Special Patreon Re-Release Stories about Faith, Family, and Leading a Generous Business with John Wieland

Special Patreon Re-Release: Stories about Faith, Family, and Leading a Generous Business with John Wieland

 

**Transcription Below**

 

Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV) "“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

 

Questions and Topics We Discuss:

1. Are there any  personal stories that set your life on a different trajectory?
2. Most business people do not have an experience like yours where they go from losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to becoming hugely profitable. Will you share your business journey with us?
3. How has God taught you to grow in generosity and how can we learn to do the same?

Uncommon Threads

 

John Wieland purchased a small, virtually bankrupt company in 1994. Under his leadership, MH Equipment has gone from having three branches and 50 employees to having over 900 employees and over 30 branches. Wieland is also the president of the His First Foundation, a non-profit that receives 10 percent of MH’s profits. He teaches college graduates how to handle money responsibly, is a speaker and will guest preach from time to time. He and his wife Julie have four children: Jessica, Jennifer, Jamie and Josiah. They also have one granddaughter: Saylor.

 

Thank You to Our Sponsors: Chick-fil-A East Peoria and The Savvy Sauce Charities (and donate online here)

 

Other Recommended Business Leadership Episodes on The Savvy Sauce:

12 How to Apply Successful Business Principles to Your Life with Dee Ann Turner

67 Thriving at Work, Home, and Life with Author, Blogger, Podcaster, and Business Owner, Crystal Paine

70 Energy to Spark Success in Your Business with Best-Selling Author, Speaker, and Podcaster, Christy Wright

77 How 2 Questions Can Grow Your Business and Change Your Life with Author, Pastor, and Podcaster, Jeff Henderson

79 Radical Business and Radical Parenting with Gary & Marla Ringger, Founders of Lifesong for Orphans

127 Generational Differences in the Workplace with Haydn Shaw

132 Pursuing Your God-Given Dream with Francie Hinrichsen

152 Leadership Training: Five Key Elements for Creating Customer Loyalty in Your Business with Elizabeth Dixon

193 Biblical Principles as Wise Business Practices with Steve Robinson

198 Divine Productivity with Matt Perman

 

Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website

 

Please help us out by sharing this episode with a friend, leaving a 5-star rating and review, and subscribing to this podcast!

 

Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)

 

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

 

Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

 

Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” 

 

Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” 

 

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

 

Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” 

 

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

 

Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” 

 

Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

 

Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

 

Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.”

 

Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

 

Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“

 

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“

 

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

 

**Transcription**

 

Music: (0:00 – 0:08)

 

Laura Dugger: (0:09 - 1:46)

Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Duggar, and I'm so glad you're here. 

 

I'm grateful for today's sponsor, Chick-fil-A East Peoria.

 

Check them out online to place your order for dining or catering, or to fill out an application to join their friendly team. Visit Chick-fil-A East Peoria.

 

If you've been with us long, you know this podcast is only one piece of our nonprofit, which is the Savvy Sauce Charities.

 

Don't miss out on our other resources. We have questions and content to inspire you to have your own practical chats for intentional living. And I also hope you don't miss out on the opportunity to financially support us through your tax-deductible donations.

 

All this information can be found on our recently updated website, TheSavvySauce.com. And now I'm pleased to share this episode with you that used to only be available to paying patrons. I am on site at MH Equipment to interview their CEO, John Wieland.

 

John is an inspiringly generous leader, and he recently published his first book, entitled Uncommon Thread, Weaving a Life Through Family, Business, and Faith. And we're going to cover each one of those topics now. Here's our chat.

 

Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, John.

 

John Wieland: (1:47 - 1:49)

Thank you very much, Laura. I look forward to this.

 

Laura Dugger: (1:50 - 2:02)

I'm very excited about this chat as well. And we're going to go back a little bit as we begin. So, will you just first start us off with sharing how you came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ?

 

John Wieland: (2:03 - 3:49)

Yeah. Growing up, I was a decent guy, very narcissistic. When I got to college, I started to realize I was missing something.

 

And a guy told me to start reading the Bible, and he suggested reading the book of Matthew. And so, I was feeling pretty good until I got to the Sermon on the Mount, which is Matthew 5 through 7. And in Matthew 7, it says, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

 

I was like, hold it. Many and few. Well, we still went to church, so I thought I was still in the club. A few verses later, they throw another bomb.

