The Value You Can't Measure: What's the ROI of Your Parents?
Article | June 2025
We live in a world obsessed with numbers. Every project needs an ROI. Every strategy, a business case. Every initiative, a quantifiable KPI. We meticulously measure clicks, conversions, productivity gains, and cost savings. But I'm going to challenge you with a question that shatters this narrow view:
What's the ROI of your parents?
Think about it. The endless hours they invested, the sacrifices they made, the unwavering belief, the emotional support during your failures, the joy in your successes. How do you put a dollar figure on that? You can't. Yet, their impact on who you are, your resilience, your values, and your ability to thrive is utterly immeasurable – and absolutely fundamental.
This isn't just a philosophical musing. This is the crucial blind spot killing innovation and growth in countless businesses today. Because while KPIs are necessary, and business cases explain reasoning, some things simply cannot be measured. And that "thing" – people's emotions – is the real, unquantifiable driver of everything that truly matters.
The Dangerous Illusion: Why "Measurable Only" is Limiting Your Growth
We've been taught to only value what fits neatly into a spreadsheet. This creates a dangerous illusion that if you can't measure it, it doesn't matter.
Emotions Drive Decisions: Forget rational actors. Humans are emotional beings. Our decisions to buy, to stay, to innovate, to trust, to go the extra mile – they are all fundamentally rooted in feelings. You can measure the outcome of that emotional drive, but not the feeling itself.
The "Soft" Stuff is the Hardest Currency: Concepts like trust, loyalty, passion, belonging, and psychological safety are incredibly hard to put a number on. But they are the bedrock of engaged employees, fiercely loyal customers, and groundbreaking innovation. Without them, your measurable metrics will eventually crumble.
"Efficiency" Can Kill Soul: The relentless pursuit of easily measurable efficiency gains can strip away the human connection, the joy, the spontaneity that makes work meaningful and customer interactions memorable. You might save a dollar today, but lose a fortune in emotional capital tomorrow.
The True Gold: Unlocking the Power of Immeasurable Emotion
Your company's real competitive edge, its true resilience, lies in the human emotions it inspires. When you nurture these, you unlock unparalleled power.
Passion Fuels Innovation: You can't measure the "ROI of a breakthrough idea" before it happens. But you can foster an environment where people feel safe, excited, and passionate enough to try – to bring those immeasurable bursts of creativity to life.
Belonging Drives Loyalty: An employee who feels truly valued and connected isn't just a cost center; they're an unstoppable force. You can measure retention rates, but how do you measure the collective commitment and advocacy born from a sense of belonging?
Trust Cultivates Resilience: When customers or partners feel genuinely trusted and valued, they stick with you through tough times. You can measure churn, but not the deep-seated trust that prevents it.
Stop Playing Catch-Up: Your Hands-On Action Plan
Your competitors obsessed with only the measurable are missing the vast, unquantifiable power of human emotion. Don't be them. It's time to lead with your heart and your head. Here's what you MUST do, right now:
Lead with Empathy & Purpose (Beyond the Numbers): Constantly communicate the "why" that ignites passion, not just the "what" that drives targets. Show your team and customers that you understand their struggles, their hopes, and their aspirations. Connect their work (and your products) to a larger, meaningful purpose.
Invest in Connection, Not Just Convenience: Prioritize building real relationships – internally and externally. This means fostering genuine human interaction, creating spaces for belonging, and designing experiences that evoke positive emotions, even if their direct ROI isn't immediately obvious.
Listen to the Unmeasurable: Go beyond surveys. Listen to the tone in team meetings, observe non-verbal cues, pay attention to informal feedback. What are the emotions telling you about the health of your organization and your customer relationships?
Trust Your Gut (and Your People's Hearts): While data is crucial, sometimes the most impactful decisions come from understanding the emotional landscape. Empower your leaders to act on human insights, even if the direct financial metric isn't yet quantifiable.
Your balance sheet tells you where you are, but people's emotions tell you where you're going. Stop limiting your vision to only what can be measured. Start investing in the unquantifiable human drivers that truly build lasting success. Act now, or risk being outmaneuvered by companies that understand the priceless ROI of the human heart.