Have you ever thought about who really makes a company successful?
Did Jeff Bezos build Amazon? Did Bill Gates build Microsoft? Did Howard Schultz build Starbucks?
It can be tempting for us to see people like them as responsible for the success and growth of the companies they founded. After all, it was their dream, their plan, their starting capital, and their initial sweat equity, but how accurate is it actually?
Let’s pretend that a company is like a big, fancy building. In this metaphor, the company owner might be the architect who designs it and the one who pays for it, but are they the ones who laid the foundation, erected the walls, installed all the piping, and laid down the carpets?
No, of course not. In our metaphor, it’s the workers that actually build the building. Without those workers, the building would just be plans on paper and a pile of cash.
Take a bakery for example.
Sure, the owner might have the recipe for the best cupcakes in town, but who’s actually baking them? It’s the workers! They’re the ones mixing the batter, putting it in the oven, and making sure those cupcakes come out perfect every time. Without them, the bakery would just be an empty shop with no delicious treats to sell.
Jeff Bezos isn’t adding products to Amazon’s website. He’s not fulfilling orders in Amazon warehouses. He’s not the one driving Amazon delivery vehicles.
Likewise, Howard Schultz wasn’t the one pouring coffee, buying product, and taking drive-thru orders. Nor was Bill Gates the one coding Windows 95 or Microsoft Office apps.
And it’s not just about physically making the products that customers buy.
Workers do so much more behind the scenes. They answer phones, they keep the shelves stocked, they clean up messes, they pay the bills, they create the advertisements, they handle customer complaints, and so on.
Amazon doesn’t have a market cap of nearly $2 trillion dollars because Bezos is grinding away at order fulfillment or making sure the Amazon Web Services server farms are running smoothly. No, it’s worth that much because of the labour of over 1.5 million workers around the world.
Oprah Winfrey isn’t a billionaire because she was a good talk show host. Her production company employed workers who booked guests, managed the set, operated the equipment, and so on. She’s rich because of the labour of a lot of workers.
JK Rowling isn’t a billionaire because she was a good writer. There was a team of workers behind the publication and distribution of her books, then later a huge number of workers that made the Harry Potter films a success. She’s rich because of the labour of a lot of workers.
Sure, the owner’s vision is important. But without workers to carry out that vision, it’s just a pipe dream. It’s the workers who turn that vision into reality.
Plus, let’s not forget that workers are the ones who often come up with new ideas and ways to improve the company. They’re the ones who are on the front lines, dealing with customers and seeing what works and what doesn’t. So it’s only fair that they get credit for the company’s success.