 

And Jesus says, “Hey, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, do we not prophesy your name? Cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name. And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you evil doers.” In about a span of eight verses, I realized I was on the outside looking in.

 

And as I got further into the gospel, I realized that my sin has to be dealt with. And that Jesus is one that dealt it for me. And so that became a follower of Jesus when I was a sophomore in college.

 

Laura Dugger: (3:49 - 4:01)

Wow. Thank you for sharing that testimony. And are there any other personal stories that you want to share that kind of illustrate how it set your life on a different trajectory?

 

John Wieland: (4:02 - 7:17)

Yeah. Growing up, I really had a blessed environment. Mom and dad was great.

 

But I will share with you a moment in time when I was a senior in high school. And like I said, I was pretty narcissistic. I was dating a lady in my class and it wasn't long before she got pregnant.

 

I didn't think either one of us were at this stage where we should get married, let alone have a child. The idea of having a baby and giving it to one of the millions of couples who are crying out everyday for a baby to love didn't even enter my mind at that time because life was just about me. What was the most convenient for me at that time?

 

So we decided to have the abortion. My memory of that was that I paid for the abortion. When I talked to the lady about this book and asked her if she was okay with it, she had different memories.

 

She was very nice about it. But this was her memory. She said, I remember you telling me you had plans for college and that we were too young.

 

I remember being at the abortion clinic, sitting on a beanbag chair, waiting for them to call my name. I remember the pain of the procedure. I remember sitting in the recliner after the procedure, feeling numb, feeling cold, feeling empty.

 

I remember looking around wondering what I had done and wondering if I would go to hell for taking this soul's life. I remember seeing you for the first time afterwards and feeling sad. I remember you going off to college that fall.

 

There's not a month that goes by that I don't wonder what my child would have looked like, what my child would have become. I count my child as one of my own, my oldest. I had a ceremony for my child's death.

 

I pray for my child's soul. Significantly different memories, wouldn't you say? It was 12 years later that I met with a doctor and he's telling me that it's going to be very hard for me and my wife to conceive.

 

The irony did not pass me by. The only biological child that I was ever going to have, I aborted. I kind of felt like I was getting what I deserved.

 

The thing I learned is this. God is rich in mercy. He gave us four three-day-old babies to adopt.

 

It has been just an incredible journey to experience his mercy and grace. That has probably defined me probably as much as anything.

 

Laura Dugger: (7:17 - 7:57)

Thank you for being willing to share such a personal story. I'm wondering for the people listening where that lands, if someone has made a similar choice and they've never received the forgiveness from Jesus. They've never been able to forgive themselves, but like you say, He is rich in mercy.

 

I think it's interesting how you even bring that up because just yesterday in church during our Sunday school hour, that was what our pastor was highlighting. How God doesn't say he's rich in other things in the Bible, but he is rich in mercy.

 

John Wieland: (7:58 - 8:48)

A side note, just a couple of weeks ago, my daughter had a friend about 30 years old. She was single. She was dating someone.

 

She got pregnant. She didn't want to get married. She really didn't know if she wanted to have the baby, and she was thinking about taking the easy way out.

 

In God's sovereignty, she started to read the book that my daughter gave her that I wrote. After she read the chapter of four adoptions and one abortion, she decided, I'm not taking the easy way out. I'm going to have this child.

 

That makes being vulnerable and transparent to a broken world worth everything.

 

Laura Dugger: (8:50 - 9:10)

Yes, absolutely. You have no idea whose life and even a baby's life that may be saved or changed through hearing this. Also, in your book, you've written about your family.

 

What would you say was the most impactful lesson that you learned from your family growing up?

 

John Wieland: (9:10 - 11:03)

I think the most important thing I learned was from my dad, you do the right thing because it is the right thing, not because of the outcome. It's never wrong to do the right thing. With my mom, she was rich in mercy and grace.

 

People were people, and everybody was invited into our home. We had a house right across the high school. We had an in-ground swimming pool.

