IT’S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY
What these expressions such as “sense of purpose” and “reason for being” mean is that it’s about more than just making money—a lot more. If you are educated enough to be reading this book (and wise enough to see it would be helpful), you can find a job. You can make a living and put food on the table. The same goes for your employees. If it’s just about money, they can work for you or they can work for somebody else down the street—what difference does it make, right?
I could quote you study after study showing all the things employees value over money, but the bottom line is that a business has to be more than just a place to make a living. A company is more than the dollars and cents that go in and come out. It has to be or it won’t last, much less grow.
If it were just about the money, I could think of at least four ways I could go start a company and probably get richer than I am now. I could buy a mortuary. I could start up a few quick-lube franchises. I could open a big restaurant serving predictable food for the masses. I could get mortgages on a dozen rental properties and become a professional landlord. The problem is that none of these kinds of businesses could motivate me to get out of bed in the morning. I’d be miser-able. They don’t fit in with my personality, my goals, or how I want to live my life.
There are people who are well suited for these kinds of companies and who would thrive at running them. They would find ways to innovate, hire and train great people, and succeed because they find meaning in what they do. They have a sense of purpose. For me, the only sense of purpose I would have would be to make more money.
By the same token, the vast majority of people couldn’t do what I do for a living and feel good about it. If the relentless travel didn’t get to them, getting on stage in front of 1,500 people probably would.
Money is a way to keep score. Money is a way to finance expansion. Money is a way to measure growth, provide incentives, and reward success. However, it cannot be the prime reason your company exists. If it is, you had better find a new direction and a new reason for being. Yes, of course, we all want to make money. That’s a given. The more ambitious among us would also like to become comfortably wealthy or even stinkin’ rich. That’s okay, as long as it is a by-product of a great business that inspires you and others to excel. If wealth is the only goal, you will be a rudderless ship.
