The Wall Street Journal (and I’m sure others) sure had a snit attack last week after the Business Roundtable came out with their latest report saying companies shouldn’t emphasize shareholder return over taking care of employees, customers, suppliers, and community.
Taking care of people sounds like a good subject for Labor Day week. And what the Roundtable is suggesting sure sounds like the Costco model. Fair prices, good jobs at a fair wage with benefits, very community focused, and while I can’t comment directly on suppliers, I do have a friend who sells to Costco and loves doing business with them.
The above is also what my clients strive for. A client looking at a business to buy didn’t see an expense for benefits. He commented on how he’ll have to add in that cost (versus the common adding back of expenses) because he wasn’t going to be an owner not providing benefits.
I looked at a company recently whose owner seemed to be bragging about how little he could pay his employees. He didn’t connect that with the fact he had high absenteeism and constant turnover.
With an extremely high employment rate it pays to take care of your people, especially in our robust economy.
As an economics major, I well remember Milton Friedman, who’s the person who stated a corporation’s primary obligation is to the shareholders (and which the Roundtable is now disagreeing with). I think he was wrong then and it’s a wrong philosophy now. Take care of your people (including customers and suppliers) and they’ll take care of you.
“Success is a great deodorant. It takes away all your past smells.” Elizabeth Taylor
