Page 25 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE WHY OF WORK

be competent, even committed, but still lack passion for
their work. Meaning reinforces employees’ passion for work
because it ties what they do to a greater good that also pays
off in the marketplace. Passion for work is an intangible asset
that has a direct impact on a firm’s market value.
Consider some additional data points on the value for
both employees and customers of abundant organizations
(exemplified here in organizations that employees like to
work for, that investors admire, that invest in people, and
that have positive work practices):

• • Over a 10-year period (1998 to 2008) “best companies to
work for” have a 6.8 percent stock appreciation versus 1.0
percent for the average firm.
• • Over a seven-year period, the most-admired firms in
Fortune’s list of admired companies had doubled the
market returns of competitors.
• • The probability of an initial public offering (IPO; a new
company) succeeding goes from 60 to 79 percent when
the new company invests in its people.
• • Sixty-one hospitals in the United Kingdom had a 7
percent decline in death rate when they invested in the
well-being of their staff.
• • A one-standard-deviation increase in high-performance
work practices yields $27,044 increase in sales per
employee and $3,814 increase in profit per employee.
• • Only 13 percent of disengaged employees would recom-
mend their company’s products or services, compared
with 78 percent of engaged employees.
• • Disengaged employees are 10 times more likely to say
they will leave their company within a year.

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