The importance of friendship in business

Where did you meet most of your friends? At school (if you can remember that long ago!)? University? Locally? At a previous / current job? In many cases, lifelong friendships begin at work – after all, it’s where we spend most of our adult lives.

Recently, I had to say goodbye to a colleague, who was taken from us way before his time. At his funeral, I was surrounded by people I have worked with, who were equally devastated by the loss of such a valued person within the industry. As we stood outside the church after the service, we hugged and we cried together, letting our guards down, because we knew we were safe with each other. This moment made me realise that work isn’t just about providing an income and meeting career aspirations. If we do things right, work is about making friends, real friends, on whom you can count on in a moment of need, long after your paths have taken you in different directions.

Businesses are typically and understandably focused on providing value for shareholders. But where does that leave other stakeholders, such as employees, suppliers, communities and clients? Recent studies show that it is not possible to create long-term value for shareholders without considering all other stakeholders, as everyone involved in the business impacts upon other stakeholders. For example, engaged employees improve customer satisfaction, which in turn impacts positively on growth and increases profitability. It is interlinked, and these links should be recognised and supported in business.

In particular: how does friendship fit in to a business situation? Looking back at my career – which has taken me from Assistant Engineer to Managing Director – I can honestly say that I most remember those situations and projects where we (the team), not I, achieved something special. We might have completed a difficult project, worked our way through a technical or operational issue, or generally pulled together in a difficult situation, working towards a common goal. As a result of working towards these goals and having to rely on each other to create success (whilst occasionally even failing) together, we created bonds and friendships that have outlasted job changes, career changes and even moves to different countries. As Aristotle said, ‘The whole is greater than the sum of the parts’; we can achieve so much more as a team than as individuals.

When we get together again outside of work – often in moments of happiness, such as weddings and celebrations of childbirth, or in times of absolute dismay, such as at funerals – we reminisce in equal measures over the fun times we shared, and any disastrous career moments, because of the bond that was created (in many cases) a long time ago. These bonds and friendships have enabled the delivery of successful projects, created greater client satisfaction – which often led to them becoming repeat clients as a result – delivered the best financial outcome for the business and created moments of sheer happiness amongst employees.

Without these friendships, many things would not have been accomplished, many projects not completed, many happy moments not taken place, and businesses would have gone bust. That’s why friendship in business is good for both the bottom line and the soul.

Author: Yvonne Ainsworth, Managing Director (Onshore), GDG

An extended version of this article can be found on Ground Engineering magazine’s website

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