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and heard.’’ (Acts 4:20) They could not desert the cause they believed
in, regardless of the possible punishment. And miraculously, they were
released, since no one could decide what a fitting punishment was for
following a particular teacher, however seemingly misguided, if the re-
sult was beneficial.
Steve Case of America Online is often painted as the ‘‘golden boy’’
of telecommunications. But at several junctures, Case has been ‘‘de-
spised and rejected of men’’ for what seemed foolish and heretical ideas.
Already the head of one of the most successful technology companies
in America, Case risked it all in 1997, when he changed AOL’s pricing
from a usage basis to a uniform monthly charge for unlimited usage.
The response was immediate—and negative. At an industry panel,
Case was introduced as ‘‘the most hated man in America.’’ They played
a busy signal as he walked onstage, an obvious reference to the busy
signal many of AOL’s subscribers were encountering when they tried
to sign on to a network that was now severely overburdened. It seemed
like everybody in the United States was now signing on to AOL for
twenty-four hours a day, and Case’s infrastructure was not prepared to
handle it.
Case’s response showed great courage. He did not arrogantly write
off his critics, nor did he acquiesce and admit that he had followed
the wrong strategy. He started off humbly, acknowledging the technical
difficulties of implementing the strategy, and the inconvenience to the
subscribers. But he did not back down.
Case had the courage to stand up for his strategy and then take the
necessary actions to implement it. First, he beefed up AOL’s infrastruc-
ture. AOL then instructed people to sign off when there was no activity.
Thus, after the initial introduction, many people voluntarily stayed off
the system until it was equipped to meet the increased demand. Steve
Case’s decision to go to flat-fee unlimited usage is now seen as pro-
phetic by many of the critics who played the busy signal at the panel.
And when his company recently entered a mega-merger with Time
Warner, it increased his scope and influence even more.
Like Case’s decision to stick with flat-fee usage, Nestle has decided
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to commit to genetic engineering. Regardless of whether you agree
with Nestle’s stance on this controversial topic, they have embraced
that stance with great courage. And they have not blindly ignored op-
posing points of view; they have listened, but in the end have not been
moved.
Nestle CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe observes, ‘‘In this world, there
are followers and leaders. Leaders have courage—they can stand up
against the barrage of public opinion that comes at them and say, ‘I have
thought about this subject, and I have come to the conclusion that this
is the best decision. We are not going to capitulate.’ ’’ Whereas other
large companies reversed their initial support of genetic engineering,
Nestle did not reverse itself or apologize. They asked well-known pro-
fessors to write their opinions on genetic engineering. Then they re-
viewed and discussed the information. As Brabeck-Letmathe writes:
‘‘We are a global company with global responsibilities. We have to
think about the millions in the world who are hungry . . . For these
reasons, we took a stand. We will pursue this technology. The reaction
from the press and the public has not been happy—but that is why you
need nerves of steel in business today. Otherwise, you will never stay
the course.’’15 Brabeck-Letmathe’s strong resolve is reminiscent of the
early Christians, who sustained themselves with messages reminding all
to be courageous: ‘‘Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let noth-
ing move you.’’ (Paul in 1 Cor. 15:58)
On the opposite side of the corporate and political spectrum, con-
sider the courage of Ben & Jerry’s. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield,
the two eccentric founders, had an appropriately eccentric plan to make
a public stock offering to the residents of Vermont, where the average
income is considerably lower than in New York and where the average
citizen does not consider himself much of a ‘‘venture capitalist.’’ But
Ben & Jerry’s wanted a stock offering that was accessible to the average person, even in a relatively low-income state.
In most stock offerings, the minimum purchase is $2,000. Ben &
Jerry’s proposed a minimum purchase of $126! Every stockbroker and
adviser they consulted said this venture would fail. They told Ben &
Jerry’s that you can’t raise almost a million dollars in hundred-dollar
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increments, and that even if you did, you’d never be able to service so
many shareholders.
Ben & Jerry’s next action took a lot of courage or, to use a non-
biblical term, ‘‘chutzpah,’’ which roughly translates into ‘‘your plan is
so outrageous it might actually work!’’ Acting over the objections of
their lawyer, they registered themselves as stockbrokers so they could
sell shares themselves. Cohen and Greenfield characterize their effort as
truly swimming against the tide, a ‘‘huge struggle . . . we were betting
the future of the company.’’ But they were no strangers to courage and
struggle; early in the company, they were so cash-poor they had re-
sorted to eating ice cream in place of meals. Amazingly, Ben & Jerry’s
sold out the shares. They were even confronted by disgruntled Ver-
monters who had been unable to buy any shares—perhaps that took
even more courage!16
We have no record of whether Ben & Jerry’s courage during this
stock offering was biblically inspired. But there are several passages that relate directly to their experience:
‘‘If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength.’’ (Prov.
24:10)
‘‘The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn.’’
(Ezek. 2:4)
Ezekiel was seeking to warn an entire nation of their impending de-
struction if they did not change their actions. Cohen and Greenfield
went against the advice of their lawyers. Both were faced with formida-
ble opposition, which required great courage to overcome.
COURAGE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY
Adversity is a great test of courage. Those with little courage fold in
the face of adversity, those with great courage only find their courage
magnified when confronted with difficulties. Warren Bennis has stated
that ‘‘running a business in a bumpy economy is as terrific an education
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as a young (or presumably middle-aged) person can get. It’s not unlike
being in a platoon of infantrymen and getting sent to the front lines . . .
What the experience teaches you is . . . you learn quickly to make
courageous choices.’’17
The heroes of the Bible were created by the courageous choices they
were often forced to make. Noah and the flood. Jonah and the whale.
Moses and the Red Sea. Queen Esther and Haman. Jesus and Pilate. In
each case a great leader became even greater when he or she encoun-
tered a difficult obstacle. Anyone can lead in good times. It takes cour-
age to lead in difficult times: ‘‘We commend ourselves . . . in troubles,
hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonment and riots; in hard
work, sleepless nights and hunger; . . . through glory and dishonor, bad
report and good report.’’ (2 Cor. 6:4–8)
Although Jan Carlzon, CEO of SAS, was not faced with an array of
obstacles quite like the above, he had his courage tested repeatedly by
adversity of other kinds. When Carlzon tried to launch Euroclass, a new
business-class fare, he encountered opposition both within and outside
Scandinavia. First he had to hurdle the domestic Board of Civil Avia-
tion, since this idea ran counter to the egalitarianism so prevalent in
Sweden. That was relatively easy compared to bucking the resistance of
Air France, which put a surcharge on their business-class passengers and
demanded that SAS do the same.
Carlzon writes that he wasn’t about to abandon his strategy ‘‘even if
our determination touched off a war between civilian aviation authori-
ties, which is exactly what happened.’’ Air France, a Goliath in the
European skies, threatened to stop SAS from flying to France if they
did not institute the surcharge. SAS courageously made a similar threat
to bar Air France planes from their landing fields.
It was not just ‘‘David’’ versus ‘‘Goliath.’’ ‘‘We were fighting almost
the entire European airline industry,’’ writes Carlzon. After an initial
price war, the airlines called in the respective foreign ministers from
their countries, who engineered a compromise. SAS would not have to
institute a surcharge, while Air France could give business-class dis-
counts to normal-fare passengers.
Carlzon felt this successful, courageous stand against larger rivals was
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a tremendous morale-booster for SAS and united them in their efforts.
He states that committing to action is often a matter of ‘‘courage, some-
times bordering on foolhardiness.’’ In another action, he decided to cut
fares in an effort to increase ridership. He admits this was not a new
idea. Several other airlines had considered reducing fares, done the cal-