 

There were hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that would come to our house for swimming parties. I thought that I was a real popular guy. I went off to college, and every time I would come home or talk to my mom or dad, they would say, “Hey, so-and-so came over for lunch today.”

 

I'm like, that's interesting. So-and-so came and had dinner with us. So-and-so came over just to talk to us.

 

I was like, this is really interesting. They haven't talked to me since I went to college, and I realized I was not the popular one. My parents were the popular one.

 

I was just window dressing. And so what I got from my home is God's currency is people, especially the brokenhearted, the hopeless, the hungry. And we need to lean into that community, that a society is judged on how we care for the least of us.

 

And I think I got that from my parents, as well as, obviously, the scripture.

 

Laura Dugger: (11:04 - 11:17)

Absolutely. But it sounds like you had wonderful role models. And now as a father yourself, what are you most grateful you prioritized while you and your wife Julie were raising your own children?

 

John Wieland: (11:17 - 12:16)

Even though we had resources, our children did not grow up entitled. We lived in a neighborhood, and our kids always had the fewest toys. I was engaged in their lives.

 

They liked that. I coached softball, basketball, soccer, etc., etc. Julie was a stay-at-home mom.

 

Obviously, she was more engaged in their lives. They knew that messing up wasn't a big deal. It was just a chance to grow.

 

With my background and the number of times I messed up, I'm sure I'm not going to be cast in many stones. But it's like an opportunity to learn and grow from there, and that my love was not dependent on their behavior. And then lastly, it was what my mom and dad taught, is to be kind to everyone, especially to those who are hurting and struggling.

 

So, I think those were the things that they came back with that said, you probably hit the ball there.

 

Laura Dugger: (12:16 - 12:20)

What a neat opportunity to get to hear that from your growing children.

 

John Wieland: (12:21 - 12:57)

I would encourage parents out there to ask your kids, even if they're in high school or grade school, where am I hitting the ball and I'm doing well, and where have I wounded you? Because sometimes when you've wounded them, you won't even remember when it happened. But it still is an impactful moment for them.

 

And so, I've had both of those conversations. Obviously, I like this conversation better as opposed to the times where I've wounded them. So, yeah.

 

Laura Dugger: (12:58 - 17:58)

Well, thank you for sharing that. And now a brief message from our sponsors. 

I want to say thank you to our longtime sponsor, Chick-fil-A East Peoria.

 

I hope that you've already downloaded the Chick-fil-A app. Because did you know that with the app, you can skip the line and have food ready for you when you arrive? This is one of my favorite options when I'm taking my four daughters to Chick-fil-A East Peoria.

 

Download the Chick-fil-A app today and start earning points toward free rewards that are fully customized to your preferences and tastes. Chick-fil-A was named as one of Glassdoor's best places to work in the nation. That's a huge honor.

 

And one team member even wrote, “No comparison. This is a great job for a first job, extra money, or for career advancement. Such a loving environment, great management, and fair pay.”

 

Chick-fil-A believes that the local and involved ownership ensures fostering an environment where you are known, challenged, and cared for. So, if you're looking for a wonderful place to work, visit Chick-fil-A East Peoria or fill out an application online today at Chick-fil-A East Peoria. 

 

Are you utilizing Savvy Sauce Charities to full capacity?

 

Other than our special Patreon re-release episodes, our content is now available in video form, in addition to our audio only. And we have written transcriptions for every episode. Visit our website today, thesavvysauce.com, to access all these forms of interviews. And while you're there, make sure you sign up for our email list to receive encouragement, questions, and recommended resources about once a month to promote your own practical chats for intentional living. I also want to remind you about the financial side of Savvy Sauce Charities. As you know, we recently became a non-profit, which means all your financial support is now tax deductible.

 

There are multiple ways to give, and we would be so honored if you would share your financial support with us so that we can continue producing free content that is accessible to the general public. Your money will go to support creatively getting the gospel message of Jesus Christ to the nations as we continue to share the good news on every episode. And I say this is reaching the nations because The Savvy Sauce podcast is downloaded in all 50 United States, as well as over 100 countries around the world.

 

Your financial support also supports practical needs, such as aiding our team to continue producing helpful content that is practical and uplifting and always pointing to Jesus. Your financial support, furthermore, will help us continue to expand our reach and secure future projects we have planned for this ministry. If your ears are hearing this message right now, I am specifically asking you to give.

