Profit Is Not a Four Letter Word

The better you understand the truth of my title, the less vulnerable you will be. And the more you learn about the noble nature of profit, the more prepared you will be to master your own and your company’s destiny.

Nature promotes all forms of life with a flawless, profit-based incentive plan that inspires action by rewarding success.  Plants profit from their use of sunlight to transform water, soil nutrients and atmospheric carbon into a cornucopia of fruits, fiber, refreshed air and seeds for endless propagation.  Birds profit from the energy they invest in annual migrations north.  Animals depend on profits of foraging and hunting.  All forms of life are enabled and benefit from prerequisite pursuits of profits.

For us, nature offers endless challenges and commensurate rewards.  We profit physically, emotionally and materially by investing time, energy and resources into life-promoting pursuits.

From empirical evidence and simple logic, we can recognize and define 3 irrevocable and inescapable natural laws of profit:

First Law of Profit:  Survival requires that the sum of gains at least equal the sum of life-sustaining expenditures.

Second Law of Profit:  Security requires a sum of gains greater than the sum of expenditures required for survival.

Third Law of Profit:  Prosperity comes in direct proportion to net gains beyond requirements of survival.

These 3 laws apply to all human pursuits, whether they are individual or organizational endeavors.

To prosper is to wholesomely succeed, flourish and thrive. This means profit is a prerequisite to prosperity—we cannot prosper as a person or a company without continuous sources of profits.  It also means our bottom-line profits are our best measures of success as we pursue noble purposes.

Freedom is our natural state. Free-market capitalism is its socioeconomic derivative. Here, producers and consumers meet freely to exchange value for greater value as they inevitably and nobly contribute to the wealth of individuals, communities and their nation and world.

In business as in nature, profit is both the reward for successes and the incentive for further action.  For this reason, it is naturally appropriate for a business to strive to be as profitable as possible.  When a company can improve its earnings in free exchanges of value, all parties win.  And when no one loses, profit serves as a noble contributor to the betterment of the company’s customers, employees, owners, vendors, community and government.

As long as we act within win-win relationships, we need not and must not apologize for measuring our progress in bottom-line dollars. We must stay aware of and honor Nature’s Laws of Profit.

Contrary to all too-common misconceptions and false portrayals, profit is a wonderful 6-letter word.  It connotes a concept that is key to all forms of life for survival, advancement and prosperity.

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