Business by Contract not Relationship2 min read

I got a call from an old classmate from my undergraduate days that we hadn’t spoken in years.

She gave me an update on current events in her life. Long story short, she had invested some years raising her kids and now she wanted to get back into the game.

She was looking at starting up a practice and had hit a roadblock. According to her, she had been praying and my name had popped up. She took it as God’s direction to speak to me.

We spoke and afterward, I told her that I would need to review her business plan and strategy.

She was enthusiastic and would have sent them immediately. But I told her that I would not want to receive them until I signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

I told her that the documents I was asking for represent a business that she could make money from. And it was important that she protected them by making sure the people she shared them with would not steal them

I have no interest in the line of business she was going into but she had to learn this practice starting with me.

She should not always assume that people will keep their word without reminding them of the need to keep their commitment. In business, agreements serve as reminders that people should keep their word.

I told her I was going to be her guinea-pig for instituting this practice in her business. I drafted a simple NDA and sent it to her to review. Once she was OK with it, we would sign and she could send the documents.

Signed Agreements are not a sign of distrust of the person, they are a good reminder to the person of the need to keep their word.

And the possible effect of not keeping their word

But we as Christians must always be people that keep our word even without a signed agreement