Can You Be Bought?

WHAT APPEARS TO BE

How much money do you need to be happy? How fat does your wallet have to be before you will say, “Okay. They’ve satisfied me. My paycheck is big enough. I’ll never b*%#! and moan again”?

Most people find the idea of “being bought” insulting. Yet, do you know bosses that fall for this approach? They think they can “buy” productivity.

WHAT MIGHT BE

A group of bosses within a large company that is struggling have shared, “Morale will improve when the stock price increases.” In other words, don’t worry about how people feel; just help them make more money and then they’ll “be happy.” (Some are no longer wondering why this company is struggling.)

Readers who have done their research are cringing. Morale is a measurement of the past – and a predictor of the future. This is a cause and effect world – and morale is most assuredly a cause variable.

You can buy a person’s time, but you can’t buy their discretionary efforts, their ownership mentality, their willingness to contribute to a healthy team and fight for a cause.

You can’t buy morale.

WHAT CAN BE

Money is a motivator. It’s a remarkable way to ‘keep score,’ and determine who wins. All of which means, money is an outcome.

The wisest amongst us don’t make money the target; instead, they focus on the variables that deliver the most money: trust, ingenuity, collaboration, communication, execution, motivation, etc. And not so ironically, when these things are in place, people are happier.

And they make more money.

You don’t lead money, you manage it. But you can lead people. How effective are you?

What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be”?  You decide.