 

We are so grateful for any amount, and our team will continue to seek to be good stewards of the gifts offered to us. So, if you want to write a check or set up an ongoing payment with your bank that delivers a check to us each month, this is the most beneficial way to give because no percentages are taken out for processing fees. You can make your check out to: Savvy Sauce Charities, P.O. Box 101, Roanoke, Illinois, 61561. 

Additionally, with our new website, we now have a donate button. There are processing fees that we cover for these donations, but we wanted to offer listeners a seamless way to share their finances with us when we share our content with them. So just visit thesavvysauce.com and find the donate page under the tab support. 

 

Another way to find it is simply type in donate to the search bar on our website and just click the first picture shown. We are all about sharing around here, sharing resources, sharing joy, and sharing the good news about Jesus Christ. We ask that you also will share by sharing financially, sharing The Savvy Sauce podcast episodes, and sharing a five-star rating and review.

 

You can also share any of our social media posts on Instagram or Facebook. We are grateful for all of it and we just love partnering together with you. Now, back to the show.

 

As we transition from family to business, I think it's just worth noting that most business people do not have an experience like yours where they go from losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to becoming hugely profitable. So, John, will you share your business journey with us now?

 

John Wieland: (17:58 - 20:30)

Yeah, I was an average student, a very average student going into high school. The only thing I had any ability in was math. I got along well with numbers, so I did not have much of a problem figuring out what I was going to do.

 

It was going to have to do with numbers, so I became an accountant. I was a public accountant for an accounting firm, and I was auditing this company, MH Equipment, for about seven years, and they were virtually bankrupt. And there's a couple of things I learned being in public accounting.

 

I thought that an entrepreneur was a special type of person, that he was or she was really smart and just insightful. And as I audited all these companies, I realized some of these people aren’t that smart, to the point where I'm thinking, I'm not that smart, but I think I'm smarter than them. And so the luster of, you have to be somebody special to be an entrepreneur, was taken away.

 

And so, fast forward, they were virtually bankrupt. The people that they did business with, their primary supplier, Hyster, they were going to decide who took it over, because they were going to have to write off about a million dollars for someone to take it over. I decided it wasn't a complicated business, and I tell people I was in the right place at the right time.

 

God is sovereign, and for some reason, they said yes to some 35-year-old guy who had no entrepreneurial spirit and can't even change his own oil. So, I had no mechanical skills. That was in 94.

 

For the next five years, the economy was great. And a good economy will cover a multitude of sins. And so, all the mistakes I was making, I wasn't having to really pay for them, because the economy was good.

 

And so, we went from 50 employees to close to 1,000 now, and we had three branches, and now we got 30 branches. And it's been a fun ride, because you're able to create a company that you want to be a part of. So, it's been a short 28 years.

 

Laura Dugger: (20:31 - 20:42)

And then even to go more micro, there was a certain decision that you made that doesn't make sense on paper when you look at the numbers.

 

John Wieland: (20:43 - 22:14)

Yes, it was in 2001. We had just bought two other companies and tripled the size of MH Equipment. I thought, like, I had some type of silver spoon and that I was a genius.

 

I wasn't. The economy turned on us. And in the first six months of 2001, we lost over $700,000.

 

Julie and I, we always wanted to give back to our communities by setting aside funds to make a positive difference in our communities, but we just never pulled the trigger. But it was at this low point in July of 2001, after we had lost $700,000, that we decided to go for it. And the executive team decided to start the His First Foundation, where we would commit 10% of all future profits starting in July to His First to come alongside our employees' passions.

 

Since then, MH Equipment, we have invested over $20 million to not-for-profits and charitable organizations. But we started it when we had to take a step of faith. And God honored that.

 

Laura Dugger: (22:15 - 22:28)

That is incredibly powerful. And even since that point, how would you say that God's taught you to grow in generosity? And how can all of us learn to do the same?

 

John Wieland: (22:28 - 24:20)

That is a great question. Scripture is very clear. You got to be faithful in small things.

 

If you're faithful in small things, He'll probably entrust you to be faithful in greater things. That's just a biblical principle. It's not a promise, but it's a principle.

