Do Profits Matter? I was doing some work with another consultant, and he made the comment that only profits matter. I took objection to that statement and shared this.
Yes. Profits matter. But we need to realize that profits matter like breathing matters. Profits are the oxygen that keep a company viable. Without profits, there is no company. It’s that simple. But do you wake up everyday making breathing your objective for the day? Maybe if you have pneumonia or if you woke up on the bottom of the lake, then breathing is a good objective for the day. Similarly, if your business is ‘under water’, then having an objective to make sure your firm can “breathe” is a good call.
But even in those situations, we try to breathe because we have something we want to live for. That is what really matters.
Wonderfully eloquent works by Lencioni, Sinek , Deming and Pink have made this case over and over. Yes, profits matter, but profits are what is necessary, not what is important.
Relationships are what matter. What is the prevailing reason folks quit their jobs? Their boss, or put in perspective, a broken trust relationship with the person who most affects their day. What is the prevailing way folks find jobs? By asking and relying on friends (frequently called contacts or networks), because that is all about relationships built on trust.
Yes, profits matter, but only because they are necessary. But you don’t live your life by just doing the necessary. You also do the important. Take this lesson with you to the office and to the dinner table. Do the important. Build and repair your relationships.
Look at the day you just had. How many times did you say “thank you”, “I’m sorry”, or “I’m with you”. That’s an objective measure of how well you did the important. If you didn’t meet your expectation, the good news is you can easily do better tomorrow.
