Could You Walk Away From $2 Billion?
February 14, 2014In a move that could go down as one of the more surprising moves I’ve seen from a business in quite a long time, CVS has announced that by October 1st they will no longer carry tobacco products in their stores. That sounded “interesting” when I first heard about it. And then I heard how much money they made each year in cigarette/tobacco product sales…$2 billion!
That’s 2 BILLION, with a B, dollars. That is not insignificant! That’s enough money to make a member of Congress say “hey, that’s some real money.”
What could make them walk away from such an enormous amount of revenue? A few things contributed. One of them is that it is only a fraction of their overall revenue so it won’t make a huge impact.
It’s about 2% of their total revenue, but still, most companies don’t just walk away from revenue. They also felt a sense of disconnect from their overall goal/mission as a company. They are a pharmacy! They have clinics at many locations with on-site doctors and nurses. Their core business is helping people get well, not promoting habits that can lead to sickness and death. So they are aligning their actions with their longer term vision and mission.
Are there things in our lives, actions we could take today, that could help us align our behaviors with our long term vision for our life? If I were writing this after eating half a pizza, two bottles of Mountain Dew and a Baby Ruth bar, that might not be consistent with my long term health and fitness goals. Maybe I might want to be more aware of my caloric intake.
I did say “if” (right?) so it’s possible I actually had a plate of grilled chicken and steamed veggies. One of those meals is consistent with my goals. One isn’t. Aligning your goals and actions is the key to success in just about any field. If I wanted to be a great piano player, it might be good to align that goal with actual hours (not minutes) of practice time.
That same philosophy of aligning goals and actions is true in your financial life too. If your goal is to not be stressed about your budget, like a person I talked with last week, maybe buying a new car with a payment that eats up 25% of your monthly take home pay (with rent and student loans that consume another 60%) isn’t the wisest choice. Granted, the pictures of the car looked beautiful but at the cost of not being able to go anywhere or do anything, I might’ve opted for an ugly old car that looked less beautiful but one that was more budget friendly.
The most successful people I’ve met, and I’ll define success by a large number of measures (sports, finance, family, etc.), all have one thing in common. They are relentless with setting goals and HITTING them. When they set a goal, they mean it. It’s not just a concept, an idea, a thought…it’s a legitimate goal and they will do what it takes to hit their goals.
CVS will no longer carry tobacco products in order to align their behaviors with their goals. They are walking away from $2 billion in revenue. Are you willing to forego something in order to hit one of your goals? Can you sacrifice some couch time to get into the gym and get fit? Can you walk away from a great pair of shoes, a purse, tickets to a big game, a motorcycle or a new car in order to direct those dollars to getting out of debt completely before making any impulse purchases? Here is a quick Goal Setting Plan that you can use to commit to making progress in your financial life. If CVS can walk away from $2 billion, what commitments can you make to yourself?
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