Out of Normal: How do you figure YOUR bottom line?

February 17, 2004

How do you figure YOUR bottom line?

I just received some "We are gods" figures that some companies like to share about their bottom line...

I have a few questions to pose to the powers that be. What else do you figure into your bottom line there??? Sure, you may have increased net profits for the year, but how the hell do you sleep at night??? How many of your employees are taking anti-depressants as a direct result of your initiatives to grow company profits?? How about the increase in the use of sick time for anxiety or related illnesses? When was the last time that you set up an interview with a random person in the working rank, to have them come in your office and tell you how things were going? If your company conducts exit interviews, how are they going, and what have people had to say? If there is a consistent theme, do you dismiss it as sour grapes, or are you willing to do something about it?

Yes, I realize that some people who read here are the big kid in their sandbox, and none of this is geared towards you whatsoever. Nose, I respect the hell out of you for what you have done, and I give you big props for foraging your way into the business world. It is a scary place out there!

My point is that there IS a different way. No, I'm not talking about any huggy-touchy-feely multi-level marketing plans who hold cult-like inspirational meetings that are practically required, yes, Quixtar, Im talkin about YOU!!!!! I have had friends get sucked into their cult, and have lost their asses. Whoa! Did I go off on a tangent there or WHAT??? Can you tell how opposed I am to multi-level-marketing?

Yes, though, there is a different/responsible way to run companies. Nose is a shining example. I have to give my bro a plug here.... Nose started and runs Andrews Companies Inc., an IT consulting firm in Indianapolis. He and his crew can do it ALL!!!

Enough said, my rant is over.

Posted by Broch at February 17, 2004 06:46 PM

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Sleep at night? You've got to be kidding. I can't remember the last fully restful night I've had, or at least didn't mull over some company problem/opportunity. Currently it's when do I add another staff member. Other than just paying for it, there's about a thousand other things that go into that decision like...how does it affect current staff? But I've structured my shop to be more of a boutique or practice than something that'll grow into a "company" as we all think of them. Companies that have a large structure get their profits by plugging bodies into a forumla. Nothing here causes them to want to do anything about it because it doesn't add profits and let's face it, there's always gonna be bodies. I chose to not just plug bodies into a hole, but I have to search out specific, growable, talents to add to my company...trust me, it's a whole hell of a lot harder to find this. I've probably been searching for that next employee for over a year, but when I do find them; I've already got a career development plan for that person. MLM and all it's ilk don't actually produce a product or service, they just rely on the plugging in of bodies to feed the head. Generally, people that fall for this are looking for a quick fix for a long-term problem they've put themselves into. There is no way to get rich quick...period. You have to burn the shoe leather day in and day out, weather years of meager, if non-existent, profits (most likely losses), and do something that's unique and needed in the world. If you just want to start up a biz to do what someone else is already doing, you've cut your own throat as you've made your own competition in the process. You have to be unique in what you provide and how you provide it and the market has to want it. If you want to make burgers just like the rest of the world, get a franchise...at least that way you have some territorial protection. Thanks for the pops Broch, it's appreciated!

Posted by: nose at February 18, 2004 11:30 AM

Just remember, insurance companies are there to make money, (period!) and it's just a sidenote that they provide good, quality insurance along the way. Broch, how do you like the corporate lifestyle? From what you relate, they should care more about their employees than the bottom line. This leaves employees in many big companies unhappy. Problem is, it is a comfortable job, pays the bills, but I know alot of people that really aren't that thrilled to be working for the Farm. It just wasn't their calling, but there is nothing wrong with that. "It is best, it seems to me, to separate one's inner striving from one's trade as far as possible. It is not good when one's daily break is tied to God's special blessing." - Albert E. Some people do strike out on their own to do it their way, to have more self-control, and to be happier. As Steve said, it ain't easy. If anyone is truly unhappy working for the big guys, they can always go on their own or consult. This brings up another, deeper theme. Try not to work for the money; pretend it doesn't matter and do what makes you happy and work hard at it. Don't let money rule you. I get in a mode where I get all worried about it too and have to shake it off. "Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury - to me these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for every one, best both for the body and the mind." - Albert E. If people are money hungry, you know power must come next. You exert power with war: "The really valuable thing in the pageant of human life seems to me not the political state, but the creative, sentient individual, the personality; it alone creates the noble and the sublime, while the herd as such remains dull in thought and dull in feeling. This topic brings me to that worst outcrop of herd life, the military system, which I abhor. That a man can take pleasure in marching in fours to the strains of a band is enough to make me despise him. he has only been given his big brain by mistake; unprotected spinal marrow was all he needed. This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed. Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism--how passionately I hate them! How vile and despicable seems war to me!" - Albert E.

Posted by: wendel at February 18, 2004 04:32 PM

Wendel, Wendel, forever the humanitarian you are. Yes, I get up each day and whore myself to the highest bidder. If I didn't do what I do for the money, I would certainly not do it at all. I dare say that you do likewise, with the added benefit that you get to help people and provide them with dentistry that they could not otherwise afford. Im trying very hard to picture you truly enjoying putting your hands in serious harms way because you just love to do it so much. Each of us, You, Crutch, Nose, Knuckledragger and I are all living at relatively the same level of lifestyle that we grew up with at home with our families. We all did pretty well, I guess.

