The old adage: “It’s not personal, it’s just business” is bunk.
Gangster movies, lawyer sitcoms and too many business coaches would have you believing that emotion is the enemy. They’d have you think that to be successful you must scheme, plot and ultimately crush your opponents. That’s not to say warfare has no place in business –because it absolutely does. However, the mentality of command-and-conquer business leadership doesn’t work for most companies –anymore.
The world has changed. Today, a Maasai-tribesman on the plains of Kenya has access to more information via his smartphone than a White House top-level official did in the 1980s. With advancements in technology and communication, it has never been easier for “the individual voice of the masses” to be heard. And, guess what… They care. Countless blogs, videos, websites, organizations and grassroots movements have been started because of the shared-beliefs of a few or many individuals –simply because they care.
It’s no longer good enough for a business to just open its doors and hope for customers. Today’s customer wants to know what your business believes in. It’s the reason that companies like Apple have such a loyal customer following. Apple believes in “challenging the status quo” with every single product. Accordingly, Apple customers yearn for those distinctions.
People care what you, as the leader of your company, truly believe in. The business world is still brimming with mediocre companies holding on to the outdated premise of keeping “heart” out of their businesses. This represents an incalculably-huge opportunity for passionate, empowered and driven startups. People desperately want to believe in something authentic. Authenticity cannot be measured, but it is instantly recognized. Ardent shared-passion throughout your company fosters such purity.
If you make your business take a stand for what you believe in, they will come…
