It’s 5:30, you are still at your desk working when suddenly you hear it; silence. You are the only person in the office again. You think, “That’s OK, my team must have been really productive and burned through things today.” But as you walk past desk after desk you see that there are critical projects that are still unfinished. Despair and even panic starts to rise in your gut. “How can people do this, don’t they see what this means to our business and our clients? Why aren’t they more committed to the work?”

This is a common story that I hear from business owner after business owner. The owners know how critical the work is, and they are willing to sacrifice to accomplish it, but employees? Not so much. Why don’t employees care? Is there anything we can do to turn that around?

First, lets look at why you care. As a business owner you are in a pretty unique position. First you started a business that (hopefully) scratches an itch you have. You see a way in which other people struggle with something that you can do easily. Knowing the pain and challenges that the clients are feeling you also know the relief that comes once they are solved. When you put in that extra more hour or complete one more deliverable you see the difference it makes. That satisfied customer pays their bill and offers you another project and may even tell a colleague about their experience. You get to see how your work is making a difference in a way that is particularly meaningful to you.

Does your team have that same experience? How many times have they heard the client gush about the difference the work has made, not just second hand from you, but face-to-face with the client? Have they made the connection between exceeding the clients expectations and getting paid? Many team members (especially if they are young) haven’t had that experience, and don’t really understand on a visceral level the value that they can create, for the client and the company, from that one extra hour’s work. People want to make a difference, they need to see with their own eyes how their work is making a difference.

Then sometimes there are those clients or projects. The ones where no matter how hard you work, or how much extra you do it doesn’t pay off. At those times the whole team needs to understand that all our work is part of a larger purpose. Even if the client doesn’t appreciate it, we know that our work is connected to a larger, more important change we are making in the world. That’s the itch that you started this business to scratch. Maybe your work brings beauty to interior spaces, or creates clear and compelling messages, or you develop software that’s easy for people to use. Whatever you do, somehow you are making a difference in a way that matters to you.

By clearly stating this purpose, this “Way you are making the world better” to your team, your clients and your vendors & partners, you will attract people that value that purpose too. If when you talk about an assignment with a team member you can connect the work to that purpose it helps people to see how doing this work is making a difference. Very few people actually work for money. Yes, money is important. If you pay people too little they can get very dissatisfied. But paying people too much doesn’t motivate them to work harder or do better work. People want to make a difference, they want to be connected to something bigger than themselves. To the extent that we can give that to them, we will see more commitment, engagement and excellent work.

Are there times when your team was extra committed? What was different in those times? Have you tried connecting purpose, and results to the job that’s getting done?

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Brad Farris is a small business advisor with Anchor Advisors, Ltd. in Chicago, Il. Since 2001 Anchor Advisors has been helping creative professional firms to grow, by helping them clarify their purpose, get the most from their people, keep their eye on key performance measures, and implement consistent processes. Brad is also the author of The Business Owner’s Champion: 6 Practices to Build your Nerve and your Business.