I always find it interesting when a business owner says “It’s not personal, it’s just business”. My immediate thought is what is their mindset, especially, for a business owner. More often, it seems like an acceptable justification for treating others badly for their own personal gain. It somehow relieves them from any accountability or acknowledgment of treating someone badly. This may have been tolerated at a time but today, the attitude is changing. People are realizing that “just a job” is not enough, their work must also align with their core values and plays a part in achieving their personal meaning of success.

Fortunately, more and more business leaders are acknowledging this shift and changing their old way of thinking. For entrepreneurs, their business is personal, so much so, that many business owners even struggle to separate their identity from their business. There are several examples of how businesses are now recognizing the impact of this element and identifying how to improve upon it. This comes in many forms such as employee engagement and satisfaction, the customer experience, and corporate social responsibility.

To make a real connection with others in our business, we must connect with our hearts. Everything we do, from defining a vision, planning business strategies, organizational structure, systems, marketing, and sales – all of it needs to align with your core values. It’s about being harmonious. Your core values are the heart of your business and impacts everyone who touches your business from employees, partners and clients.

Most business owners don’t start a business solely out of a desire for money, there are additional drivers that are personal. Typically, even their product or service offering is personal – their specific solution benefits others in some way, addresses a problem, makes their customer’s life easier, or offers an improved way of achieving something. What were your motivations when you started your business? What kind of an impact do you hope to make?