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28 The PCB Magazine • March 2016 ment that obsoletes much of the nonsense we have been programmed to believe about lead- ing and managing. Because profitability, in the final analysis, is more about leadership and management than any other factor, I want to introduce you to The Four New Agreements for Leaders and Managers. It is these four new agreements that are the basis of the successes in Brian's story described herein and many other businesses over the 25-year pe- riod in which the agreements have been imple- mented. You will find the agreements, with the support of leadership, as effective in the high- technology, interconnect and PCB space as they are in healthcare. First New Agreement: Find Your Purpose (for work) With 70% of U.S. workers disengaged from their work, the losses in productivity (and prof- itability) for many companies are huge. Add to this the mostly hidden costs of high levels of absenteeism and employee turnover and we most certainly want to include in our search for profitability the creation of meaning or purpose at work. Data are clear that people are not motivat- ed long-term by money. Similarly, companies that focus on profitability as the driving met- ric find that, long-term, they lose both em- ployee engagement and profitability potential associated with engaged, motivated employees. Savvy leadership and management in the high- technology and interconnect spaces will cre- ate meaning and purpose for workers, possibly even a higher purpose that extends to commu- nity and beyond. Second New Agreement: Grow and Serve Others The most important thing a conscious lead- er or manager must do to increase profitability potential in the high technology, interconnect or PCB space is set his or her people up to be successful in their jobs. While leaders creat- ing good systems most influence the success of workers, a mindset of service to others is a close second. Servant leadership has been around for a while as a proven effective alternative to fear- based, top-down management. Do you value and genuinely care about your people? If you don't, you miss out on significant profitability potential. By continuously growing your people through cultivating their talents, increasing their capabilities, and expanding their skill sets, you'll enhance the performance and produc- tion of the whole organization, thereby mak- ing the business more profitable. Data indicates that returns on continuous, in-depth train- the four new agreements to explode profitability Figure 7: A higher purpose for work transforms the workplace. Figure 8: servant leadership means growing and serving others.