We live in a world today with many Problems.

One of the major Problems that I see many Leaders face is that of Profit.

How do we get more Profit?

How do we Grow further?

How can we get repeat Customers?

How do we get our Employees to be more Productive so that we can gain a Higher Revenue?

How can we work our Supply Chain in an effort to Increase our Profit Margin?

This is just a handful of questions, but it helps us look into a significantly larger Problem.

What is it?

The question of "how" Leaders earn Profit.

I would say that "how" is significantly more Important than "how much".

It is in this "how" that we see what will become more Problematic for Leaders.

See, there are more and more stories, as well as more and more Statistics to match these stories, that show that most Leaders are pushing for Completely Unsustainable Growth.

Instead of creating better Products or Services, they utilize Gambling Tactics and Chemical Stimulants (like Caffeine) to get people literally Addicted.

Instead of Designing better Processes for their Teams, they push the Humans that make up their Teams beyond their Limits.

This is why we see that over 80% of Employees are in different forms of Burnout.

Instead of Developing better Supply Lines where everyone wins, it is far more common to "Squeeze" your Suppliers into lower Profit Margins.

This in turn forces those Suppliers to take Shortcuts, develop Inferior Supplies, and worse.

All of this for "Increased Profit".

Again, I am not against Businesses earning Profit, but "how" they earn that Profit is extremely Important.

These methods to gain Profit are Unsustainable and are a Recipe for Future Problems.

I was having a conversation with someone recently where they expressed having conversations with their Leaders who were only focused on Profit.

As they put it:

"It's like talking to a vampire who only views others as blood bags."

I think this is a VERY fitting way to look at these types of Leaders.

Profit Vampires.

Now, I'm a fan of Dark Fantasy, so thinking of these types of Leaders as Profit Vampires made me have a few Realizations.

When you understand Dark Fantasy, you understand that many of the "horrors" are metaphorical representations of some aspect of Reality.

In this case, Vampires are representations of Beings that take the Life Essence from others without Contributing Back in any way.

What do Vampires do?

They Drain their Victims of their Life Essence - popularly it is Blood, but there are other forms of Vampires that feed off Emotions or Souls.

Who are the "Victims" of Profit Vampires?

Everyone.

Customers/Clients, Employees, Suppliers, and in many cases the Environment and World.

For the Profit Vampires to sustain themselves, they must Drain their Victims of Money, Supplies, and Energy (Mg-ATP).

In our world today, these are Representations of our Livelihoods because without them we cannot live well.

However, I pose this question to you?

What happens when Vampires overextend their Reach?

In Dark Fantasy, Vampires typically keep control by only taking "enough" to keep the local populations afraid, but not afraid enough to take any Action.

But whenever Vampires go too far, one of two things inevitably happens.

One possibility is they Drain too many Victims, leaving a limited Supply of Victims.

This Leads to Inevitable In-Fighting between Vampires, war that decimates their Populations, Starvation, and Death.

The other Possibility... the Victims decide they no longer want to be Victims.

They rise up, and they become Vampire Hunters.

The Vampire Hunters decide to take Action and Destroy the Vampires.

In many of the Dark Fantasy stories, both of these happen simultaneously.

So, why do I bring this up today?

Well, we are watching Profit Vampires overextending dramatically.

With Customers/Clients, the Profit Vampires are asking for more and more money, while those Customers/Clients are struggling even for the Necessities of Life.

The Addiction Tactics are making the Lives of the Customers/Clients even worse.

With Employees, we are seeing rampant Burnout, and instead of doing anything to try to help the situation, the Profit Vampires are actively making decisions that will inevitably make the Burnout worse.

With Suppliers, we are seeing them close shop, strip everything around them to uselessness, or worse.

While all of this is happening, the Profit Vampires are not providing anything of True or Lasting Value.

Where will this Lead?

The Victims will be Bled Dry with nothing left to give...

Or the Victims will turn into Vampire Hunters.

We are already starting to see this in some places, with Active Disengagement, Suppliers Leaving, and Customers and Employees doing Mass Protests.

The Vampire Hunters are coming.

Now, is there a way for Leaders to not be Hunted to Extinction by the Vampire Hunters?

Of course, it's quite simple.

Don't be a Profit Vampire.

The key is that a "Vampire" does not contribute back in any way.

Again, Profit is not inherently the Enemy.

The TRUE Enemy are the Leaders who contribute Nothing while they Bleed everything around them dry.

So, Leaders need to figure out how to Contribute Back.

Instead of relying on Addiction, how do you create Products/Services that Customers ACTUALLY want consistently by choice?

Instead of pushing Employees into Burnout, how do you get them OUT of Burnout and into Flow States?

Instead of destroying your Suppliers, how do you create Mutually Beneficial Relationships so that you both win and become better?

What you need to do as a Leader is to Design a Regenerative Legacy.

If you don't, you shouldn't be surprised when the Vampire Hunters take their Stakes to your Heart.

Vampire Hunting In Business - A Reality That Many Leaders Will Face

A Reality That Many Leaders Will Face

What will you write today?