Many valuable business lessons can be obtained from non-business sources.

For example, consider this passage from the King James Version of St Paul’s “First Letters to Corinthians,” Passages 12-14:

“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.”

The phrase E pluribus Unum is similar to a Latin variation of Heraclitus’s 10th fragment: “The one is made up of all things, and all things issue from the one.” This source may well have influenced the formulation of a phrase that was considered by the U.S. Congress in 1782 to serve as the new nation’s motto.

Marty Haugen is credited with writing the lyrics and composing the music for what has become a popular Christian hymn.

“We are many parts, we are all one body.
And the gifts we have we are given to share.
May the Spirit of love, make us one indeed.
One, the love that we share;
one, our hope in despair,
one, the cross that we bear.”

Whatever one’s religious affiliation (if any) may be, the Heraclitus fragment, the passages in the New Testament, and Haugen’s lyrics all suggest a valuable business lesson, indeed a cluster of several. In my opinion, these are among the defining characteristics of a healthy organization:

1. A single, compelling vision that everyone embraces and supports
2. Core values that everyone shares
3. Wide and deep diversity (age, gender, ethnicity, etc.) at all levels and in all areas
4. Effective communication, cooperation, and collaboration between and among everyone involved
5. “I am Spartacus!” Each person personifies (is) the essence of the organization’s values.

“We are many parts….”

Healthy organizations attract, hire, and retain people who provide and appreciate principled dissent but share a commitment to the classic Musketeer value, “One for all and all for one!”

Healthy organizations nourish a culture within which both personal growth and professional development are most likely to thrive.

In healthy organizations, going the extra mile is business as usual.

As I repeatedly point out at every opportunity, it is not a coincidence that the companies annually ranked among the most highly admired and best to work for are also annually ranked among those most profitable and have the greatest cap value.

Their secret sauce?

“We are many parts, we are all one body.
And the gifts we have we are given to share.”