Loyalty is a Control Word
- The Cigar Profit
- Sep 25
- 10 min read
Executives preach it, employees suffer for it and the free market kills it every time
9/25/25 | Jonathan Lipson | Founder & President | Book Cigar Profit Exploratory Call
Loyalty: A False Badge of Honor
On LinkedIn, it’s paraded like a badge of honor. In boardrooms, it’s whispered as the glue that keeps people from walking. But loyalty isn’t a virtue in business.
It’s a leash.
You see it at 5:30 p.m. The worker still at their desk while their kid’s soccer game plays without them. You see it in the denied vacation, the passed‑over promotion, the project dumped on a “loyal” soldier.
And the payoff?
A salary structured for margins.
A benefits package painted as generosity.
A pat on the back.
That isn’t devotion. That’s control.
And don’t think this is just a cigar business gripe.
This is every business, every industry, every sector that lets executives hide behind a word instead of building real alignment.
LinkedIn “thought leaders” love to parade loyalty like they’ve cracked some eternal truth. They’re not trailblazers.
They’re influencers in expensive suits. Same energy as the Gen-Z guru selling hustle courses on Instagram, just coated in corporate jargon.
They don’t understand markets.
They understand attention.
And they feed you poison when they mask manipulation as management.
The Loyalty Trap Test
Ask yourself five questions:
• Do you work late more than twice a week with no trade attached, no hours back or money?
• Have you been told to “be patient” more than two review cycles in a row?
• Have you picked up a project that added risk but didn’t add pay?
• Did your last promotion come with a title bump but no real compensation?
• Do you feel more guilt than leverage when you think about leaving?
Three yeses or more means you’re not loyal. You’re a captive asset.
How to read your score:
• 0–1 YES: you’re trading value for value. Keep it that way. Keep records. Keep options live.
• 2–3 YES: you’re drifting into compliance. Set terms this week. Price extra work. Publish scope. Book a comp conversation.
• 4–5 YES: you’re being harvested. Stop the bleed. Cut nonessential tasks. Move critical asks to writing. Open outside talks.
People cling because of guilt, sunk cost and fear of search.
None of it matters.
The numbers call the shots.
Executives Love Loyalty, For a Reason
Executives love the word because it buys them leverage.
No budget for raises? Preach loyalty.
No equity on the table? Talk loyalty.
No promotion path? Call someone loyal and hand them another project.
That’s the move. Trade a word for work.
They parade it as “our philosophy”. They package it as “we’re family”. But it’s not loyalty. It’s lockdown.
Picture the all‑hands where a manager praises “loyalty” right before announcing a hiring freeze. Translation: you’re not getting more, but we expect you to give more.
Every time executives sell it - they get time, silence, compliance.
Every time employees buy it - they lose leverage, value, family hours they can’t get back.
It’s not noble. It’s not inspiring. It’s an IOU that never pays out.
And here’s the truth they don’t want you to figure out:
When loyalty is the pitch, the leash is on the table.
Case in point:
A team of six hits a hiring freeze. Two resign. The four left behind pick up a 35% workload increase.
No comp change.
No hours back.
The “savings” show up in payroll but bleed out in churn, missed deadlines and burnt‑out staff.
That isn’t winning. That’s scorching tomorrow to make today look good.
Another classic:
The “loyal” manager promised a bonus for carrying two roles after a reorg.
He waits a year.
Then another.
The bonus evaporates.
Excuse given? “Budget shifted.”
Translation: loyalty bankrupted him. The company cashed the check.
Loyalty Never Survives the Other Side
Loyalty serves leadership. Until it doesn’t.
The boss who stole your weekends?
He’s gone Monday morning. No goodbye. No warning.
The “mentor” who preached sacrifice?
She bolts for a richer package and leaves you holding the bag.
The company that called you family?
It shuts down your department by email and tells you to pack a box.
And don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
That’s the reality.
When employees leave, it’s betrayal. When leaders leave, it’s business.
See the hypocrisy?
Loyalty is never mutual. It’s a one‑way demand.
Case in Point – Extreme Version: Japan
In Japan, lifetime employment isn’t just tradition.
It's obligation. Try to leave and it’s the longest walk of shame you’ll ever take.
Bosses scorch you in public. Peers pile on. And your network?
It shuts you out the moment the rumor spreads.
So how do you quit without being humiliated? You pay someone else to do it.
“Taishoku daiko.”
Translation: resignation agents. An entire industry of for-hire quitters.
They hand in your notice. They face your boss. They take the verbal beating you funded.
But the stain doesn’t vanish. It just gets managed.
In the West. The shame isn’t as loud.
But the leash doesn’t feel any looser.
So here’s the hard question executives don’t want to hear:
“If you don’t live it, why should anyone else?”
If your boss vanishes overnight:
• Day 1: Lock your scope in writing.