 

And so, Julie and I, we've always had a heart for giving, and so when we didn't have much, we still gave. And the beauty about God is this. He doesn't need our money.

 

He does not care how many zeros there are before the decimal point. He's interested in how much of the giver is in the gift. Why do you think the rock star of giving is the poor widow who gave two pennies?

 

Because she was all in. And God loved it. And so people who are listening to this podcast, if you don't have much resources, this is a great opportunity.

 

To honor God, because if you choose to give something to somebody else, and you can't do something, that's a sacrifice. It's hard for people that have resources to actually sacrifice. So, I think it starts out at the beginning, and if you have not been overly generous with your time and your talents and your treasure, start.

 

I tell you, when you have a passion outside yourself, it is a game changer. You're so much more balanced. I mean, it's got to be tough to wake up everyday thinking life is all about you.

 

So, it has been a good journey.

 

Laura Dugger: (24:20 - 24:48)

There's a lot of wisdom packed in there. And as I think back on our conversation already, we've covered a few aspects of your life, including faith and family and business lessons. And you've woven all of these areas together in your book, Uncommon Threads.

 

And this book might be classified as a secular book, but the gospel is naturally shared throughout. So, was that intentional?

 

John Wieland: (24:48 - 26:14)

That was extremely intentional. I did not want to write a Christian book for one reason. I want non-Christians to read it.

 

The illustrator, who is Jim Burkle, who's a great illustrator, he's a missionary to Iranian refugees up in Michigan. He has been giving the books out to people. And a few months ago, he called and said, John, I got to tell you, I met this guy.

 

His father is in the mafia. He doesn't want to talk about Christ. He didn't want to think about going to church.

 

But he said he would read this book. Two weeks later, this guy called Jim and said, I read that book. It impacted me.

 

I want to talk to you. I don't want to preach to the choir. I want to create a book where non-Christians would not feel like they're being proselytized to every page.

 

But throughout the book, between family, business, and faith, the beauty of the cross is just naturally shared. Yeah, so I was intentional. I did not want that to be a uniquely Christian book because I want non-Christians to read it and like it.

 

Laura Dugger: (26:15 - 26:35)

And I think you've very much done that and woven so many helpful stories and nuggets of wisdom tucked in there. But also in your book, you share an interesting story about sitting by a woman that had a very different lifestyle from you. So, can you tell me about that and what you learned?

 

John Wieland: (26:36 - 30:33)

Yes. So, I'm on the plane. We're boarding it.

 

It's very crowded. I'm on the phone. I'm talking to one of my co-owners.

 

We're talking about Jesus. I used to think I said King Jesus. And the lady in front of me, she just tensed up when I said King Jesus.

 

And to her horror, when she sat down, I sat next to her. And, you know, I kind of felt like she may have a different lifestyle. And the last thing she wanted to do was sit by a Christian.

 

And I realized we need to own that. We have treated people who have a gay or lesbian lifestyle with meanness, judgment, hatred. And I thought, man, I want her to feel the love of Jesus.

 

Jesus, he doesn't want people to have lifestyles not because he's just mad. He wants them to be fulfilled. And so, during that time, I started talking to her.

 

And finally, I asked her what she liked to do. And she said, well, me and my partner, we like to go camping. And I think she thought, uh-oh, he will quit talking to me because now I've disclosed that I am gay.

 

And so, I just went back into and said, I just read a book on how people survive, you know, like land crashes. And some of the things that are common to all the people that survive when we start talking about it. And she just had a great conversation.

 

I said, “I would love to send you that book.” She went from hating the fact that she was sitting next to me to giving me her name, her personal address. I don't know what ever happened to Sarah.

 

But I think maybe for the first time, she felt loved by a follower of Jesus. And that can open doors. I have a cousin who got married, had two kids.

 

And then he decided he was gay or whatever and was with a guy for 40 years who just recently died. And this last year, he sent me a mass Christmas card from him and his partner. And on the back of the card, he wrote a few words that made me cry.

 

He simply said, “Your book was wonderful.” And I kind of felt like he felt like he gets it. He gets it that so many times Christians, they hate the sinner, you know.

