What We Were Never Told in School About the Human Behavior That Leads to Profit

The behavioral component of profit calls attention to the manner in which people acquire it. Profit is earned through a very special kind of human behavior. It is the behavior of people producing the goods and services the community wants and needs, such as health care, schools for our children, food for our tables, and shelter for our families.

By any measure, this kind of behavior constitutes the highest level of human activity and the highest level of social good. It is people engaged in business who provide the goods and services the community needs, not those in the arts, in the news media, or in politics.

For any business to create profit, it must engage in highly disciplined people activities. In many ways, this activity is like the activity of producing a great symphony, a well-written play, a fine painting, a vintage wine, a piece of sculptured glass, or a new scientific discovery. It demands excellence, delivers quality, and requires an abundance of creativity. In fact, the best businesspeople are more often than not the most creative.

Moreover, I believe that some of the greatest works of art in this world are the American farm, IBM, American Airlines, a Boeing 747, an Apple computer, a Ford Mustang, and the neighborhood grocery store. For a comprehensive list of these works of art in your community, just look in the yellow pages of your local telephone directory.