Profitability Follows Purpose

Monday Message from Jerry Houston, President and CEO of HPISolutions

Profitability Follows Purpose

Last week I talked about the great things I am learning by reading Mike Michalowicz’s book, PROFIT FIRST.  If you missed that article, go back and read it… it will be worth your time.

This week, I want to tie that article into the concepts of The Prioritized Leader Process that we have been discussing over the past several weeks.  Yes, Profit must be taken first as Michalowicz states, however, we must also remember that Profit follows Purpose and People in terms of organizational focus.  If you clearly understand the organizational purpose (the WHY of our existence) and focus on our People as the single most important pathway to success, we will create Profit as a result… WHY?  Thanks for asking!

Finance fuels the business.  It is essential to have your financial house in order, to watch market trends and to release resources in the organization to meet the vision and mission intended.  Profit is the driver that leads to long-term sustainability.  There are two keys that must be observed:

1. If your organization helps its employees to develop an owner’s mentality, and empowers employees to take the right actions, and be responsible for the results in their roles, you will find your team very engaged in the vision and mission (Purpose) of the organization. Think of it like employees being owners instead of renters.  Owners have a vested interest in the success of the business, while renters are self-focused.  Which attitude do you want to see from your team members?
2. All of the financial systems are synched together and provide a road map of actions that have been accomplished, and how successful they are toward reaching Purpose. All of the incentives used should be tied to the results desired and be transparent and well communicated to the whole team.

Take some time to consider where your organization is at in this Profit follows Purpose approach and what you need to change to achieve greater results.

Have a Great Week