Companies Are For People (We Just Forgot)

What is a company?

It seems like such a simple question. We spend most of our waking hours in them. We build our careers around them. They shape our communities and define modern life. Yet when I ask people this question, the answers always feel hollow.

There's one truth I keep coming back to.

Companies are for people.

Strip away all the jargon, the legal frameworks, the business school definitions, and what are you left with? Articles of incorporation? That's interesting if you're a lawyer, I suppose.

We've lost sight of a simple truth, which is that companies are for us. They're how we organize our lives, connect with each other, collaborate and communicate. They're vessels for the energy we want to put into the world but can't find outlets for elsewhere.

Yes, companies have other attributes. They maximize shareholder value (fancy talk for making money for people who have money). They move trains, fly planes, generate profits to buy homes. But that's not their essence.

I've come to believe companies are like food. They're better, and better for us, the more we put our hands into them. Just as food provides calories and nutrition, companies provide paychecks and services. But like a meal you've chopped, kneaded, and created yourself tastes better than takeout, a company you've shaped and influenced nourishes you differently than one where you're just going through the motions.

Companies are like meals. They nourish us better when we put ourselves into them. When we chop, knead, and create rather than just consume.

You need to be in your company. Really in it. And your company needs you in it.

The question isn't just "what is a company?" but "what could your company become with more of you in it?"