Wandering with Reckless Abandon

Ahhh, the Saturday morning sales meeting… there are few things is nothing that I despise about my job more…

In a rare break from the typical unprepared rambling that normally takes place in these meetings, a couple of sales guys were asked to tell us what they liked about working at our dealership. Both answers revolved around the money that we make.

I know that I have had this discussion before, but I can not help but come away from that without an inward cringe. If the money is all that it is about, if the money is what makes it a great place to work, then there is something wrong.

Money is fleeting, it rarely ever lasts… and yet all we hear about at work is making money…

I sometimes wonder what would happen if we were to step back from the focus on money, and our leadership management began to work towards building, and caring for, a team. I would be willing to bet that after some initial losses and restructuring profits would begin to take off.

I recently read an article (I don’t remember where) that talked about the potential loss of talent that Google is currently facing. The stock options of many of the long time google crowd have matured, and they are collecting ridiculous amounts of money off of them… Being newly rich, they do not need to work, nor do they need to remain with Google to make sure they qualify for all of thier options… Google leadership is left with the task of keeping quality employees motivated…

I often think back to the story that Christ tells of the three servants (Matthew 25:14-30)… The master is heading out of town, and he leaves some of his wealth with his servants… five coins with one, two with another, and one with the third. After returning, he checks in on the investments made by his employees…

Five coins were turned into ten, two were turned into four, and one remained one.

Jesus talks about those to whom much is given, much is expected…
And while there is something to be said about proper stewardship of financials, and companies making a profit, I think that there is much more expected of those in positions of authority.

True leaders (as opposed to managers) care for those they lead. They learn to understand those that they are charged with leading. The push them to excel, and they resource them as they do so. They allow them to make a decent income, but they also work to meet some of their subtler needs, and make sure that they are satisfied in thier work, and even enjoy it…

This is what makes people care about thier work…
Which is what makes people good at what they do…
That is what creates a bond and synergy between employees…
Which is what turns a company into a team…

Once you have that, the financials will come…
Stronger than ever.