Chapter 11 Rely on Bottom-Line Thinking “There ain’t no rules around here. We’re trying to accomplish something.” —THOMAS EDISON, INVENTOR How do you figure out the bottom line for your organization, business, department, team, or group? In many businesses, the bottom line is literally the bottom line. Profit determines whether you are succeeding. But dollars should not always be the primary measure of success. Would you measure the ultimate success of your family by how much money you had at the end of the month or year? And if you run a non-profit or volunteer organization, how would you know whether you were performing at your highest potential? How do you think bottom line in that situation? A NONPROFIT’S BOTTOM LINE Frances Hesselbein had to ask herself exactly that question in 1976, when she became the National Executive Director of the Girl Scouts of America. When she first got involved with the Girl Scouts, running the organizat...