When the phone rang, he answered it with not a little trepidation. After months of mammoth effort, man-hour upon man-hour of building prototypes, pressing for creative solutions to technical problems, calculating costs, cajoling and negotiating with subcontractors and vendors for the best price, it all came down to this phone call. Win, and the biggest contract the company had ever seen was theirs; lose, and the lean times would continue.

When the phone rang, he answered it with not a little trepidation. After months of mammoth effort, man-hour upon man-hour of building prototypes, pressing for creative solutions to technical problems, calculating costs, cajoling and negotiating with subcontractors and vendors for the best price, it all came down to this phone call. Win, and the biggest contract the company had ever seen was theirs; lose, and the lean times would continue.

He listened carefully, asked a few questions, then thanked the caller, hung up the phone, and sat back in his chair.

Lost!

Months of work ended with that phone call. The bids had been close, but in the end, another firm had found a way to bring the project in for less money.

Now what to do?

First he made a phone call to his competitor. Old friends, they often traded war stories, but this was more like the signing of a peace treaty. One the victor, struggling to be gracious; the other the vanquished, struggling to be dignified and gracious. That done, he picked up the stack of envelopes from his desk and headed to the conference room where he knew his workers were waiting.

The news cast a pall over the room, and some of them worried privately about what this meant to their futures. Eventually someone asked about the difference in the bids, and the miniscule amount sent a groan through the room. A gap so small left them second-guessing themselves, and he could see the wheels turning. If only....

He waited for the initial reaction to die down, and thanked them for their hard work. "I know we're all disappointed with the outcome," he said as he looked down at the stack of envelopes in front of him. He looked back at them, and continued, "I am, too. Disappointed with the outcome, that is..." and he paused, then went on "but not with the effort."

"You'll find in these envelopes a bonus for the hard work we've all put into this project. Its that hard work I value, regardless of the results. Now, let's get back to work." And with that he left the room. A very surprised and speechless gathering of workers watched him go...

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As managers, we don't often have the luxury of passing out bonus checks on the heels of bad news, but we always have the chance to honor the effort of the teams around us. And for Christian managers, who serve a God who treasures faithfulness and diligence more than outcomes, we have a role model for our leadership in times of disappointment as well as triumph. As workers, we don't often have the luxury of managers who value our best efforts more than the results they produce, but we know Someone who does.

Let today be our best effort, for our company and our Lord. And let us long to hear the sweet refrain whistling through our souls, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant," not just in eternity, but in the quiet hours at the end of a day.