What's Love Got to do With It?

When it comes to the elements of business success, most people don’t think about love. When I bring this topic up (cautiously, I might add), I can almost hear the Tina Turner song, “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” playing in the background. But love is essential in business, as it is in our personal lives.

Yeah, I know that love is a “touchy-feely” word, but I’m going to stand my ground here and state that without bringing love into your business, you’re sunk…or at the best, stuck. Stay with me here, as I examine what is needed for a business to go beyond surviving– to thriving.

You, your customers and clients, and your employees all need to the same things—to have your needs taken care of, to be heard, to be respected, to feel appreciated, to be treated with integrity, and to know that you are cared about. When you look at these elements, they’re parts of what we call “Love”. Your employees and your clients are the “life blood” of your business, as it were. Just like you, they don’t check who they are as human beings “at the door” when they are in their professional environments. And as human beings, the deepest calling of our hearts is to be loved.

The ugly truth is that, according to research by the Gallup organization and the US Labor Bureau, the main reason that employees leave a job is because they don’t feel appreciated, they don’t feel valued…the same reason that many clients leave businesses…and many people leave relationships.

Where to start? Start with listening, with truly HEARING. I recall a saying–“Being heard is so akin to being loved, that the two are indivisible.” Try this with your children, spouses, friends, employees, and customers. Then take the next step, and address what it is that concerns them. Then watch what unfolds…and what happens to yourself as you become the type of leader that others want to follow.

So love your employees, love your clients, serve them by wanting for them what you want for yourself, and you will find that your business AND your life will be much richer.