June - 2009 issue > Last Word

By Robert H Chapman

Why is it so important to touch the lives of people? In business, we touch the lives of many people. We touch the lives of our shareholders; we touch the lives of our suppliers; we touch the lives of our bankers; we touch the lives of our employees; and we touch the lives of our employees’ families.

If we remember this, and think about things that we do and how we touch people’s lives through them, I certainly believe that any businessman will then be making the right decisions, not only for his short run but for others in the long run. And if we all remember this, the vision to touch the lives of people will then be a sustainable one.

As leaders in business, we do have tremendous opportunities to impact the society. People spend the majority of their waking hours at work. It is a fact that there are a number of people who go home each day empty, drained by their work experience. They leave the doors of our companies unable to be fully present for their families, their spouses, or their communities.

Through my personal experience in leadership, I have come to this fundamental premise: If we, as leaders, were to conduct business in such a way that our team members were enriched by their experience with us, rather than drained by it, they would go out into the society as able and better parents, friends, spouses, and members of the community. And this would be an amazing opportunity and responsibility.
If you are the President of your company your goal must be to help people understand what profound impact you can have on people’s lives. As a leader I practice a clear objective: “To ensure that every life we touch returns home safe, healthy, and fulfilled.”

I rarely, if ever, meet someone who has thought in any depth about a question: Where are you going in your life, and where are you going in your business? I find that most business people don’t have a compelling vision for their business. People talk about events that have occurred – like the big order we have got; the money we didn’t take; and the rising sales. Likewise, it seems that most people don’t know where they’re going in life either. They normally struggle to answer, in which case it is hard to imagine how you are ever going to get there.

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