• Day 3: Align with whoever owns the plan now.
• Day 7: Price the extra load or refuse it.
• Day 14: Open outside options.
That’s not panic. That’s insurance.
The Word Behind the Word
Loyalty isn’t about trust. It’s about power.
Executives push it because it cements hierarchy. It keeps people in their lane. The word doesn’t inspire. It suppresses. It tells workers not to look for better options. It tells managers not to question bad strategy. It tells teams their place in the order.
That’s why it survives. Not because it’s noble, but because it’s useful.
Strip the word down and what you see isn’t devotion.
It’s submission dressed as an org chart.
Alphas reminding betas who calls the shots.
That’s the game.
And if you’re still clinging to loyalty in business, you’re not building strength. You’re volunteering for subjugation.
Translation Guide:
• “We’re family” → unpaid availability
• “Do it for the team” → scope creep
• “Stretch role” → more risk, same pay
• “Be patient” → not happening• “High potential” → more output, wait for the raise • “Company first” → you last
• “Prove yourself” → free labor
• “Ride it out” → stall tactic
• “Loyal” → pliable
The Free Market Doesn’t Care About Loyalty
Markets don’t reward devotion. They calculate outcomes.
Labor isn’t priced by tenure. It’s priced by scarcity, impact and how easily you can be replaced. That’s why companies guard profits. Not to honor service. Not to reward sacrifice. To protect margins.
Acquisitions don’t pause because someone stayed twenty years.
Layoffs don’t skip the “loyal” team player.
Compensation doesn’t rise just because you kept the lights on after hours.
The market doesn’t care about loyalty. It cares about leverage.
And leverage isn’t built on devotion. It’s built on skills, performance, and results that move the needle.
Loyalty doesn’t show up on a P&L. It doesn’t appear in investor decks or lender covenants. It doesn’t change EBITDA. Alignment does. Execution does. Creating more than you cost does.
If your value is less than your cost, the market clears you.
If your value is greater than your cost, you negotiate. Stop bargaining with loyalty. Bargain with numbers.
Market math:
Your loaded cost is $180K. Your work adds $320K in net value. The $140K gap is leverage. If the number shrinks, so does your seat.
Second run:
Your loaded cost is $90K. You close deals worth $250K. The spread is $160K. That’s your proof.
If leadership can’t see it, the market will.
Terms, not wishes:
Bring a one‑page term sheet to compensation talks. So you don't forget talking points.
One line per item. No filler.
• Role and scope for next quarter
• Outcome targets tied to revenue or cost
• Compensation change tied to those targets
• Review date and decision owner
Example note: "For Q2 I will own renewals for Tier B, target lift 3 points. If we hit 3+, base moves from $110K to $125K and OTE rises to $165K. Review July 10 with Dana."
If they push it off or refuse to write it, that’s your answer.
The lines you repeat don’t buy leverage. They buy nothing:
• “I’ve been here 15 years.”
Tenure is memory.
Markets price outcomes.
• “I’m loyal.”
Devotion is invisible on a P&L.
Impact isn’t.
• “My manager said next quarter.”
If it isn’t written.
It isn’t real.
Duty, Not Devotion
Loyalty is a word. Duty is a contract.
You don’t owe your company devotion. You owe them the work you agreed to deliver. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Execution. Showing up and doing what you said you would.
Alignment. Keeping your work tied to the mission, not chasing noise.
Follow‑through. Finishing what you start, so others can build on it.
That’s real. That’s measurable. That’s how business survives.
And executives, you’ve got duty too:
• Mission
• People
• Protecting the plan and delivering the numbers
Notice the difference?
Duty doesn’t ask for blind faith. It demands accountability.
And accountability can be tracked. It can be audited. It doesn’t evaporate the moment someone finds a better offer.
So here’s the split:
• Employees: do your job, align with the mission, protect your hours
• Executives: lead the mission, protect your people, execute the roadmap
That’s the deal. Clean. Mutual. No smoke. No mirrors.
Forget loyalty.
Anchor yourself in duty.
Because duty pays. Loyalty doesn’t.
Measuring duty:
• Throughput
• Error rate
• Time to value
Show the trend, not a story.
Screenshots, not speeches.
For Employees: Play the Market, Not the Myth
Loyalty won’t pay your mortgage. Impact will.
So stop clinging to slogans and start running your career like an asset.
Track outcomes. Hours don’t matter.
What did you move?
Revenue, efficiency, clients, write it down.
Personal time. Protect it.
Draw the line.
If they cross it, the cost is theirs.
Aim up.
Tie your work to the mission, not busywork.
The side projects no one reads are career traps.
Keep receipts.
Deadlines, deliverables, promises.
When politics kick in, paper beats memory.
Set terms, not favors.
“How am I supposed to do X, if Y?”
