What’s In A Name?

Being a new business owner, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to share why 7Talents exists and what we do. Without fail, the most common question is why we work with non-profits, which you can read about here. But a close second, is why I picked the name 7Talents.

For those of you familiar with scripture, Matthew 25 shares a story about a man going on a journey and entrusting three servants with his property. He gives them 5 talents, 2 talents, and 1 talent respectively — each according to his ability. The servant with 5 talents puts them to work and gains 5 more. Likewise, the servant with 2 talents gains 2 more. But the servant with 1 talent digs a hole in the ground and buries it.

If you ask who did the best, most people will say the servant with 5 talents. If you ask the worst, most say the servant with 1 talent. But have you ever considered why most people overlook the servant with 2 talents?

From a business perspective, the 2 talent servant doubled what he had. He brought back a 100% return on investment. And even though the quantity was less than the first servant, both received an identical response when the master returned. The only difference was he started with less. But from a business perspective, the first 7 talents given were stewarded well.

I think the same is true today. Some people (and some businesses) are given a lot of resources. Some are given a little. And others are in between. But the question is not how much or little we start with. Rather, what are we called to steward and what will we choose to do with it?

Once I decided to help non-profits scale, I wanted a name — and a meaning behind the name — that embodies good stewardship and transcends any size organization. No matter if you have $500 or $500 million, the question is the same. What are you being asked to steward, and what growth (or return) would you like to see? Are you trying to double the impact of your organization? Or are you content burying it in the ground?

Regardless of where you are, we’d love to support you as you seek to scale your organization. Feel free to contact us for more information!