportunities to pray with and for Christian leaders from a variety of industries
• Business connections and partnerships

I mentioned earlier in this article that it’s a challenge to balance operational excellence and Christian principles on a daily basis. It certainly is, but it’s not just about balance. It goes deeper than that.

Actively participating in the C12 community helps us treat our business as a ministry. When we can do that, we know we’ll be successful.

My advice to any Christian leader that truly wants to make an eternal impact with his or her business is to look up a local C12 forum. You will be surrounded by like-minded business leaders that want to help you build a great business for a greater purpose.