 

And Jesus, he was a friend. He broke bread with the tax collectors and sinners. People flocked to him.

 

And if we want to change the world, we have to change our reputation. That is okay. I mean, I have a relative whose husband is going through a transgender thing.

 

And when this first started happening, they were all at our house for Thanksgiving. And I got the two. They were in the corner someplace.

 

And I walked up to them, and I said, “Look, you guys need to know this. You will always be welcomed in this home.

 

Laura Dugger: (30:36 - 30:45)

That's powerful to hear tangibly how love can change things rather than hate.

 

John Wieland: (30:45 - 30:52)

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And that's a lesson that sitting by that person, I learned that well.

 

Laura Dugger: (30:53 - 31:44)

Did you know you could receive a free email with monthly encouragement, practical tips and plenty of questions to ask to take your conversation a level deeper? Whether that's in parenting or on date nights, make sure you access all of this at thesavvysauce.com by clicking the button that says join our email list so that you can follow the prompts and begin receiving these emails at the beginning of each month. Enjoy.

 

Well, and just to highlight something else from your book, there's one chapter that was especially practical and it was entitled Leading Leaders. So, will you elaborate on a couple of your key takeaways? And we can begin with this one that you say every voice in the room is important.

 

John Wieland: (31:46 - 33:09)

Yeah, I mean, if you want to have a healthy culture, everybody needs to have a voice. And as the leader, and if I have another leader, they think we should do A. The first thing I think about is what is the worst thing that can happen if we do A?

 

And if the worst thing that can happen is manageable, then let's go A. Because you're creating an environment where everybody will be open to speaking their opinions, their ideas. I mean, the Bible talks about out of the mouth of babes comes incredible wisdom.

 

And so, I think it's just really important that everyone has a voice. I also talk about never lose people because you're greedy. I mean, if you've got good people in your organization, be thinking about how can I give them more money?

 

That's why I've got like 12 people in the company that are minority shareholders. They own part of the buildings. I'm trying to figure out how to get them more money, not how I can pay as little as possible for as long as possible.

 

Laura Dugger: (33:09 - 33:31)

I love that, both of those takeaways. And to circle back, when you have that thought cross your mind of what is the worst thing that could happen, does that oftentimes play out that the worst thing does happen? Or have there been times that it surprised you and going with that A that was mentioned turned out to be beneficial for all?

 

John Wieland: (33:31 - 34:16)

Oh, actually, two times I went with it because I didn't understand what they were thinking. I didn't see their vision, but I trusted them. And both times I said, okay, the worst is manageable.

 

Both of them turned out to be home runs, not only for the company, but also for our customers and also financially. And so, all wisdom does not reside with you. And so, you need to understand just because you're the CEO, that does not mean you're the smartest guy in the room.

 

And typically, if you are, you haven't done a good job hiring.

 

Laura Dugger: (34:18 - 34:33)

That's good. There were so many good business takeaways. And we oftentimes hear that leaders are readers.

 

So what are a few of the books that have most impacted you as a leader?

 

John Wieland: (34:33 - 36:34)

Well, I'm going to say this. I don't want to come across overly spiritual, but the Bible, I try to read through that at least once a year. And it's interesting.

 

I was with a friend a couple of years ago, and they're like, does anyone have a good devotional that I can use and read this year? I'm looking for a good devotional. And I said, “Yeah, it's called the Bible.”

 

He was like, ooh, that's a good push. And so, guess what his devotion is. He's reading the scripture.

 

I like Business by the Book. That was an old book by Larry Burkett. And it really talked about if you say it's God, then act like your business is God.

 

And you don't have the right just to do whatever you want with it. You're a steward. I like to read a variety of genres.

 

I like to read human behavior. I like to read history. I like to read spiritual books.

 

I like to read biographies. You don't want to be a one-trick pony when it comes to conversations. You want to be interested.

 

You want to be able to pivot and talk to people about a wide variety of topics because that develops relationships. If they think that every time you talk to them, you're going to turn it to a spiritual conversation, I think that's going to get tiring. So, I'm a believer in being well-read, a variety of topics.

 

But again, if there's a book that you want to read continuously, I believe that God's Word keeps you on a solid path.

