Don't get me wrong. I know a company needs to have revenue and profit in order to remain viable; it needs to develop and sell its products; management needs to ensure that the systems, processes and procedures all work as well as they can. But none of this should be thought of as the business of business.
Companies are born to realize the dreams - the ideals - of their founders. The company becomes the ideal in physical form - or at least the mechanism for bringing the ideal into physical form. As such, the business of the business is the manifestation of ideals. From my point of view, to remain viable the ideals of the company can not be divorced from the ideals of the people involved and invested in bringing them into the light of day. In the beginning the ideals of the founder(s) and of the company were intimately intertwined. This marriage of ideals between the individuals in the company and the company itself is the source of passion. It must endure, must be attended to, must be nourished if the company is to thrive into the future. When the ideals of the company become confused with quarterly targets - when the business of the business becomes about business - there is a problem.
This problem can best be described as emotional disengagement (see Gallup). This is a state that's borne out of meaningless work. It's a state in which the individual is not growing; is not connected to dreams of significance; is not recognized by the system (the business) as being integral to the realization of an ideal. Paradoxically, this is the state that, in many companies, is accompanied by statements in which the employee is often described as "being our most valuable resource" or "our most valuable asset."
Resources are to be used - idle resources are an economic drag. If I am to be used what is the purpose? What ideal is served? Is it an ideal I value and can get excited about? Unless these questions are answered meaningfully I am not being used well - and I know it!
Assets are always depreciated - they have a limited useful lifespan that determines their "worth" to the business. To be depreciated...how many of us would willingly sign up for this? The very term speaks to lack of appreciation. Businesses seldom invest in their assets over the long term. The preference from an accounting point of view is to spend enough to maintain the assets long enough so that the useful life is achieved - then look for a replacement. Thinking of people as assets is a perfect receipe for disengagement. There is much that can be done in this area.
What if the business of business is to keep its ideals and the ideals of its people in motion? How and why are the subjects of future postings.