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There’s a misconception in business that you can be either people or performance-driven, but not both. That thinking isn’t just flawed; it’s dangerous. When you sacrifice humanity for short-term wins, you risk alienating the people who made your business worth something to begin with.
I’ve seen this tension firsthand in industries like healthcare and veterinary medicine, where performance pressure is surging, leading to a sharp focus on optimizing profit margins. To get there, many leaders default to ruthless management styles, prioritizing growth or efficiency, often to the detriment of the people who followed their passion – and compassion – into those