What's In It For Me?

We think a lot about “ROI” in business.

If I spend this money, buy this stock, hire this person, what will be the return on my investment?

This is a fine and healthy consideration in many of these instances, and certainly when we’re talking about the livelihood of our business and/or its employees.

But I fear we’ve taken this “ROI” mentality into the real world, both unnecessarily and to our detriment.

Sometimes, our “return” on an “investment” is unclear and irrelevant. How can we measure the return of investing an extra 30 seconds to listen to the cashier or gas station clerk who just needs someone to listen? If you choose to invest in a live Christmas tree, how much is the “return”— the joy of seeing it glow each night in the living room, smelling the subtle pine scent for a short 30 days or so — worth?

It’s hard to measure, and maybe it doesn’t matter.

Maybe sometimes, it’s okay to invest our time, care, empathy, and energy even if we aren’t sure what we’re getting in return. Maybe not every act of human kindness and connection has a direct, measurable ROI. Maybe some things we do out of our own personal code of ethics, and not always to get something back.

In response to asking a friend for a favor recently, my friend (jokingly) said “What’s in it for me?” In this case, I knew he was kidding, but I hear that sentiment echoed in the world in a serious tone, and it reminds of our need to balance the scales each time we give something, be it money, time, or grace.

What’s in it for you when you donate to a disaster relief fund in a foreign land? What’s in it for you when you let a friend borrow your trailer? What’s the return on either of those investments?

Maybe a sense of personal pride or the hope that they will one day repay the favor, but maybe, nothing. Maybe there is no return, no “thing” in it for you.

Maybe being a good human is just what we do, no matter what we get in return.