For a long time there a quote I like that I repeat over again from time to time that I’ve attributed to Jim Collins & Jerry Poras authors of Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.
Profit is like oxygen, food, water, and blood for the body; they are not the point of life, but without them there is no life.
I did a search online this evening to try and verify my sourcing and found the full quote:
Profitability is a necessary condition for existence and a means to more important ends, but it is not the end in itself for many of the visionary companies. Profit is like oxygen, food, water, and blood for the body; they are not the point of life, but without them, there is no life.
But in addition to that verification I also found a great post in another good blog with “Profit is like oxygen,…” commentary.
In the Talentism Blog I found the article: Principles Of Talentism: Part 4 – Purpose Before Profit