Cash In My Pocket
“Bottom Line” is a term used in reference to profit and loss.
But rarely is a corporate bottom line actually about money.
Most of us have things in our lives that are more valuable than cash in the pocket. That’s evidence of being human. So it’s rare for a business’ “core value” to be financial. I’ve never seen a company who lists one of their core values as “cash in the pocket of our CEO.” Sometimes there will be something about serving shareholders, but even that’s rare.
We want to at least give the impression we have more humanity than that.
And cash is rarely the real reason people start businesses. We want to make a difference. And that’s the real bottom line. That’s a core value. Most of our organizations, businesses, and personal projects seek to change lives, communities, and culture. To add value that's bigger than dollars.
So our bottom line ends up being something like empowerment, justice, creativity, peace, or a whole host of other things. Real, principled, core values.
Your bottom line is probably not "cash in my pocket". Because cash is more than likely not a core value.
So what is it?