This past weekend I was originally planning to join some great family friends to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. But, those initial plans quickly changed last Tuesday night when I found out that one of my closest friend’s dad passed away. After battling various forms of cancer and countless complications due to a weak immune system for nearly five years, Craig fought hard to the very end… just two days after his 61st birthday.

Craig was as tough as nails and absolutely cherished his devoted wife of 36+ years. And he never missed a chance to show and tell his family how much he loved them. When we’d go on sports/food trips, Craig’s stories grew bigger each time I heard them and his witty sense of humor was so refined that even his ‘digs’ could make you laugh and feel good.

And not only was Craig a great family man, he was a solid friend too. Among his many friendships, his best friend of more than 55 years was there with him until the very end.

This past weekend, I initially thought I was going to celebrate 40 years of an incredible couple’s faithful marriage. But instead, I was fortunate to join a great family to celebrate a wonderful life that was filled with steadfast love and dedicated relationships. In either case, love and loyalty were at the core of each celebration.

Unfortunately, loyalty in the workplace is often a lot different. Sure, it exists, but loyalty at work is a lot more conditional. Most of the time, loyalty in the business world comes with the question “What have you done for me lately?” And to some degree, it should be that way, right? After all, if we don’t deliver, companies fail and we all lose. Whether directly or indirectly, everyone depends on a vibrant business climate in order to keep the economy moving forward. So yes, “What have you done for me lately?” is a fair question.

But how extreme are you when it comes to loyalty in the workplace? Are you so loyal to a product, a company, or a team member that you refuse to see and acknowledge that something or someone no longer delivers a sufficient benefit to you and your company? Or are you so disloyal that you’re willing to drop a vendor or fire an employee at any time in order to switch over to a cheaper alternative?

That’s a tough one sometimes, isn’t it? As much as you’d like to maintain long-standing relationships, you also need to keep a close eye on the bottom line… but, to what degree?

Sure, it’s tempting to seek out or switch over to the cheapest people and products you can find in order to maximize your company’s profit margin. But as you’ve probably already realized, the cheapest option isn’t always the most beneficial or affordable in the long-run. And many times when you take a strong “it’s business, not personal” approach, both parties are typically aware that the relationship is fickle and exists to fulfill short-term needs; not to build a trustworthy, long-term relationship.

On the other hand, blind loyalty sends the message that you’ll accept poor performance and substandard results because you go “way back”. Remaining loyal to someone or something regardless of current outcomes eventually leads to complacency for both you and the longtime ‘chosen one’. Even if someone was “there for you” during those really tough times many years ago, nostalgia doesn’t make up for the lack of performance that your business requires today.

So what’s the answer? As always, that’s up to you. I guess it depends on whether you’re trying to build ongoing business relationships or create a list of available employees, vendors, and products. On one hand, constantly looking for the cheaper, ‘better deal’ sounds exhausting and pretty uncertain. On the other hand, being loyal as a result of tradition or habit while not accomplishing your goals seems costly and frustrating.

As for me, I hope to stay somewhere in the middle… investing in the best quality equipment and team of professionals that I can afford, so I can continue counting on them now and in the future. Of course, that doesn’t happen overnight. But then again, lifelong friendships and everything else that matters never does.