Where’s your focus? Is it on making tons of money or making a difference?
I came across an article today on Richard Branson. There were so many good points in it. But my favorite was in regards to where a leader’s focus should be – making a difference in people’s lives. Branson said:
“Interestingly, it sounds strange, but I’ve never been interested in business. I’ve just been interested in creating things that I could be proud of. The bi-product of creating things is that you have to pay the bills, so somebody has to add up the numbers at the end of the year to be sure that the bills are being paid, but a good entrepreneur isn’t really thinking about pounds, shillings, pence or dollars. They’re trying to create this beautiful picture – something which people love – something which will make a difference in their lives and something that they can be proud of. The end result can be that the bills get paid and you build a billion dollar business. But if you think, ‘How am I going to make a billion dollars?’, you’ll never be successful. Your principal interest has got to be creating something that will really make a difference to people’s lives.”
Think it over. Where’s your focus? How are you going to make a difference in people’s lives? That’s how you or your organization adds value to the world.