If The Shoe Fits: More Isn’t Better; Better Is Better
by Miki SaxonA Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here.
This is a short post, because it links to a longer one by Henry Mintzberg that should be required reading for every entrepreneur.
Three years ago I questioned the profits entrepreneurs derived from building incompatible systems for the electronic medical records (EMR) systems mandated by the Affordable Care Act.
The money in play is substantial; privately held Epic is one of the largest suppliers and its founder, Judith R. Faulkner, is supposed to be worth around $2.3 billion.
When you’re making that kind of money who worries about lives ruined or lost because of EMR incompatibility?
Last summer Ryan wrote a thoughtful post comparing ‘enough’, on a personal level, to an empty hole that needs filling and ending with this comment.
Perhaps there is never enough.
Perhaps all that matters is what you are filling up that hole with.
Mintzberg is the latest to write on the subject, but with far more knowledge and authority than most, and his focus on staying private, instead of IPOing truly changes the conversation: Enough of MORE: Better is better
We would do well by shifting our economies from MORE toward better. While MORE is about quantities, better is about qualities. They lift us up instead of dragging us down. We can invest our efforts and our resources in durable products, healthier foods, personalized services, properly-funded education. Rather than reducing employment, a shift to better can enhance it, with higher paying jobs in healthier enterprises. When we work better, we feel better, and so we do better and live better. Our societies become better…and sustainably democratic.
Any of these moves requires moving profit out of the top slot, which won’t be easy.
I looked up the example Mintzberg provided at the end of his post and it is proof of how difficult it will be to change the money focus.
…many shareholders expressed concern on Wednesday that the Germanwings tragedy risked distracting management from its turnaround efforts.
The “distraction” involved 149 intentional murders and one suicide.
More recently, money trumped responsibility (pun intended) for Facebook, Google and Twitter during the presidential election.
Hard research from Harvard provides proof that money isn’t the focus of successful startups..
If what really interests you is building a company that actually does make a difference and helps change the world, while providing you and yours a happy life along with the money, then read Mintzberg and seriously consider his advice.
Image credit: HikingArtist
