If Financials are Your Only Metric, You're in a Losing Proposition

So said colleague Lisa Bodell (CEO, futurethink) when I asked her to comment on my client's town hall meeting, where he communicated numbers; only numbers. 

During my client's presentation, slides of charts and graphs went by - and I could see his employees fidget. Why would they do that? Business after all, is about money. It's why we come to work, right?

Actually, it's not. To the disappointment of many CEOs, employees don't run to the office everyday to increase shareholder value. They are inspired, not so much by earnings, as they are by meaningful work that connects to a vision. In fact, Yahoo! Hot Jobs reports that "the corporate vision" is the number one criteria for evaluating a potential job.

Even sales people aren't motivated entirely by money. I just talked to a sales person about a large deal she just closed and we went to celebrate. She recounted the whole process, from qualification to close. She ended on a rather authentic note - of how rewarding it had been for her and her team to sign a new client.

Not once did she mention her commission check.

But what about the investor audience? They want to know financials, right? Of course, they do, but once again, studies show that innovation and future vision is the driving criteria for why most people (not counting day traders) invest in a company.

So, the next time you report on the business, take a step back and answer the following. (Your people want to know - and so do your employees, customers and investors).

• By way of review, what is your business? Why do customers find you indispensable?

• What do you do better than anyone else? Why are you uniquely qualified to compete?

• What do you need from your people to compete more effectively? Where and how do you need their help to win where it counts: in the marketplace?

Now you can talk numbers. And hopefully you'll tie the above information into your financial results and forecasts. Pepper your financial scenarios with customer stories, anecdotes, proof points .. and vision. 

People can't follow you, if you don't tell them where you're going. And isn't leadership all about having followers?

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