After all, you only get to be a “big boy” of business if you can make those “tough decisions” right? If you bring any kind of emotion into the boardroom, you are weak and have no place in the business world.

In case you hadn’t picked up on this already, this phrase drives me nuts. It’s like the business world’s equivalent of “no offence, but…” – an absolution for moral, ethical and, let’s face it, mean-spirited business practice and decision making that is based purely on “what’s in it for me?” 

It presupposes the idea that the only reason any of us exists is to make money. Perhaps in a capitalist economy, there is some truth to that in theory. But in reality, we cannot just shed our humanity as we walk through the office doors.

We make a conscious decision to separate the personal and business in the name of profit, and our golden ticket supposedly absolves us from feeling bad about it.

The problem is that business is personal.

We work with people. Our customers are people. Our products are made by people. People are involved with every step of the business process. We seek a connection with our work that is defined by our need to feel valued and appreciated.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we spend 75 per cent of our lives engaged in work-related activities – it is crazy to think that we aren’t personally invested in the business we are working in, and that that personal investment doesn’t count for anything when it’s time to make decisions.

Have you lost sleep over a business decision? Have you cared about a customer? Have you gone over and above for a work colleague? Have you worked extra hours without pay to meet a business need? Have you made a personal sacrifice to meet a deadline? Have you taken work home because you wanted to make sure you met business expectations? Have you connected with other people internally and externally to the business to create a network? Have you attended out of hours meetings?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, then you are personally invested in business. When you care about your job, when you do your best and support others to do their best, you are connecting personally with the business.

A business that functions well and is successful relies on the personal investment of its employees to be successful –business is very personal.

There are always going to be difficult decisions to be made in a business, but taking into account a person’s personal situation and contribution to the business should not be perceived as a sign of weakness.

Whether we like it or not, we have a responsibility to take care of the people who take care of our business.

Richard Branson gets it and he is one of the most visible and successful business owners on the planet. He famously said that if you look after your staff, they’ll look after your customers.

Loyalty, trust, and respect are keys to leading a successful team – these factors shouldn’t be overlooked or undervalued, and they most certainly shouldn’t be taken for granted.