Interstate Batteries – A Redemptive Core

In class, we have discussed the Praxis redemptive framework model.  A company that goes beyond the mere ethical framework of staying within the law and improving the self is Interstate Batteries.  On their website, they state that they are a mission-driven company with a purpose.  Their company purpose is to glorify God by following their declared company values:

1. Love
2. Servant’s Heart
3. Excellence
4. Courage
5. Team
6. Fun
7. Integrity

Interstate Batteries is a wonderful example of a company striving to have a redemptive impact with its core values while still operating in the business world.  This company wants its employees to remember that they are “working for a company with a purpose greater than just making money or selling batteries.”  While they are a for-profit company, they have rooted themselves in a purpose deeper than profit and strive for redemptive innovation in their field.

The redemptive framework

In classes at the college, we’ve learned about this redemptive framework model.  A company wrestles with 3 core elements: strategic vision, operating model, and leadership intent.  A redemptive model would have a strategic vision of renewing culture, an operating model of blessing other people, and the leadership intent of dying to self.  In other words, the redemptive business wants to bless other people and practice servant leadership.  Interstate Batteries has held true to this model since the beginning.

In 1952, The company began selling batteries, but while its founder, John Searcy, wanted to sell a quality product, his main desire was to give back to his community and help workers provide for their families.  Searcy focused on treating others the way he would like to be treated, and he distilled this love of others into those who joined the team.  Several years after Norm Miller began to run the company in 1978, he added the phrase “to glorify God” in the mission statement.  In 2013, the company defined its core values (stated above).  As they continue to build their team, they emphasize respect and love of others – even if they are not Christian.

While Interstate Batteries very much operates within the corporate realm, they provide a wonderful example of how a for-profit company can still be redemptively minded with Kingdom values.