“Make meaning, not money!” is the famous expression that Guy Kawasaki, ex-Apple / Macintosh executive, coined in one of his start-up talks to young tech entrepreneurs(www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQs6IpJQWXc). Of course, this statement is not to be understood as an appeal to renounce making money. Instead, it is an inspiring reminder from a highly successful executive turned investor, business angel, mentor, incubator and visionary to make “meaning” for customers and employees alike. “If you make meaning, the money will follow. But if you only set out to make money, you will not make meaning, and therefore, you won´t make money”, he said pointedly.
Along very similar lines, whole libraries can be filled with books written by business academics and practitioners on the topic of Leadership that defines the “mission” of a company, i.e. the overarching purpose of why the company exists. The ultimate raison d´être.
So – what´s the point? Is this a long-held wisdom so old that you are yawning?
Unfortunately, it appears that despite a total of several million views of the youtube clip and literally thousands of books written on leadership, Kawasaki´s message has not really sunk in yet with everybody. As always, the art lies not in having the knowledge, but instead in its consistent application and implementation.
There is no doubt that all companies spend considerable time, effort and resources to fine-tune the definition of their corporate mission. But it is not sufficient to just find pretty words and upload the final version of your mission onto your corporate website.
Here are some examples from our complex and ever-changing world for your further reflection:
- “Meaning” – the Organizational Level.
Volkswagen. Oh dear. According to leading German publications across the entire political spectrum, one of Germany´s most admired, most solid, most trusted companies has committed corporate suicide (e.g. see cover page of “Der Spiegel” no 40, 26 Sept 2015). In line with the meaning of the company´s name “People´s Car”, there used to be a time when the Beetle or the VW Golf or even the hippie VW Bus represented a small part of Germany´s pride and soul. Now, the emissions scandal takes on wider dimensions every day and Volkswagen´s future is uncertain. Once trust is broken, it is extremely hard to restore. So when exactly did this organization abandon their original mission, in order to make money?
There are many other examples of course where mission, or “meaning” remains but a lip service, with multinational as well as small and medium-sized companies. And it is not only limited to unethical corporate decisions either.
Let´s look at the opposite end of the scale, perhaps a small family-owned hotel. If the family has a passion for the hospitality business, if they thoroughly enjoy making other people feel welcome and happy, if they want to provide a sanctuary for travellers away from home, then they will find a thousand and one different ways to show this joy and passion to their guests, and the guests in turn will be delighted to return and make recommendations to their friends, family and in online portals.
If however, these owners are in this business only to make money, their customers will notice and apply their ultimate punishment – they will stay away.
- “Meaning” – the Leadership Level.
In this example, the owners mission will not only rub off on staff, but will be multiplied and complemented with staff´s own contributions. In other words, providing a meaningful purpose will turn out to be a critical success factor for business. And if the owners are smart, they will ensure that all internal dimensions of their business, above all: key performance indicators and incentives, processes, leadership behaviour and corporate culture are aligned with ensuring that this mission, this meaning, this passion is brought to life for their customers every day in every detail.
As Maslow taught us many decades ago in his “Hierarchy of Needs”, it is a deeply rooted, innate need of us human beings to find a purpose in everything we do. This is what distinguishes us from the animals. Or why else is it that one of the first words that toddlers learn is “why”?
Leading others is therefore intrinsically linked with providing a deeper meaning to all the people around you.
- “Meaning” – the Personal Level
Last but certainly not least, we cannot discuss “meaning” without including the personal level. Most of us are so used to focusing on the “what, when, how, how much…” of everything we do that we forget to spend time reflecting on the “why”. Simon Sinek referred to this important distinction in his TED talk “What great leaders do to inspire action”, which has become one of TED´s top 10 most popular videos (http://www.ted.com/playlists/180/the_10_most_popular_tedx_talks).
In business, there are even different expressions for this distinction. Focusing on the “what” is called “managing”, whereas the focus on the “why” is referred to as “leading”. Of course, you need both to be successful with anything you undertake. Just be aware of that next time you want to achieve your goals, be they professional or personal.
For example, on New Year´s Eve this ear, shortly before midnight, when you are deciding on your resolutions for the new year — instead of saying to yourself “I want to learn a language”, or “I want to quit smoking”, spend some quality time uncovering the real underlying motives of your plan. If you realize that you want to learn a new language so you can communicate more effectively with native people during your trip and make new friends… and just thinking about it evokes a feeling of excitement and anticipation in you, your chances of achieving your own self-imposed goal are vastly increased. Likewise, if you consider why you want to quit smoking, for example, because you want to stay healthy in order to see your kids grow up, this may just be the right trigger to make you stick with it.
Leadership is not just about leading others. Leadership essentially starts with leading yourself.
So – take a moment to think. Have you made “meaning” to yourself or others today yet?
Author: Angelika Bergmann
