In the end we die...

So, how are you going to affect the world around you today, tomorrow and every day?  What life will you look back upon?

I think it's worth dwelling on this universally inescapable fact ...

So often we make compromises, telling ourselves that the end justifies the means.  Well, in the end, we die.  How we chose to live our lives day to day, cumulatively defines our 80 or so years on this planet.
The responsibility of every business leader is to be clear about why their business exists.

Making a profit is not enough - that's a result of running a business well and delivering value to customers...

The why of business is rooted in values and explains how you hope to affect the world around you - not just in the long run but in the day to day operations of the business.

What are the things you believe in and will stand up for?

When will you make the inconvenient, uncomfortable and sometimes down right shitty choices?  

I believe it's important to be kind - and that is in no way meant to be mistaken for being nice.

Being kind certainly means truly listening before telling, sometimes means reprimanding an employee or senior executive to show the company values really matter and being willing to forgive rather than being drawn into an expensive and distracting ego battle.

Don't become one of these people who toil away, hoping that one day they'll earn enough money to escape the world they are helping create.

We also tend to measure success by growth - revenue, profits, people, GDP.

Continuous growth is fundamentally unsustainable but I almost never see projections or future plans which show decreasing revenue growth.

How about introducing other long term performance indicators linked to wellbeing and happiness?

It's much harder if you're a public company but what if you're private - what's stopping you?

That's the way it's always been done - is simply not good enough any more.

If you take the time to understand your purpose, determine to be kind and measure the right things, you might just find that;

• employees work for you because of shared beliefs - not just your money

• customers are far more supportive and loyal and profitable because instead of chasing new customers, you are investing in the needs of the ones you already have

• you find a renewed energy because you love what you're doing and how you're doing it

So, how are you going to affect the world around you today, tomorrow and every day?  What life will you look back on?

Contributed by...

Ian Lyons