A Job Description for the Business Owner - стр. 20
“What is the main goal of your business?” I asked him.
“What goal? It is to make money for me, of course!”
“Imagine you just joined a good company as a salesperson. During the orientation period, you are told, ‘The goal of our company is to make another million dollars for the owner!’ Would that inspire you?”
“No. I get it,” he said after giving it some thought.
When the company owner confuses his personal goals with the goals of the company, he creates goals for the company that do not motivate his employees. Imagine a company where during corporate events it is announced, “Our goal is to make our owner rich!” It doesn't seem as if anyone would honestly want to put any effort into achieving this goal. Only when employees want to achieve the company’s goals will you see the spark in their eyes and will they be full of energy and creativity. This does not mean that when you establish goals for the entire group that you must renounce your personal goals. Giving up your own goals can lead to a complete lack of joy and pleasure for you. I personally think that a miserable person will not be able to be particularly useful to other people. Keep your goals. Just take care not to confuse them with the goals you establish for your company.
Think big. Don't waste your time on pseudogoals like “making more money,” “benefiting everybody,” or even “becoming number one in the industry.” Assess what the company can realistically achieve in the long run. If you manufacture furniture, maybe your goal would be “providing comfort and design for people’s lives.” If you are a grocery wholesaler, perhaps it would be “creating high-quality living standards for a wide range of people by providing a fresh and premium-quality range of grocery items.” Of course, these goals need to reflect your own aspirations and talents. One owner will start a company to bring the latest technology to the market. Another owner will start a company to provide satisfying and cheerful service. Ever since he started walking, my nephew, Vasiliy, has amazed the people around him with one particular habit: He cannot walk past an excavator, truck, crane, or tractor without stopping to admire it. The boy can just stand there and admire such machines, enjoying them. As you can imagine, his mother does not share his fascination, and every time he stops to gaze, she tries to pull him away. What kind of company will he start when he grows up? I don’t know, but I do know one thing for sure: If he does become an owner of company that a produces construction machinery, he will be doing what he likes most. What goals will he establish for the company? Perhaps they will be “to provide construction workers with reliable and efficient machinery and contribute to the prosperity of the construction industry.” Companies’ goals are really very distinct, as individual as their owners.