 

Laura Dugger: (36:35 - 36:57)

I would say yes and amen to that. And I love that advice too for always being a reader and sharpening because we're never too young or too old to implement that habit. But I would also encourage other people listening to pick up a copy of your book as well.

 

So where can listeners get a copy of that?

 

John Wieland: (36:57 - 38:58)

Yeah, you can get it at Barnes & Nobles. You could get it on Amazon. You can buy it at Paperback.

 

I don't produce the paperback, but we have the hardbacks and the hardbacks are only like $10 on Amazon. And if you put your name to who you want to give it to in parentheses under your name, I would address it to that person and sign it. And that's for a hardback.

 

And like I said, it's only $10. We did this. I did this.

 

It was not a money play. I have shared with you before. I'm glad it wasn't a money play because I've lost a lot of money on it.

 

And that wasn't the reason. It was because of the message. And I want people to have movement in their lives.

 

Obviously, I would love people who are not believers to come to saving faith in Christ. But Christians, there's just so many points of interest and stories where you'll grab a hold of something and pivot. And that's what I was hoping for is that when you read it, it's an easy read.

 

I write like I talk. I don't use big words. I'm 64 now.

 

I still like to read books with pictures in it. So, there's a bunch of illustrations in it. I'm selfie-facing.

 

And so, I always felt like if you want, if I want you to look in your mirror, I don't think it's very good for me to say, Laura, you need to look in your mirror. It's more effective to, as an author, to look in my own mirror and share honestly where I've messed up. And that gives the reader freedom to say, hmm, if he can be honest about that and put it on paper, maybe I need to look into this.

 

Laura Dugger: (39:00 - 39:25)

Well, and I think this book has already touched many lives. And you were gracious to share a few of those stories of where that landed with people. So, I can't wait to see what else God has in store for this message.

 

But John, you may know that we're called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge or insight. And so as my final question for you today, what is your savvy sauce?

 

John Wieland: (39:25 - 41:07)

I'm going to give you two answers. One, from a business perspective, that is our culture. The importance of truly living out our mission and our vision and our values.

 

About four years ago, we had a lady who had been doing strategic planning for Fortune 500, the Army and the Navy. And she spent three days with MH Equipment. And at the end of three days, she made this declaration.

 

In all my years of over 40 years, I have never met a company whose value statements that were on their wall were so closely related to reality. And so, you have to live out your values. You can't have something on your wall and then live something else out.

 

From a personal standpoint, my savvy sauce is this. Everything's not okay. Quit saying that.

 

When someone asks me how things are going, I will always say, considering the ordinary struggles of life, things are going okay. You would not believe the responses I get from that simple statement. They're like, I know what you mean.

 

I'm having problems with my son. Be okay with your brokenness. Jesus is a perfect one.

 

We're not. And so, I think when a watching world sees Christians that are honest in their own brokenness and they're walking towards Jesus and saying, he's the one that loves us unconditionally. I think we make movement.

 

Laura Dugger: (41:08 - 41:47)

Absolutely. John, it's a privilege to get to hear you share about your faith and your family and your business and really that it is built on faith. 

 

It just brings to mind Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” 

 

And I feel like your life experience really illustrates that scripture coming to life. And so, I appreciate your transparency, appreciate your humble leadership and really appreciate you being my guest today.

 

John Wieland: (41:47 - 41:51)

Laura, I just loved our time together and I appreciate what you do for the kingdom.

 

Laura Dugger: (41:52 - 45:08)

Thank you, John. One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term gospel before?

 

It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news.

 

Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there is absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.

 

We need a savior. But God loved us so much, he made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.

 

That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus.

 

We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So would you pray with me now?

 

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you. Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life?

 

We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

 

If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me, so me for him. You get the opportunity to live your life for him. And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason.

 

We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So you ready to get started? First, tell someone.

 

Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes & Noble and let me choose my own Bible.

 

I selected the Quest NIV Bible and I love it. You can start by reading the book of John. Also, get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ.

 

I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps, such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you. We want to celebrate with you too, so feel free to leave a comment for us here if you did make a decision to follow Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read Scripture that describes this process.

 

And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “In the same way I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.

 

And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.