Connecting Purposes So Everyone Wins

My primary focus in writing What’s KILLING Your Profitability? (It ALL Boils Down to Leadership!) was to absolutely drive home one single point to every business owner, executive, and manager it could possibly reach. That point, detailed through each separate chapter, was how much impact effective leadership has on the bottom line in any business. Make no mistake though, that impact on profitability is just as important for every individual on the team - not to mention how much better the culture is for them when we lead well… By achieving great results and fulfilling our organization’s purpose, the profitability that comes as a byproduct is exactly what allows a business owner or manager to invest in better tools or training for their people. Even in cases where a gubermint entity demands that the organization provide those tools or training, there’s still cost involved and that business foots the bill. As I mentioned before, there’s no such thing (at least in the private sector) as the mythical entity that simply exists with unlimited resources to throw at issues - even though our feds seem to believe they’re operating one…

When we’re working to connect how an individual’s daily effort contributes to our organizational purpose back, we’ll do well to be just as intentional to connect that back to how helping the team win does in fact help them achieve the things they want and need most. Although this may seem obvious, I’ve rarely seen employees provided with a solid understanding of how unnecessary costs impact overall profitability or how limited profitability prevents managers or owners from providing the extras that too many people today feel entitled to.

When I worked in manufacturing, I had a manager who explained that our facility made about a dollar for each muffler we produced. If I was attending a conference that would cost $1,500 (registration, airfare, lodging, meals), I was expected to be able to make a business case justifying how it would be worth what we’d make from 1,500 mufflers - close to a full shift for an entire assembly line - and I was held accountable to implement something I learned from the event that provided at least that much return on investment.

I recently worked with the president of a company to provide similar details for his team. One of his folks had taken a shortcut with the work he was doing that resulted in the organization incurring a $2,000 fee from an outside contractor. I challenged him to determine how much of the company’s products or services would need to be sold to cover that expense - not revenue, but profit since that’s what the fee cut directly into! Since he was very dialed in on their margins, it only took him a few seconds to provide me with an answer. That said, he was quick to admit that only a few others in the company saw those details. I then poked at him about changing that. Why not make sure everyone understands exactly where their pay, benefits, and bonuses come from? With that kind of clarity in place, it’s a lot easier for any of us to make good decisions in our work.

When we understand how giving it everything we’ve got to fulfill the organizational purpose provides the owners and managers with what they need to be able to help us reach our own purpose, especially when we can see how those things can co-exist, the fifty-seven percent additional discretionary effort I keep referring to isn’t all that hard to imagine - or to justify.

There is one caveat though: if we’re the leader that’s painting a wonderful picture of all the things we’ll be able to do for someone when we achieve the company’s goal and their only reward is being limited to two slices at the next pizza party, stuff will eventually hit the proverbial fan - and justifiably so! We can make great things happen when it’s win/win but attempting this approach for the sole purpose of manipulation will not yield positive results long term, if it ever does.

When we are able to connect these things well, we can then move our focus to helping each team member measure the progress they’re making toward their own purpose! I realize this sounds complicated but we’ll approach it just like we’d approach eating an elephant and we’ll take the first bite soon…