Five Types of Organizational Bottom Lines

Much of the literature on managing in organizations talks as though all organizations are the same. In this literature, it does not really matter whether the organization is a company, a government agency, a not-for-profit organization, a sports team, a university, or a labor union. The same principles are meant to apply everywhere: results-based leadership, servant leadership, principle-centered leadership, situational leadership, leading for momentum, and the like.

Bottom line management takes a different tack. It starts with the premise that most organizations have a true bottom line, or if not one, several of them. The organizations that we analyze in this book are not doing things randomly (or if they are, they ought not to be). Rather, they are doing things purposefully. They may not be getting it right all the time. Still, they are trying to achieve something in particular.

A basic principle of bottom line management is that in order to manage effectively, you need to be absolutely clear on what in particular your organization is trying to achieve. To help you with this, in this chapter, I describe the five types of organizations that are there.. The five categories are profit-seeking companies, single-purpose not-for-profit organizations, dominant-objective organizations, double (or multiple) bottom line organizations, and a fifth that I will tell you about later. Is it apparent to you which type of organization you work for? If not, please read on.