Love Is The New Business Strategy?

Let’s be honest. For many people, the thought of love as a business strategy makes people uncomfortable. That’s because business is about getting stuff done, moving ahead, and making a profit. But certainly not love. Right? Well…sort of.

In this article, I want to explain why incorporating love as a business strategy (not the mushy kind) might be the secret weapon you need to truly win the day.

But also, I want to explain the risks of not using love in your business and how this mistake could derail everything you have worked so hard to build.

My Huge Mistake

I know the pain of making this mistake all too well, and I want you to avoid it. Years ago, I was asked to help a struggling non-profit grow. I fell in love with the leaders, their mission, and vision. So I brought my years of business experience and started implementing strategies.

Everything was working perfectly. We saw tremendous growth, and everyone was on cloud nine. Until…everything fell apart.

You see, we encountered some challenging situations as an organization, and the stress of everything broke the team apart. We had done everything right as far as the business strategy goes, but I forgot to ensure the relational connections were strong.

I assumed that since we were successful and got along in the good times that we could weather the stress of any storm. I was wrong. We had failed to build strong relational bonds throughout the organization, and that was a big part of our downfall.

The Power of Love

Is business about accomplishing goals and being profitable? Yes. But the problem is, when we reduce business to only focusing on the work we do, we can forget about the people we do it with. When we do this, we can actually limit what we can accomplish in our business.

Let me explain…

Just like every human needs food and water to survive physically, everyone needs relational connections to thrive psychologically. When our connections with others are limited or strained, our best self doesn’t come out, and this can ultimately hurt our company.

Think of it as a tropical plant that needs lots of water and warm moist air to thrive. If it gets planted in a dry desert it may survive but will never bloom and grow into its fullest potential.

An extreme example showing the need for human connection is found when people who are put in solitary confinement. Studies have shown that the result of being cut off from human relationships is so damaging it is sometimes used as torture and punishment. Many times prisoners showed signs of depression, anxiety, anger, had trouble thinking, concentrating, or controlling their impulses.

Connection Matters

I’m not suggesting our businesses are like prisons, but what I am saying is that our employees all have a deep need for relational connections. Therefore, the more you can foster a culture where people feel loved and connected to their co-workers, the better off your people will be.  And the better your company will do.

But the opposite is also true. If you have a sterile or even toxic environment where relational connections are shallow or damaging, you will limit the possibilities of your people. You could also create a breeding ground for negativity, inefficiency, or laziness. Plus, you might end up with costly high turnover rates or an environment that drains people instead of fuels them.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

You can learn to incorporate strong relational connections into your culture and bring out the best in your people. When you begin to show appreciation (love) for others and communicate that you care about your staff, employee engagement, and all that comes with, it will go through the roof!

Millions of People Can’t Be Wrong

In studies by Gallop of over one million employees worldwide and by Glassdoor, the benefits of showing the love and increasing employee engagement are incredible.

The Benefits of “Showing the Love”

• Lower employee absenteeism
• Lower employee turnover
• Motivated staff ready to work harder
• Higher customer ratings
• Increased profitability
• And much more!

Love as a business strategy works!  It could be the exact thing you need to propel your organization forward.  Also, showing the love can protect your team from breaking apart under the stresses that come at you everyday.

The Objections Some Might Have

1) “Love is mushy and doesn’t have a place in business.”
There are four different versions of love in the ancient greek language, so let’s define which one I’m talking about.

Storge: Which is like a family connection. It’s the kind of feeling you have for your children or grandparents.

Philia: This speaks to the bond that develops between friends.

Eros: This is the type of romantic love between a husband and wife. This type of Valentines Day love is what people tend to think of when the word love is used and is obviously not ideal for a business setting.

Agape: This is the highest form of love. It is a selfless love that is looking to help another person, even if the person can’t return the favor.  Isn’t this how you want your employees to treat your customers and each other?

It’s this last form of love that I believe we need more of in our business.

Can you imagine if your staff loved (agaped) your customers in a completely selfless way? What if you had employees that served you and your business like this, bringing their best to their job?  I can only imagine that you would separate yourself and rise above your competitors.

2) “This is a business, not a family.”
Some would say, “But shouldn’t my employees get their need for relational connection met at home or with their friends?” Of course. But the reality is that many times, people spend more time at work than they do with their families. Therefore the need for connection at work is real, but many times this need goes unmet and negatively impacts your business.

Think of connection or love like gasoline for a car. We all need love to fuel us so we can perform at our best, and when our tank is running low, our engine starts to sputter, and we underperform.

3) “People should work hard because they get paid to.”
I wish that were true, but the reality is that everyone has an extra gear that only comes out when something deep within them is activated. Money only meets a few of people’s basic human needs, and unfortunately, a paycheck is where most businesses stop.

Feeling connected to the people we work with unlocks something inside of us that money can’t bring out. Think of the lengths you go to for your kids or spouse. You don’t get paid for the work in those relationships, but you put in tremendous effort because of love (connection) you have with them.

The Secret to Creating Strong Connections in Your Organization

Love is a secret weapon that can take your organization to the next level. So how do you build a culture where connections are strong, and the best of your people begins to show up at work? It all starts with doing this one simple thing.

Send the “I care” message to those on your team.

As often as you can, send the signal to the people you work with that you care about what they care about. When you do this, you will communicate that you care about them, and this will begin to build a strong connection and put fuel in their tank.  And remember…

Bob and Chris

I was recently doing a workshop with a bunch of CEOs and training them on how to develop a thriving culture. When I brought up the concept of connection, Bob spoke up and shared about the time when he hired Chris, his COO.  The story when something like this.

“Chris, I like brevity,” Bob said. “When we get out of a meeting, I just want a list of bullet points with the highlights and action items. Is that doable?” “Yes, sir,” Chris replied.

The problem was that Chris was a verbal processor, and the last thing he wanted was a list of bullet points. In fact, his preference would have been to come into Bob’s office and spend an hour debriefing and brainstorming on the future action items.

However, because Chris knew that bullet points were important to Bob, Chris put aside what he wanted and showed Bob that he cared about his bullet points because he cared about him. By doing this Chris “showed the love” and began to build a strong relationship.

How Can You “Show The Love”?

What are some things the people you work with care about? And how could you demonstrate that those things matter to you? If you don’t know, then that is your first assignment. Once you find out, then find ways to show them that you are aware of and care about what they care about.

When they trust that what matters to them, matters to you, you will unlock a whole other level of commitment and drive. And when that starts to happen on a big scale throughout your organization, you better get ready because great things are going to start happening.

Conclusion

Most leaders get so focused on their work they forget about who they are doing the work with. I fell into this trap, and it cost me something I cared about deeply.

In our drive to accomplish our mission, we can quickly look at people as human resources to be managed instead of human relationships to be developed. When we do this, we starve people’s core need for authentic relationships and limit what is possible for them and our business.

But if you will embrace love as a business strategy and start to look for ways to show the people on your team that you care about what they care about, you will begin to send the signal that you care about them. And that will start to create a culture of connected people that can withstand any storm and take your organization to the next level because…

What is a way you send the “I care” message to your team?

I’d love to hear what ideas you have, so leave a comment on our social media and let us know.

Thanks for reading,

Charles

Charles Kown, Founder

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I’m Charles Kown. I love helping leaders accomplish their goals, become their best, and create thriving, productive teams.