Help us go out of business Part I

Most businesses have a goal to maximize their market share, to maximize the need and desire for their products and/or services. The maximizing of profits as well as long term organizational and individual employee security depend implicitly on the business attaining this goal. Survival of the organization and the security of its employees are the basic premise of the businesses' profit-making goals.

In contrast, philanthropic and non-profit organizations often have mission statements that place prime priority on the provision of services and/or products that improve the quality of life, the effectiveness and efficiency of the its 'customers' - without mention of profit or market share. Many market driven businesses dabble in 'social responsibility' endeavors in parallel to their profit making in order to improve their image as a beneficial entity within the society. It is not only the tax exemption incentives that motivate organizations and individual people to provide not-profit services. Humanism is alive and well. But is it doing well enough? Philanthropic and non-profit organizations and their employees have a common implicit goal with profit driven businesses - that is the suvival of the organization and the security of it's employees. What if philanthropic and non-profit organizations had the same killer instinct as for-profit businesses i.e. to maximize market share?

The non-profit would then have as its mission to put itself and its employees out of business.