What's Love Got to Do with it?
On the path to clarity, I have spoken to several friends and colleagues across industries and role functions on this notion of LOVE as a KPI.
The summary of the premise is this: when organizations are driven by Love for people - regardless of if those people are termed ‘customers’ or ‘employees’ (or 'suppliers'... or 'community members'... or any category we place the humans that comprise the ecosystem of every organization in) - it exponentially drives the financial, operational and strategic success of a business.
Love - not to reduced to an emotional state or "positive vibes" - but as evident in an enduring posture, perspective and actions towards people. And we get the best out of people when we Love them.
While I didn't always have a succinct phrase for it, this ideology has been with me for years. I have nurtured it for well over a decade. I have gleaned it from a range of organizational contexts. It is an articulation of something I know for sure.
But for so long I would be bashful about sharing. It seemed a bit 'out there'. What does Love have to do with profit? With strategy? With customer retention? With employee attrition? With process improvement?
The truth is, it has everything to do with business - because business has all to do with people. It's people who will buy, it's people who will advocate, it's people who will work, it's people who will share a link, it's people who will raise funds and people who will donate, it's people who will subscribe, it's people who will vote, it's people who will refer, it's people who will sell - while we have names for every people group in a business context - at the end of the day, human beings have to take action in some way shape or form.
Bashful no more. Without question, I am solving for a world where organizations are driven by Love for people — improving outcomes for the bottom line, employees, customers and communities. Over the course of time, I will define exactly what I mean by Love. It's anything but soft. Anything but easy. But it is very much a source of lasting, multi-pronged value to organizations.
As Miss Turner asks - what's Love got to do with it? The real question is: how can Love not have everything to do with the enduring success of a business?
