Speaking Truth to Execs
Imagine walking into the president’s office of a corporation with the opportunity to tell that president exactly what you think about him, his business practices, and his company. Would you have the courage to speak the truth?
InterVarsity alumnus and business strategist Jonathan Ahn* has never lost a client based on speaking the truth. In fact, that is what he is known and valued for—speaking the truth.
For the past seven years, Jonathan has consulted with business leaders around the world in strategy development, process improvement, and executive leadership development. Jonathan attributes much of his success as a business strategist to the lessons he learned as an InterVarsity student.
Lessons in Leadership
Imagine walking into the president’s office of a corporation with the opportunity to tell that president exactly what you think about him, his business practices, and his company. Would you have the courage to speak the truth?
InterVarsity alumnus and business strategist Jonathan Ahn* has never lost a client based on speaking the truth. In fact, that is what he is known and valued for—speaking the truth.
For the past seven years, Jonathan has consulted with business leaders around the world in strategy development, process improvement, and executive leadership development. Jonathan attributes much of his success as a business strategist to the lessons he learned as an InterVarsity student.
Lessons in Leadership
“InterVarsity has to be one of the largest (if not the largest) collegiate leadership development organizations in the world,” says Jonathan. “Through InterVarsity I learned how to take appropriate risks in life 
which has allowed room for God to show up in my life and keep my faith from becoming routine. I also learned how to grade everything I do with two criteria: Am I being biblical? And am I being relevant? Even though my life is very full—being a husband, dad to three kids, leading an urban ministry and a business—these two criteria still strongly influence all the work I do today.”
Jonathan says, “What I do today is pretty simple. I help businesses (and the occasional nonprofit) get more of their ideal customers and increase their profit margins.” And while that may be the simple answer to the question, “What do you do?” Jonathan knows his job entails more than just strategic business alignment—it also involves aligning people and their lives towards God.
The Source of Wisdom
“Many of the smartest people I know are running their own businesses, but they won’t step a foot in a church anytime soon,” says Jonathan. “Yet the Bible has so much wisdom to offer today’s leaders, not only for their business but also for their personal lives and the lives of those they love.”
One example Jonathan uses with clients is the concept of generosity. The idea of living generously can be found all through Scripture and has become one of the bedrocks of Jonathan’s business philosophy.
“Generosity is the only strategy that fits both my personal character and Christian values, and thus it is the only real winning strategy for me and people like me. When I read the Bible, I notice how Jesus embodied servant-leadership; I read verses like ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ and ‘it is better to give than receive.’ Paul tells us to be mindful of the interests of others. I discover accounts of leaders like David and his interactions with Saul in 1 Samuel 24. It seems pretty clear in the Bible that generosity spills out from a life pursuing God.”
Sustainable Practices
Jonathan adds, “Pragmatically, generosity sets today’s business leader apart from the rest of the business community because it is so countercultural. My research has shown that while the stereotypical business person is mean and cutthroat, most of today’s successful small business owners are actually very generous people. And because they got to the top via strategic generosity, their time at the top is much more sustainable compared to the more cutthroat types that are constantly being taken down by those they stepped on to get there.”
As Jonathan shares principles like generosity within the business community, he is finding a deep spiritual hunger among business leaders: “I never explicitly say I’m a Christian professional as I like to prove efficacy via my tools and processes first and then I love answering the question, ‘Where do you get all this from?’ And when I get this question, I say ‘As long as you promise not to laugh—the Bible.’ And so far, no one has laughed. Rather they become all the more curious about Jesus and the Scriptures.”
When asked what advice he might have for other InterVarsity alumni in the business world, Jonathan offers this: “It takes more than just good intentions to do well and have significant influence in today’s world. So ask God to reveal more of what he meant by ‘I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.’ (Matthew 10:16) And if you want to succeed in business the right way, there are no shortcuts worth taking if God’s kingdom is where your heart is.”
*Name has been changed due to Jonathan’s business tools being used in missionary work in various restricted-access countries. If you would like more information on how to connect with Jonathan, please contact alumni@intervarsity.org.