Health, Wealth and Happiness

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When I was young, my father had a "toast" that he would often say at family gatherings. He would say "Health, Wealth and Happiness." But then he would follow up with his own commentary: "It is easy to achieve two, it is hard to have all three."

Over the years, I began to question his words, question his opinion on the struggle of having all three at the same time. Dad's logic was that if you work so hard at making money, your health might suffer. If you are consumed with work, your family life might suffer. Reminds me of "A healthy person wants a thousand things, a sick person only wants one thing." 

Another triad of words that I have heard and read over the years: Speed, Quality, Price. Pick two. The logic here is that fast and high quality will be expensive. Or, don't expect the lowest price to be the highest quality. It's like a game of whack-a-mole. You don't want to fall into the trap (in business) of doing a series of repetitious and futile tasks, where the successful completion of one just yields another popping up elsewhere. 

Funny word, triad. The best-known type of triad is a type of musical cord consisting of three notes. A D-major triad is made up of the notes D, F-sharp, and A. An F-minor triad is made up of F, A-flat and C. And so on. Major and minor triads form the basis of tonal music, and songs and other pieces usually end with triadic harmony. In medicine, a triad is a set of three symptoms that go together. 

Because I live in the Sales and Marketing world (I'm a selling CEO) the triad of Attention, Adoption and Utilization is something that I personally experience every single day. 

I cannot sell you (or teach you) anything, if I fail to win your attention. If via having earned your trust long enough (if I can maintain your attention long enough) I might then win the right for you to try - test - check out - hopefully adopt what I am teaching (or selling). And, if the thing that I am selling (or teaching) actually WORKS, well then, the utilization, the results - the business outcome of my proposed triad will last for weeks, months, even for years. This is where MY personal "toast" is that "People don't leave a good thing." I have also been heard to say that "People don't want to buy a drill, they are actually buying a hole." People are buying business outcomes. Successful business outcomes creates lifelong customers. Trust becomes the coin of the realm. 

Seth Godin's daily blog (today) is very timely. Seth reminds us that attention and trust do not scale. New technology like AI powered Chat rooms, and smarter and smarter robots might be FAST and might become very CHEAP, but the QUALITY, the true business outcome of using this technology will fail. 

I think that the most successful business leaders fully recognize that the triads of Health, Wealth and Happiness - and - Speed, Quality and Price are well, they are everything. 

People First organizations must put the health, financial security and the overall happiness of those in their charge at the center of everything. Business leaders must deliver the highest quality product, on time and on budget, at an affordable price - every time - all the time. The triad of speed, quality and price must be trusted. The anticipated business outcomes must become trusted in the marketplace so much, that people will not leave a good thing. 

There is no perfect business. Business is hard, just as good parenting is hard. Whether you are the head of a family, or running a company, character matters. The true purpose, the mission, the charter, the reason for WHY a business even exists, matters. People First organizations (and their leaders) know this and live this, every day. It is in their DNA. 

As a parent, the only phone call you want to get from your kids is "Hey, Mom and Dad. Listen, I'm healthy, I'm happy, and thanks for all the support." It should be the same in business. 

"Hello Mr. Capone. I just wanted to call you and wish you Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas. Our business is doing well, we are looking forward to working with you and with your teams in the New Year. Thank you all for your support, we appreciate all of you very much." 

"Health, Wealth and Happiness. It is easy to achieve two, it is hard to have all three."

Dad said it was hard to have all three. Dad did not say it was impossible. 

Hard things are hard - they are supposed to be hard. 

So focus on the hard things. Do the hard things first. 

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