As you probably know, I am expressive. I like language, phraseology, and metaphors and I believe that life can be lived in technicolour.
I believe the same to be true of a business. I am relatively alone in this thinking. In fact, sometimes my views are considered to be ‘light’ or esoteric because of it.
I think that trends are on my side, however. Go back as little as 20 years. You won’t see much evidence of path-blazing CEOs, of different ways of doing culture, of unorthodox organisational designs, of new ways of business learning.
As recently as two decades ago, most businesses were relatively similar and the range of difference from one business to another was fairly narrow. Not so anymore. Businesses now are highly elastic and there is no single template any longer of how a business is constructed.
Given all this new richness, this might be an opportunity to ask yourself a (beautifully) challenging question:
As a CEO, are you capable of loving your business?
Not ‘like’ or ‘respect’ or ‘believe in’.
Loving.
Whether you can or can’t is for your contemplation. But what I’d like to draw attention to is what might be blocking you from doing so:
- A dulled spirit after to years of toil?
- Not fundamentally believing in what you’re doing?
- Not feeling that what you’re doing is going to succeed?
- Not being around people who believe in greatness?
It’s not for me to persuade you that loving your business is possible. But what I would offer is that the possibility of loving a business is now on the table. It’s doable and I’ve seen many examples of CEOs who are in love with their business and who can get to a place of having such intense feelings about what their business is, or does:
- Cultures so authentically conceived that bring about profound collaboration
- Leadership that moves people to great acts
- Transformational training programs that fundamentally change someone’s trajectory in life
- Innovation initiatives that unearth fantastical new ideas
- Community outreach programs that truly move the societal needle
I could go on for ages, such is the diversity of love-worthy forms of business currently in existence. This article is not about content, however. It’s about a question. Are you open to seeing your business as love-worthy?
If you are – or if you can become this way – can you imagine the impact it would unlock? Can you imagine the energy levels you’d unleash? Can you imagine the loyalty you would earn? Can you imagine the knock-on effects your inspiration would have on your spouses and children?
There are two paths: leading in technicolour or leading in grey. Light yourself up.
I would like to hear your thoughts on whether or not you have experienced a roadblock on the path to loving your business. I share more thoughts on my LinkedIn page and welcome you to join the conversation.
