Chances are you talk a lot about money in your organization – the money coming in, the money going out, to raise prices, to lower them, to give raises, to hold off, to make a capital investment, to hire another person...
Hopefully you share the financials with your team.
It’s important to talk about money and WHY it matters.
Many individuals have a negative filter through which they view money and especially money in business. They associate it with greed, power, and materialism.
It’s called cold hard cash. Not warm fuzzy funds.
So here’s where you come in.
Connect the money to the mission, the purpose to the profit.
You’re not in business to make money.
Really.
You’re in business to fulfill a mission.
It’s the Why behind why your organization exists.
The Why you feel pride in the work you do.
Your organization creates and accomplishes X as a conscious community that contributes to society.
That X is your Why. It’s the soft gooey middle. Money is the result of fulfilling on that Why.
And yet that Why is anemic, powerless and imprisoned without money.
Money is energy. Money is the food that feeds the mission. Money is the water that flows into your organization, through your organization and nurtures that which you want to grow.
This is a critical business relationship – money provides energy to fulfill on the mission, which in turn creates money and nurtures and expands the mission.
Money allows for the stability and expansion of your organization and thus the stability and expansion of your mission and purpose.
Money allows for freedom, ease, comfort, security, and generosity.
This is the message you want your team to understand.
In this post we intentionally used the word “money” instead of “profit.” We suggest you do the same with your team. “Money” is visceral whereas “profit” feels less real, more business speak. Though don't forget to end with connecting profit as the summation of energy available to expand the mission.
For more on workplace culture ROI, compensation discussions, and other money matters in the workplace, grab a copy of Culture Works.
Here's to sharing with your team why the money matters!