Posted by: Broch at February 18, 2004 05:24 PM

i'm drinking a glass of wine with this, so it could get wordy.... good sage advice on work from dr. wendel. while old albert was a wise old man, he is a product of his age. his rebelling against war and the thought that the warfighters were a waste betrays their true and high purpose of protecting ideals bigger than themselves. many of these people realized that by their hand they'll affect the course of civilization greather than the work of their minds in a hundrend lifetimes...to these we owe a debt of gratitude that can't be understood or repaid; only history will be able to measure. as for broch...you think i don't whore myself out every day? the only difference is i get to choose, for the most part, who i whore to; and therein lies the key. i choose. i'm not told, i'm not delegated, i'm not commanded. it is "i" that strikes the direction, it is "i" that will feel the sting of defeat and failure. however, i felt that in corporate life as well and there was a whole lot less upside in that equation. here's my story of my last corp gig. i was responsible for the profitability of a small captive IT consulting firm within a larger corp framework. my monthly costs were not controllable by me as they were mostly allocations of other corp departments on my budget that i couldn't remove. heck, i paid for artwork in the lobby of a building i didn't even use...i paid an accounting allocation for a high-dollar accountant when i'd normally do the whole gig on quickbooks...my square footage allotment was more than i was using and was 4 times the market rate i would pay. then, monthly, i'd get hammered in the board meetings when i was unprofitable. total responsibility, complete absence of ability to be accountable. really my business is a mirror of that with the massive cost structure removed and tweaked a bit for my tastes. but guess what...now i'm fully accountable all the way through to my personal assets if i'm not careful. so yes, i have to enjoy it; and even though i'm putting my life and family in harms way (financially) by taking that risk. as much as i bitch, i've never been happier with my place in life...so much so, i'd almost do it for free if my family was taken care of. i love helping my customers because i get to see the full picture of them succeeding and knowing my success was built on theirs. it is true that a rising tide floats all boats...when you put your customer's boat first, your's will float too. the only mistake i made was right before that when the mortgage company was going down. we were on the market for sale and the bids weren't worth a spit to the parent company. a few of us on the senior management group violated an agreement we had and conspired to buy certain assets of the company and continue it with an appropriate cost structure we could control. of the 5 of us, myself and one other paniced and backed out...dooming the plan. looking back on what the mortgage market has done in the past 5 years....what a mistake...my panic was over a measly $10k. the one guy that ran forward with the plan on his own has made a killing....really, i'd have been retired by now. you've gotta look, listen and see the opportunities that are out there...they come by you every day. i dare say we're surpassing the lifestyle our parents had at our age. i'm damn sure my dad hadn't owned 5 new cars, 3 used cars and 2 motorcycles, and a camper by 33 years old...oh yeah, and then there's a house. we've done exceptional...every single one of us; but we all had help to get here.

Posted by: nose at February 18, 2004 08:07 PM

Broch - you lost my point - my trade of dentistry, I do like very much (particularly conservative gold restorations), and I do make a living at it. A person does, after all, need a home, food and heat. It has it good points and bad points, like any job would. Very few of us have the luxury of being so incredibly talented at one thing that their whole life appears magical and easy for the whole world to see. Some people are also just plain born rich and ... don't work. Life just isn't fair, but I don't worry about it. I just go plogging along doing my own thing, competing against myself, no one else. I would not understand it if anyone, whether it being repairing peoples teeth, working on computers, or more humanitarian niches like a teacher or aid to the elderly, truly wakes up and lives and breathes their trade. Hopefully, there is something more to that person's life than work. A trade that someone is pretty good at, that they enjoy and make some money off of is a very good thing; sometimes the elite envy us, that our lives are simple and meaningful, and I believe that. I think the few instances where a life's calling and a trade go hand in hand could be that of a clergyman or scholar. And if they are a scholar, hopefully they're good enough, otherwise they'll have deep thoughts about being unemployed. A scholars merit is based on critique and thought, whereas some clergyman, unfortunately, it just depends on how much money they can squeeze out of the Trinity Broadcasting Network. I like simple-talking priests. Monks are awesome too. Can you imagine Gandhi holding the money bags of Carnegie? Totally different people. Which are you?

Posted by: wendel at February 18, 2004 08:54 PM

Wendel, I think my point got lost as well... I do what I do to pay the bills, nothing more. Some people whore their bodies, I whore out my brain. My interests in life lay outside of my 8 hour workday, as I don't see it possible to be able to provide a good life to myself based on my true interests. I sacrifice my 8 hours a day so I can do the things I love without worrying about making money at it. I completly respect what you do, you are truly a fantastic dentist!

Posted by: Broch at February 18, 2004 09:07 PM

Broch - shouldn't you be working!!! That's why my 'Farm insurance is so expensive! - employee's slacking! Steve is full of it. If money weren't an object, he would be more likely to be designing computers FOR motorcycles/cars instead of networks, but then again, who wouldn't?

Posted by: wendel at February 18, 2004 09:18 PM

If money weren't an object I'd be farther away from computers than Ted Kazinski. This is what I do because it is what I'm good at. You all forget I came about my career on a different path than most. I didn't plan to become what I am and then go get the education to do it; I learned a skill, some say a trade, as a hobby and then just kinda gravitated toward jobs that had that opportunity. Think back, the late 80s and early 90s didn't have many computers, let alone networks. It was even odds that I'd work on computers or in an auto repair shop...I'd have been fine with either. I enjoy it, but I'd much rather sit at my reloading bench making bullets for the next hunting trip. If I had the opportunity, I'd lead a much simpler life.

Posted by: nose at February 19, 2004 08:12 AM

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February 17, 2004

How do you figure YOUR bottom line?

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