Building a successful company requires more than just acquiring technology and working hard, it requires that we learn to walk in relationship with others.

In 1920, Adolph and Rudolf Dassler, brothers, began manufacturing sports shoes in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Their company could have gone on to become a dominant force in athletic shoes and control the billion-dollar market. Their story could have become a testament of a successful, large-scale family business.

Unfortunately, the brothers did not succeed in working together. After a falling out, Adolph (also known as “Adi�) founded Adidas and Rudolf built Puma. The feud was so bitter that the Dassler brothers were buried at opposite sides of town.

Today, both brands are fierce competitors, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

Genesis 11:6 tells us of the power we can have if we learn to walk in unity with one another:

The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” Although Adidas and Puma were industry pioneers, Nike leads the athletic shoe industry today. Adidas and Puma trail behind.

We can only imagine what these two brothers could have come up with if they had just learned to walk together as “one people” who can communicate properly (speak the same language) and work together. The Bible says, “nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.”