If I ONLY think of money, I am lost....

Nicholas has a simple philosophy that is encapsulated in the one sentence that he repeats multiple times during the course of the meeting:


"If I ONLY think of money I am lost..."


It's the first time I'm hearing this from someone in his position, as the entire objective of any company is to make money.


Money = happy bankers
Money = big salaries for CEOs and CFOs
Money = dividends and happy shareholders


He knows all this. He also knows about EBITDA and bottom lines and the never-ending need for 'growth'


He just doesn't choose to think of these things first.


"If you come to work on a morning and you had a bad night, because your kid was up all night sick. Can you work well? If you are sad or unhappy - can you give your best?"


We shake our heads.


"No! Exactly. People are not machines. Sometimes they need time to re-set themselves. So we have a recharge room."


We later go to see the recharge room. It is silent and dark, with a line of comfy lounges where you can take a nap. Employees can go there to listen to some music, take a nap, text in privacy. Just next to it is a mini-gym, for those who want to get their blood pumping a bit during the day.


"People cannot give anything, when they have nothing to give. If I think of money alone, I would be lost. I think of the happiness of others first."


His philosophy is more than giving people space to recharge. If an employee has a family event (like a kid's ball-game or school event, a partner's or parent's need to be met) and don't go/deal with it - and he gets to find out, there's immediate reactions. He insists they go. Family is important to the employee so he makes it important to him.


The energy level of employees is high and the smiles are real. So are the sales. Proof that his philosophy also has the bonus of getting the company to where his bosses tell him it should be.


"I went to Cuba recently," he says, "the hotel was very nice. But the service was terrible. So I spoke to the manager to ask what was going on. In speaking to him, I get to understand more. If you are unhappy with your life, if you are unhappy with your country - how can you give good service? You have nothing to give."


His words are simple. His message profound.


"One of the ways we do this is in considered everyone here to be equal. We don't think of the roles we are assigned or our job positions. Everyone has a say. Everyone has a voice."


I felt goosebumps while he spoke, because of his passion and conviction and the truth of what he was saying.


But also because it was a message I had allowed myself to forget. I remember telling one of my bosses when I had just started working, "This life, it's all about people and relationships. That's what we're here for. We chose to leave whatever spiritual or astral plane there was to interact with other souls and to learn. So questioning what we learn from each interaction is really important..."
He believed me naïve and that I would grow out of such thoughts.


Sadly, he was right.


In the last few years, there are a chosen few whom I've allowed myself to be close to at work. In general, however, I don't spend each day and each interaction thinking:
"How are you feeling?"
"What can I learn from you? / What can you learn from me?"
"We are equals in this game of life. I have been here longer, but there are still things you can teach me..."
"You are human and a soul and have a story all your own...."


That would be too hard. Too exhausting.


Yet, if I did so, the fundamentals of my existence would shift. The quality of my life would be entirely different.


I want to be different.
I want to be naïve - if being naïve means that I can see the humanity first and the role second.


I want the fundamentals of my existence to shift and the quality of my life to be different....