John Lewis, by all accounts, have enjoyed a stunning year, standing out from the rest of the retail business.

"Motivated staff providing good customer service which in turn produces higher sales and profits. Other retailers are learning the lesson."

Hardly rocket science, you may say. But it's certainly a lesson many companies in the UK would do well to learn. Whilst every organisation would probably say that "Customer Service" is their key priority, putting it in practice is another story.

The key at John Lewis seems to be involving their 'partners' (employees), who all own a stake in the business. I'm sure they will be further motivated by the bonus they are set to receive following the results (18% of annual salary)! In his book, Maverick, Ricardo Semler describes how Semco also took consultative democracy and staff motivation to unparalleled levels.

What's your experience of this? Do you feel empowered, motivated in your place of work? It's hardly surprising that building a motivated, envisioned, empowered team gets results - seems uncannily to me like discipleship: isn't that what Jesus did to build His Kingdom?