In an act of deep faith and dedication, 68 business owners came together at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Simpsonville this January to consecrate their companies to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. “Lead with love” resonated as the cornerstone message delivered by His Way At Work officials to these leaders seeking to intertwine professional endeavors with their faith. 

During the Mass and consecration, Father Theo Trujillo, pastor at St. Mary Magdalene, offered reassurance to the assembled business people that while their professional responsibilities may weigh heavily, inviting the Lord to guide them means they never shoulder these burdens alone.

“Businesses are families. You are leaders of that family,” Father Trujillo said. “We are invoking Jesus Christ as a leader of your company. You are called to lead Jesus Christ’s way.”

When they do, he said, they will bring joy and fulfillment to their businesses. And, dedicating their companies to the Sacred Heart is “for the good, not only of your companies, but for the good of your community.”

His Way At Work’s model of consecration goes beyond paychecks and profits. It’s a new way of doing business.

“He wants us to live life to the full,” Father Trujillo said. “Jesus Christ wants to bring his blessings to everybody in your business.”
It starts at the top, and that is why owners and executives came to the Mass.

“This is with a divine purpose,” he said. “You answered the call to come here. It’s very easy to be busy. … At the end, we are at peace because we have been able to bring Jesus Christ to the people.”

It is a beautiful mission that perhaps has been lost in the corporate world.

Greg Andress was there to consecrate his business. 

“Most people spend more time at work than they do at home, so this just makes sense,” he said.

Deacon Jody Armstrong agreed. He is a senior coach for His Way At Work, and he said more people show up for work than they do for daily Masses.

His Way At Work was created to bring the Lord to employees and bolster faith in God.  

Peter Freissle, CEO of Polydeck, said it took a long time to figure this out.

“Twenty years ago, my only objective in life was to make as much money as I could,” Freissle said.

Then, he went on a silent retreat, and it changed his life.

“God came to me and said, ‘I want you to work for me,’” Freissle said. “God made it very clear that I was to treat my employees as my neighbor.”

It was not easy, and “I had a lot of fears when I started,” he said. His employees, however, were on board.
“They wanted to be part of something special,” Freissle said.

Freissle pulled his workers together as they confronted business challenges, personal difficulties and issues within their individual families.

And Freissle started out by altering his business card. His new vision reads, “To serve our customers and stakeholders with excellence to achieve profitable growth which enables us to care for people in a way that honors God.”

The core values on his business card now state: “We are a company grounded on Christian values. Our goal is to create eternal value by striving to honor God in all we do. This is reflected in how we conduct our business and how we care for our Polydeck family — our greatest strength.” Then he lists those values: humility, honesty, integrity, respect, accountability, trust, kindness and social responsibility.

Freissle said he strives to live every word of his business card, and so do his employees. They go on missions together, and they even serve meals at the soup kitchen as a team.

Ron Kuehl has seen Polydeck’s transformation up close. He’s been there for 15 years and now serves as its president.

“It’s a battle. The devil doesn’t want you guys in this room,” he told the owners who were consecrating their businesses. “But God gives you the strength to fight through it.”

And it is worth persevering.

Kuehl said turnover at Polydeck was 25 percent when he began, then things started to change. Four years ago, turnover dropped to 11 percent, and now it is less than 3 percent. 

Meanwhile, profitability surged 50 percent, Kuehl said.

It seems morale improves, along with fortunes, when businesses put Jesus Christ out front.

“It’s about loving people. You get that right, and everything else will happen,” Kuehl said. “You’re going to make a huge impact on your employees’ lives.”

The journey to revamp and change focus starts now, according to Ryan Foley. He is the international executive director of His Way At Work, which offers resources and support to help business owners chart a new course.

Resources include attending monthly chapter meetings, completing an introductory course, learning to implement caring methods and transforming consecrated companies.

During chapter formation, His Way At Work does an examination of “where we are; we learn more about how we see our companies,” Foley said.

It answers questions such as: What will my customers think? What are my employees going to think? What do you do with multi-faiths in your business? Will I be sued?

Freissle eased these concerns.

“We’re trying to make this world a better place,” he said. “We don’t discriminate. We just love. We say, ‘If you’d like to join us, we’d encourage you to pray.’ Nobody can sue you for being good and praying.”

He said His Way At Work is even appropriate for single-person businesses and solo operators. They have the opportunity to touch the lives of their suppliers, their clients and anyone they interact with in the course of a business day, Freissle said.

“There are so many things you can do to make this world a better place,” he told them, and customers “are waiting for you to shine a light on them. I’m filled with joy when I go to work every day.”

That is easier to do when you lead with love.