Driven by Money

Insights from class Jan 25, 2007

1. Money is everything

As much as we would like to deny the importance of money, it is the backbone and the main engine that drives a company. Everything that a business does boils down to making revenue. In class I decided to join the group focused on the capitol engine. I realized that although all the other engines are very important to the function of a business, it is all based on and limited by capitol. Without capitol, none of the other engines can function. With excess capitol, those engines could function more freely, effectively and innovatively.

2. Any problem can usually be reduced to a money problem

I saw this as our capitol group worked on the NASA case-in-point. There were a lot of problems within each engine of the company. The communication was not very effective in the people engine. Technology was outdated or limited within the technology engine and confusion and ignorance ran rampant within the organizational engine. Although there were all these problems within the other engines that run a company, what is the problem underlying all these problems? Money. Insufficient capitol is in my opinion the root cause of the Columbia disaster. Had more funds been available we would’ve seen more efficient DAT risk analyses, less minimizing of the importance of safety-of-flight-issues, greater safety awareness, less concern for flight schedules and greater flexibility in correcting problem situations. Had financing not been a major concern and problem for NASA at the time of the Columbia disaster, I’m sure we would’ve seen an effective resolution of the safety problem that occurred during the final launch of the space shuttle Columbia.

3. We need to change our focus

We as a society and especially as businesses are focused too much on making money. Although it is a necessary part of business, there are more important things to focus on than money. Obviously the number one issue in any business should be the safety of the employees. Focusing on safety will save money in the long run when you consider the costs of worker’s compensation, health care and law suits. Beyond just saving money however, there is great benefit in focusing on employee satisfaction. When employees have their needs met they will produce revenue because they have a desire to give back instead of feeling forced to produce. Google is a good example of a business that focuses on its employees’ comfort. As a result, they are able to receive the most qualified employees and lead the market in innovation because the employees are happy to give back for what they receive. I think all businesses could learn a lot from the Google model.