"Profits are the lifeblood of enterprise. Don't let anyone tell you different."
It's comments like these that great business leaders make that we need to remind ourselves of over and over again.
In our business climate today, we hear everything about what to do except how to make profits it seems; especially when you hear about doing business on the Internet.
No matter what business we're in though, or how greatly we allege we'll impact the world, all that is a bunch of smoke and mirrors if you're not making a good profit.
We have the constant barrage of people that have nothing better to do called activists. They're more than glad to tell you what your priorities should be and how you should run it for the benefit of the world. That's a good idea to throw out the window.
The best thing a business can to is to be profitable. It means we're serving our customers great, we're getting the right business intelligence, we have the right purpose and we're serving the right market.
Taking care of our customer's needs and wants is the reason we're in business. And when we do that right, we'll get the profits that come with it.
That of course doesn't mean that once that concept is understood and embraced that we won't have worthy needs that we can give our resources to. But don't let somebody talk you into it being the No. 1 purpose for your business' existence. People are running around all over the place trying to separate money from business. Some of it is worthwhile supporting, a lot if it isn't.
In the end, profits, as Andy Grove says, "are the lifeblood of an enterprise." Once we focus on and attain that, we can look beyond to see if there are things the company can give to that lines up with its values.
We need to really discipline ourselves to not enter into the hype of giving and world saving either. There are just as many kooks and junk science floating around to prove their cause is right as there are opportunities for people to get rich. We need to take both with a healthy skepticism.
Other Andy Grove Resources:
Andy Grove's Rational Exuberance
The Digital Age . . . driven by the passion of Intel's Andrew Grove
The History and Influence of Andy Grove
Andy Grove enters new post-Intel role as activist capitalist
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