Behind the Scenes at Global-Roam

In ”The Profit Principle” the authors make the challenging statement that:

“The only reason to go into business is to make money. …
If you’re lucky, you’ll make that money doing something you love.  If you’re really lucky, it will also lead to some greater good – but don’t let delusions of grandeur get in the way of your profit and loss statements”
(p92 in my copy, my emphasis added)

This statement, on the one hand, is very sensible – but, on the other hand, is a direct challenge to many others who empathise that a business must have a purpose that is more than just making money, if it is to be sustainable, and successful:

(a)  Jim Collins calls this “more than profits”;

(b)   Daniel Pink talks about the importance of Purpose.

(c)  Jason Baptiste notes that if entrepreneurs “got into entrepreneurship first and foremost for the money” then they “are in the wrong business”

Hence there is an apparent paradox between these two points of view.

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This post is the 2nd draft, and is still a work-in-progress.  Check back later for updates!

As part of the Autopsy 2 process, I have been working one-on-one with the firm Shirlaws.

One facet of their engagement has been to work with me on improving my leadership.

Their approach (which I accept) is that the disappointments that have come our way have been ultimately my responsibility (whether it’s been because of the “wrong people on the bus”, or the wrong culture, or insufficient direction, or whatever).

The corollary of this is that it’s also my responsibility to fix whatever’s broken.  This I am in the process of doing (following on from the Autopsy 2 process).

Part of what they are helping me to understand is that the CEO should have 3 core enduring roles, which should continue to be my focus well into the future.

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