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Do You Have To Be A Bad Guy In
Order To Win?
Do you have to be a bad guy in order to win?
Have you looked at the news lately and felt disgusted? The
headlines of today’s news confirm what we all feel and know
in our gut. The headlines I am talking about are those of
CEO’s going to jail for running their corporations into the
financial rocks; ignoring the lighthouse that is beaming
it’s light for safe passage and to fiscal responsibility.
All the while it is not the captain (CEO, CFO, etc..) that goes
down with the ship. It’s the crew (workers and their
pensions) and the steerage passengers (the investors). How did it
get to become this way? What happened to the feel good years
where it was common to hear "What’s good for GM is good
for the country" is that era long gone? While I have no
answer as to why the Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, and the slew of other
corporations stole, lied and cheated; I can say that I feel that
these fiascos have their root in greed.
"The point is ladies and gentlemen
that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is
right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through and
captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in
all of it's forms - greed for life, for money, knowledge -
has marked the upward surge of mankind and greed - you mark
my words - will not only save Teldar Paper but that other
malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you." -
Gordon Gekko, from the movie Wall Street, 1987
Does art imitate life or is this a case of
a self-fulfilling prophecy? Did Dennis Kozlowski (Tyco’s
Chairman & CEO) watch Wall Street 1 time too many? Maybe he
did, perhaps he felt that it was the right thing to do. The sad
thing is that he’s not alone. Other CEO’s share in this
greed is good mentality. For all the bigwigs that have been
caught, there are thousands of others that haven’t. Where
are the headlines condemning these men, who have shipped jobs
overseas not because of patriotism but for profits, theirs. If
you don’t think this is so look at the rustbelt, go to
Pennsylvania, where are the manufacturing jobs? Personally, I
don’t think it needs to be this way. I believe that I can be
happy without having more than my neighbor. In the very least I
don’t need to put or climb over my neighbor in order to get
ahead. My personal feeling is that if I can make a dollar while I
help you out than I have done good for my society. Doesn’t
that sound like providing a good service and or a quality
product? Build a better mousetrap and they will come. The basis
of the free market system is competition, which drives
innovation.
"One man can completely change the
character of a country, and the industry of its people, by
dropping a single seed in fertile soil." - John C.
Gifford
I have been called a dreamer, that I am
unrealistic a nonconformist; All badges that I wear proudly! Why
not reject the current state of affairs and lead by example. Be
the change. Whether you are a clerk in a large corporate machine
be the best clerk you can, excel at your job. If you are a small
business owner than provide the best possible service that you
can. At the end of the day you’ll reap the benefits of a
repeat customer, good word of mouth and the positive feelings
that you have sowed from that fertile soil. While you might never
be the richest man in the world monetarily does this mean that
you are not a affluent man? The golden rule "treat others as
you’d want to be treated" is my business philosophy.
It’s simple yet obtainable. If I can do this so can you.
Imagine that everyone followed our lead, what would the media
outlets report about then?
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