Had a great conversation with a really smart colleague yesterday.

We were talking about the temptation to value our product over people.

In YL, our product may be a great club, a sound club talk, an incredible camp experience or a shiny fundraising event.

In our businesses, it could be the service we offer or the great thing that we sell.

In our homes, it could be the picked up living room, a tidy refrigerator, or an exquisite meal that I am trying to cook.

Now, we must put effort into some of these products so that they have the potential to be really great.

Not to the detriment of our people though.

We can never sacrifice people for product.

We must value relationships over events, objects or sales.

Team really does matter.

A Person makes the world go ’round.

Trusting relationships, togetherness, shared story and integrated purpose.

If we are spending too much time thinking about how to offer a better product and not enough time wondering how to invite more people into the story of that product, I’m afraid that we have missed the mark.

When we think about events we are organizing, things we put in our schedule, where we spend our time,

we must figure out how to give people a valuable role, a personal invitation, a bit of ourselves… 

May we value thinking through how to get more people into the story of our lives, business and organizations.

May we never value product over people.