If you started your company, or are the owner, you know what I’m talking about.

You’ve put your heart and soul into this venture, and it’s consumed every waking moment. For years. That passion and commitment has driven you to whatever success you’ve had. And hope to have.

But your team? Well, it seems like it’s just a job to them. You feel like they could walk away at any moment.

Now that I’ve described the phenomenon, it should be obvious why this is the natural order of things. To them it IS just a job, they haven’t put their heart and soul into it the same way you have.

But we don’t have to give up.

First, there are things we can to to build people’s level of commitment. Sure, you can tie them to valuable benefits and even profit sharing, but that doesn’t go as deep as you’d like it to. You can help people build wonderful relationships with each other. I had one boss that I worked for a few times, and I would have followed her to the ends of the earth because of the support and inspiration she gave me. She set the course for the entire rest of my career.

You can also help people to get inspired by the difference they’re making – particularly to customers and the world. It’s probably the same things that inspired you to create this company in the first place, but with a different kind of ownership. You are committed to the company, while your folks are committed to the product or result or their contribution.

But it can be just as powerful. When it’s all aligned, there’s no holding us back.