Profit vs Profiteering

Do you know the difference between profit and profiteering?

I think it could be holding some of us back.

Often, the kindest, most compassionate businesses can struggle with charging the true value of their work.

It seems that we see money as the root of many of the problems that we face (and in many ways it is).

But I think it’s greed, not profit that’s the problem.

When a responsible business creates profit, they can create positive impact for all. And use the money to fund regenerative practices that may become the answer to the wicked problems we face.

So profiteering is clearly the problem. And Christopher Marquis book, 'The Profiteers. How business privatizes profits and socializes costs’ is a powerful exploration of that.

Responsible business can and should be profitable business.

Chris’ conversation with my friend Tom Greenwood for his Oxymoron Substack, takes these concepts further and start to unpack the ways our public funds are being funnelled into shareholder pockets.

I think if we were playing Monopoly and somebody was taking money from the bank and holding the cash under the table we would be angry, call it out and probably stop playing the game. So maybe we should do that in real life too?

I work with people and businesses to nurture the space to think for ourselves and act on what we know already. We can have a flourishing, profitable business without cheating or harming others. We can add more than we take away.

Let’s put the Peace & Love into the Profit & Loss.