Customer Reviews

Loving Monday: Succeeding in Business Without Selling Your Soul

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When it was first given to me, I put the book down and thought "great, another 'motivation' book under the guise of Christianity." It took me nearly a year o pick it up, and when I did, I regretted waiting so long. I found it to be a wealth of practical information set in a personal testimony to which I (and anyone) could relate. You won't find "three quicky steps to make life perfect" here. Instead, you'll get to know a man and his struggles, and how Christ helped him overcome them. If you've already arrived at the same conculsions Beckett does, the book will serve as a refreshing confirmation. If you haven't yet arrived at his conclusions, you'll be blessed. Read this book!

John Beckett's "Loving Monday" is a concise "how to." for the person who seeks to integrate their faith with their business life. The book refutes the popular notion that one must be ruthless in order to succeed in the workplace. Instead, Beckett shows how applying Christian principles in dealings with customers, employees and the community has helped him build a thriving business. His examples are simple and honest, giving techniques that anyone can understand an apply. The book is an easy read. The success of "Loving Monday" proves that it fills a need, that this is something Christians have been seeking.

This review appeared in Christian Library Journal.

John Beckett has been loving Mondays ever since he decided to run his oil burner business for the glory of God. He says, ". . . I had seen clear evidence that the Lord had a vital interest in my work. I concluded it would be utterly foolish for me to somehow partition my life into one way of thinking and conduct on Sundays and another during the work week. There needed to be a much fuller integration of my two worlds."

Three areas of focus make the R.W. Beckett Corporation notable:

First, extraordinary service. Management and employees alike strive to do their best. All are constantly looking for ways to improve their products so that they are always on the cutting edge of excellence. Examining their manufacturing process, they search for techniques that will enhance productivity and quality. They demonstrate their integrity in their contacts with customers and fulfillment of orders.

Second, commitment to employees. Company policies such as twenty-six weeks of maternity leave at quarter pay enable employees to put their families first. Management watches out for the best interests of labor, providing training needed for employees to be successful or to be promoted to the next level. Beckett has been so successful at forging caring employee relations that the plant voted to remain union-free.

Third, giving something back. Beckett's success has put him in a position to benefit the community. One of his projects is Advent Industries, which trains a workforce of disadvantaged people-who, because of criminal records, substance abuse, incomplete education or lack of skills are employment risks.

So exceptional is management style at the R.W. Beckett Corporation that Peter Jennings included a story about it on ABC News. Loving Monday explains in greater detail the Biblical principles that Beckett follows every day in running his business.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to love going to work--or who wants his employees to love their work.

--Andrea R. Huelsenbeck

This leader, John Beckett, is wonderful to watch. This book was given to me as a gift after I had the priviledge to train 30 Beckett employees who took the Dale Carnegie course. I learned first hand how this CEO not only worked and lived the beliefs he has written in this book, but I was able to get to know many of his employees over 12 weeks. This book is very inspirational and his honesty and integrity displayed to vendors, employees, family members is to be respected. I feel honored to have seen some of his good deeds by meeting people who needed a break and were outstanding employees,the cleanliness of the factory floor, diversity among the workforce population, special things done for employees, and such respect for the employee. Rare qualities in a CEO today.....this book is a must read and it makes you better!

Mr Beckett has written an encouraging note on how running his business along biblical principles has worked. The personal stories, honest insights, and easy-to-read format, made me keep reading until I was done. I am encouraged to learn from godly business leaders.

John Beckett has the feel of an average guy that stepped in to help with the family business and has walked out with so much more. Loving Monday reflects his humility and dependence on his faith as the ante was upped. The small family business grew into a Fortune 500 company, yet Mr. Beckett's faith allows him to turn his company into a blessing to its workers and community.

Loving Monday is the account of this success peppered with wisdom from and for the journey. John Beckett addresses some of the hindrances of western culture in seeing business as a calling. He uses these insights to apply them to the 'called' businessperson, thus empowering them to press forward with full confidence in the One who called them. Loving Monday sets itself apart from others in John Beckett's real life proof that standing firm and resisting pressure to succumb to the status quo of the business world pays with rewarding dividends: he and his employees are "loving Monday!"

You won't learn about prayer in Graduate school. How refreshing to hear a corporate executive unashamedly recall how prayer provided the answers to his most vexing business issues.

Inspite of Hollywood's continued portrayal of christians as brain dead; this book is proof of the contrary!

There are three things that are impressive about this book. The first is the first hand experience and success of the author in introducing Biblical principles in the workplace. The second is the melding of the spiritual and secular life into one cohesive approach to doing the will of God. The final is the practical advice which will benefit both the individual and the place they work without appearing to be a zealous evangalist. I have used this book for small group discussions and a Sunday school class

"Loving Monday" is a great title. In John Beckett's account of surviving in the business world through multiple challenges, he gives honest accounts of his struggles and triumphs, and proves that management can run a successful business with integrity and faith. A must-read for leaders wanting to make a difference in their companies AND in people's lives.

John D. Beckett joined the business his father started, and a year into it his father died, leaving Beckett the choice of running the business himself or selling it to one of several companies ready to buy it. With his mother's support, he chose to continue the business, and in short order faced a warehouse fire that nearly destroyed the company, a unionization effort and his own internal struggles over business versus ministry.

At a conference he attended, Beckett was challenged by a speaker to explore the Bible, and to do so in the context of where Beckett was right at that moment: "Vast areas of scripture will never be meaningful to us unless we go through the experiences for which they give insight. It was for this reason that God allowed all of his servants in Scripture to experience conflicts, and it is for this reason that we go through them as well."

Gradually, Beckett came to see his business as his mission field, where God had planted him to apply Biblical principles to the workplace. In "Loving Monday: Succeeding in Business Without Selling Your Soul," he describes what happened and what came to be a business management practice and philosophy that were biblically based.

"I'm convinced most employees want to see their companies prosper," Beckett writes. "They know their success depends on their employer's success, and they will work hard to contribute. But they must be provided a dignified and supportive work environment. They must be viewed as valued, important, worthy. They bear God's own image."

The chapters are short and easy-to read (Beckett's goal was to write a book that could be read in a two-hour plane ride, and he succeeded). He fills it with short stories and anecdotes about real people and real situations. And it was not all smooth sailing; Beckett and his company were challenged at many points and in many different situations. This is less about "do these things and life will be easy" and more about "do these things and life will be hard but you will have a path to follow."