More Important Than Profit

“Why is profit not the most important thing to your business?”

Great question, and one I received this week that I thought I’d speak to on the daily blog.

Profit’s important, of course.

Profit is a requisite economical component of operating a business in the market in our era. Without any profit, any hiccup will put us into debt we can’t pay back. We can’t invest in growth under those conditions, we can’t support our teams under those conditions, and we can’t commit to supporting causes that need us under those conditions.

But it’s easy to confuse a requisite piece of the system with purpose.

To a race car driver, wheels are requisite pieces of his race. He doesn’t get far without them! But he doesn’t race “because of wheels”. He races because he wants to win a tournament for his team.

What’s your purpose? (Don’t say profit.)

Business as an organism

If your business were an organism, what would your organism ‘do’?

For example, organisms that exist only to grow for its own benefit – to the detriment of its environment – are called ‘tumors’. Is your business like a tumor?

Another example could be trees. The great thing about trees is, when we help them grow while they’re vulnerable, they’ll reward us with clean air, fruit, and multiplication. They grow for their benefit – but also for the benefit of everyone around them.

We support, buy from, evangelize and enjoy working within businesses that nourish their environments as they grow. We protect organisms (like trees) that do this in our environment.

Profit serves us in serving the world. That’s what’s important.