So said a friend I bumped into on the weekend.
“All their decisions are based on the bottom line,” he recounted.
When you believe this, or when it’s really true, it’s kind of disheartening. All leadership cares about is money? That’s no fun.
Here’s what I told him.
Money and results are like the scoreboard at the park where a baseball team is playing. The score is vitally important, no doubt. Counting the hits and runs and errors and other stats is critical to the proper functioning of the team.
BUT. And this is a big but(t) (no disparagement of baseball players’ physical inactivity intended :))
The score is determined by the team playing the actual game. If you don’t have the right players in the right positions doing the right things, the scoreboard won’t help you. The scoreboard is a lagging indicator. I.e. when it changes, something’s already happened. A player made a hit or scored a run. The scoreboard confirms to the team that they’re headed in the right direction, but it doesn’t win the game.
Good sores are the result of people doing the right things.
Please remember this golden phrase:
NUMBERS ARE JUST STORIES ABOUT PEOPLE.
So, what matters most? Money or people?
They both matter, but money is downstream from the people. If you have the right people in the right seats doing the right things, you will eventually win.
It’s about money!
It’s about people!
It’s both!
But get the people right, and you’ll have a much easier time making money.
Getting ahead is about getting started,
