In my firm we find certain issues occurring over and over again with clients. Our role allows us to be perhaps a little more objective and to see unhelpful patterns that hold companies back.
One of these recurring themes is something we come across regularly with businesses in the not-for-profit sector and in the socially and environmentally responsible business sectors. This does not apply to all our clients in these sectors but I hope that by highlighting some of these matters, at least some of them will be familiar to people and help them to deal with them.
Popular myths in these sectors include “you have to be a b.....d to get on in business” and “money is dirty”. If your business or organisation feels constrained in fulfilling its potential due to a shortage of money, you might want to look at what myths your team may have unwittingly and subconsciously bought into.
Money is energy, a bi-product of creating something of value. It is neither good nor bad. What people do with it can be either good or bad. In a world that generally runs on the fuel of money, it is hard to make a difference unless you have money to enable you to do so.
It is beyond the scope of this article to go into all the why’s and wherefore’s of these cultural attitudes but there is no doubt for those who believe in these myths, there is plenty of evidence to prove they are right. The problem is that there is an equal amount of evidence that business can be one of the most powerful forces for making a difference and money is the automatic bi-product of a well-managed business producing something truly of value to society.
With this in mind, as a prelude taking action to circumvent these unhelpful, limiting beliefs, a useful exercise is to have your team brainstorm the things that they have heard said about money and business since they were children. There will be a surprising number of recurring themes within these myths. Analysing each one, not looking to prove them right or wrong but seeing where there are examples of them not being the case, you start to get a sense of the cultural bias, particularly in these sectors.
The simple truth is that these self-limiting beliefs are preventing a great deal of good work getting done that could make a huge difference. As lawyers, we see them not only impact the ability to finance excellent projects but also the effectiveness of relationships internally and externally. For example, if the culture is subconsciously that money is bad, how effectively do think you will negotiate with organisations that you want to provide services to? How much do you think you might be constrained in those negotiations fear of “looking bad” if you focus on financial issues? How much of a difference will you make if you do not take these issues on?
I will close with a simple truth: many organisations fold because they are not able to take on these issues - “the path to hell …..” and all that! Call it enlightened self interest if you like, but I have a commitment to turning this around and having organisations be effective.
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