If you have not watched the CBC television show "Dragon's Den" (or the US version "Shark's Tank") you really should. The shows are quite entertaining and are also educational and thought provoking. Different entrepreneurs appear before "the dragons" or "sharks" and pitch their new and interesting products as investment opportunities.

If you have watched these shows, you'll undoubtedly recall the response by Kevin O'Leary (one of the wealthy "dragons" or "sharks") to investment proposals. Consistently and aggressively, Kevin would say to proponents: "That's all very interesting. But how do I make MONEY on it?" Even some of Kevin's colleague dragons and sharks sometimes get annoyed with his almost obsessive and narrow focus on money. They may even explicitly or implicitly suggest that there is more to life than money, and that, besides short term financial gains, one also has to consider long term gains, and perhaps even altruistic benefits.

I think about the dragons when I observe Boards and Councils get bogged down in arguments about "the bottom line" and thereby sometimes lose sight of what they need to achieve for the organization or community they serve. Conversely, the show sometimes reminds me of the more progressive organizations, which consider that they must address several "bottom lines:" financial, environmental, social, and possibly others.

Can "the dragons" and the various "bottom lines" be considered in your meetings? Here is an example: I recall observing a committee discussing the possibility of organizing an educational event. The discussion barely began when financial issues arose: "How much money do we want to make? How much can we charge per person? What will the market bear?" A lot of time was spent discussing the numbers and not much progress was made. Then someone finally got frustrated and said: "Can we backtrack a bit? It seems to me we're putting the cart before the horse. Can we discuss first who we want to attract to the event and how they will benefit from it? Once we answer these questions we should plan the agenda for the session. Only then should we talk about money." This person's intervention re-focused the discussion and greatly enhanced its quality, depth and productivity.

Increasingly, financial discussions become major distractions for decision-making bodies. Instead of money being viewed as a means to an end, it becomes an end in itself. Instead of being masters of their resources, decision-makers in effect become slaves to the all mighty dollar. Instead of being driven by a positive vision for their communities, Boards and Councils become driven by greed or paralyzed by fear of financial depravation.

Another side effect of the preoccupation with money is that members of a decision-making body can become competitive while trying to protect or advance their favorite priorities or budget items. This often makes such groups adversarial, achieving "win-lose" outcomes. No wonder some Boards find it difficult to attract smart and effective people to serve on them. It is no fun arguing about pennies, plus, while doing it, the "pounds" and the "dollars" (the organization's mission, and the sense of cohesion and collegiality) may diminish or disappear altogether.

There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to be fiscally prudent or worrying about the "financial bottom line." But this must be done in the context of advancing your organization's core purposes and serving its community and stakeholders in the most substantial way. Yes, money is indeed one of your organization's "fuels," and it must be spent wisely. However, money is not your only fuel. You also have the "human capital," which is the enthusiasm and commitment that your staff and volunteers bring. Being pre-occupied with money can demoralize people and thereby diminish the "human capital" that they contribute. So you could end up saving a little on the one hand ("penny wise") but possibly losing a lot on the other ("pound foolish").

So next time your group gets bogged down in financial arguments, see if you can shift the debate to the purposes of the organization and the various "bottom lines" that should be addressed.

Good luck.