Whether in organizations, families, or communities, certain moments carry outsized weight in shaping our lives. In The Power of Moments, authors Dan and Chip Heath explore the elements of defining moments and how we can create more positive ones. While generally categorized as a business book, the Heaths write for all of life, inviting leaders to consider how moments can be designed and stewarded for lasting good.

For leaders of missional enterprises, these insights are especially relevant. Businesses shaped by the ways of Jesus are not only built through daily decisions and consistent practices, but also through moments that help people see their work, and all of life, more clearly within a larger story.

Defining Moments and What Shapes Them

At the heart of the book is a simple but important observation: we do not remember experiences evenly. Certain moments stand out and continue to shape how we understand ourselves, our work, and our purpose long after they pass.

The Heaths identify four elements that are often present in these defining moments:

• Elevation — moments that rise above the ordinary and help mark significance
• Insight — moments that reshape how we see ourselves, others, or the world
• Pride — not self-centered achievement, but dignity rooted in meaning and contribution
• Connection — moments that bond people to one another and to a shared purpose

These elements help explain why some experiences quietly fade while others leave a lasting imprint. Moments matter not simply because they are intense, but because they are meaningful.

Especially Helpful Features of the Book

One of the strengths of The Power of Moments is its clarity and accessibility. The book is filled with dozens of real-life examples, and each major section concludes with a concise summary of key ideas, making the framework easy to recall and apply.

In addition, the Heaths include a series of practical “clinics,” walking readers through case-study-style exercises that show how defining moments can be created in different settings. These clinics help leaders think concretely about how elevation, insight, pride, and connection might be intentionally cultivated rather than left to chance.

The book also points out that, while some defining moments just happen to us, others can be created through intentional design. As the Heaths put it:

“Defining moments shape our lives, but we don’t have to wait for them to happen. We can be the authors of them.”

This insight invites leaders to take responsibility for shaping experiences that form meaning, commitment, and purpose.

Daniel: Faithfulness Revealed in Moments

The biblical account of the prophet Daniel comes to mind: himself something of a senior executive within an often hostile government. Daniel’s life was marked by deep, consistent faithfulness: regular prayer, private devotion, and long obedience under pressure.

At the same time, Daniel’s story is remembered for several key defining moments: his refusal to eat the king’s food, his interpretation of the handwriting on the wall, his courage before powerful rulers, and his deliverance from the lion’s den. These moments shaped not only Daniel himself, but the culture around him and, ultimately, the course of history. They did not replace daily faithfulness; they revealed it.

Implications for Missional Enterprise

For those pursuing a triple bottom line—making a difference, making disciples, and making profit in sustainable ways—the themes of The Power of Moments resonate naturally. Many of the elements the Heaths highlight, especially creating connection through shared work in a deeply meaningful mission, are already woven into the fabric of missional enterprise.

Intentional moments can reinforce calling, deepen commitment, and help people see their work as participation in God’s larger purposes. When grounded in Christ-shaped leadership and practiced within a culture of steady faithfulness, such moments can become formative rather than merely motivational. The Power of Moments offers a helpful and thoughtful contribution for leaders who want to steward time, attention, and experience with greater wisdom.1

Verse of the Week:

For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? Esther 4:14 (NIV)

May God give us this week insight to perceive and courage to embrace the defining moments we encounter, or that he asks us to initiate for his purposes.