Here’s the dirty secret leadership pretends doesn’t exist:
Leverage comes from choice.
Execute. Align. Follow through.
Build skills. Build network. Keep no door closed.
Picture the conversation:
“How am I supposed to stay at this pace if the raise isn’t in place by March?”
Then silence.
Then pen to paper. If they won’t write it, they won’t do it.
Portfolio of proof:
Build a simple deck that sells you. Keep it next to your one‑page term sheet.
One slide per win, title, problem, action, result.
Add screenshots. Not long prose.
Keep a living list of references with numbers they can repeat. Update weekly.
Send it to yourself by email so the timestamps are real.
Signal stack:
Public shoutouts in channel. Shipped links. Client notes.
Save them. Stack them.
When the raise talk comes, you won’t scramble.
You’ll present.
And when they stall?
Walk.
That’s not leadership. That’s neglect.
You held up your end. They didn’t.
That’s the proof loyalty is a lie.
When execution’s one-sided, the only duty left is to yourself.
For Executives: Stop Preaching, Start Paying
If you have to sell loyalty, you’re not executing your duty.
People don’t stay for slogans.
They stay when the trade makes sense.
Set the price. Publish the ranges. Spell out promotion gates.
If you hide it, they’ll assume you’re lying.
Tie work to the plan.
Kill the vanity projects. Every wasted hour is a withdrawal from trust.
Fix your lieutenants.
Bad managers cost more than payroll. If they bleed people, cut them.
Respect hours. Nights and weekends aren’t a free resource.
If you demand them, pay for them, in money or in hours back.
Exit clean. If you cut, do it sharp. Pay out. Shake hands. Move on.
Dragging it out poisons the room.
Language to bury: • “We’re family.” You’re not.
• “Do it for the team.” Price it.
• “Go the extra mile.” Define the mile, then pay for it.
Here’s the part leaders don’t want to admit:
People aren’t chasing loyalty. They’re chasing proof.
Proof you’ll pay on time. Proof promotions actually land.
Proof the mission isn’t smoke.
Build systems. Back them with delivery. Can’t do that?
Stop talking.
Speeches don’t retain employees.
Titles don’t outrun execution.
And if you want devotion –
Get a dog.
Real leaders don’t beg for loyalty.
They demand duty.
Policy skeleton:
• Comp ranges public
• Promotion gates documented
• After‑hours billable or traded for hours
• Internal mobility window every quarter
• Standard severance grid
• Monthly mission review
For “Family” Companies: The Succession Scam
Family companies love to sell the dream. Stick it out. Stay loyal. One day, this seat could be yours.
That’s the pitch to the lieutenant who’s carried the business for twenty years.
But behind closed doors, the ending’s already written.
The boss’s kid, the one who barely scraped a degree from Devry, the one who’s never sold a thing, he’s getting the chair.
Not because he’s earned it. Because of his last name.
That’s not succession. That’s a con painted as heritage.
The lieutenant gave nights, weekends, decades. He bought into the story.
And when the handoff comes, he gets a handshake and a plaque while junior takes the reins.
This is the dirtiest loyalty swindle of all.
Preach the “come‑up,” then replace it with nepotism. Call it what it is -
Sperm over service record.
Decision tree for lieutenants:
• If the seat isn’t documented, it isn’t yours
• If equity isn’t signed, it isn’t real
• If timelines slip twice, start walking
Red flags:
Secret titles.
Shadow projects for junior.
Shifting stories on timing.
Spot them early or you’ll end up holding the bag.
Loyalty is Dead, And That’s Good for Business
Call loyalty what it is -
In a startup, loyalty is unpaid risk.
In a big company, it’s HR copy.
In a family shop, it’s succession theater.
Kill the word. Keep the work.
In the business world, loyalty isn’t worth anything. It never was.Back in the day. Forty years got you a gold Rolex.
And not enough time to enjoy it.
Law of averages said you’d stare at that sweeping second hand 95 million times.
About three years. Then you were gone.
It’s a leash without a dog.
Markets don’t reward loyalty.
They reward results:
Employees who create more than they cost.
Leaders who build mechanisms that deliver.
Forget the slogans. Forget the homilies. Loyalty doesn’t guarantee stability. It guarantees subservience.
Execution over promises. Alignment over posturing. Results over noise.
Employees - guard your time, prove your value and leave when the trade no longer adds up. Executives - pay reliably, promote with clarity and cut decisively when needed.
That isn’t betrayal.
That’s how business works.
At The Cigar Profit, we don’t trade in myths.
We help brands, manufacturers and tobacconists cut through the noise and focus on execution. If you’re ready to build alignment instead of preaching loyalty, you know where to find me.
Loyalty is for dogs. Duty is for players. Pick your side.
When you’re ready to replace slogans with systems, Schedule an Exploratory Call With The Cigar Profit will help you ship.
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