As a life coach I work with many individuals who are just entering the workforce or after having had some career success, looking to make a change, sometimes a completely new direction.
These are fascinating conversations because we talk about things like purpose and calling, personalities and passions. All the while my clients are pursuing something of meaning. They want to be productive…make use of their abilities and their opportunities.
And what is often unspoken but assumed, is that work, jobs, careers, business and entrepreneurship are good; they are honourable and they are worthy pursuits.
But for me, it seems there has been a cultural shift in my lifetime. While I don’t really believe that politicians and media represent the majority of people, if you pay attention to them, you might get the impression that business, in all it’s forms is bad….evil even.
We Are Taught That Business is Bad
Michael Medved wrote that prior to 1965 (the year I was born) television portrayed businessmen as as good guys twice as often as bad guys. This ratio was reversed by the 1970’s.
In the 1933 classic, “Dinner at Eight” Lionel Barrymore played a decent and dignified ship magnate, struggling to keep his company afloat. (sorry for the pun)
In the popular “It’s a Wonderful Life” Jimmy Stewart’s character George Bailey was a humane, likeable, compassionate banker. Today, the idea that a banker could be likeable is almost unthinkable.
Consider the message of other movies…
Mission Impossible 2: bad guys set up an elaborate scheme to get rich off of stocks. Columnist Daniel Seligman said of the plot…”we know we are dealing with ultimate evil.”
The International: “…a story about a massive international bank that sponsors terrorism, corrupts governments and commits murder, to mention a few of the amazingly improbable pursuits of this unusual financial institution.” (Thou Shall Prosper, Rabbi Daniel Lapin…pg 38)
Wall Street: “Greed – for lack of a better word – is good” said Gordon Gekko in in Oliver Stone’s movie. This is Hollywood’s vision of the businessman.
I could go on and on.
I think it’s fair to say that for some, the only good done in society today is by government and non-profit organizations. I serve on the boards of 2 non-profits; both doing incredible things in their communities. And government has a hand in their success as well.
But I believe that ultimately, the greatest good will never be accomplished by government but by individuals wanting to do good.
Starbucks put out a pamphlet titled, “Giving Back”. It’s beautifully done and highlights the many philanthropic endeavours it regularly participates in. All in the name of “giving back to the community”. But is it possible that this phrase actually contributes to the erosion of people’s attitudes toward business?
Rabbi Daniel Lapin, says, “I would have preferred the pamphlet to have been called Doing Good rather than Giving Back….it almost possessed a tone of moral redemption.”
Isn’t it reasonable to see that businesses do good simply in their daily activities and in how they conduct themselves?
We’re All in Business
The reality is that most of us are in business…so you may have more in common with the CEO’s of major corporations than you think.
If you create revenue in exchange for a product or service you are in business. By doing or supplying things for others you are in business. You may be an employee but you are still in business. You can find a new customer just like a small business owner can, simply by looking for a new job.
Or you can add a new customer by getting a second job or developing a part-time side business.
But it has got to be difficult to succeed in business either as an employee or business owner if you in fact despise business. If you think that business is inherently evil, how do you get up in the morning? How to you do your work?
On the other hand, if you appreciate the morality and nobility of business, you’ll be much more likely to succeed.
The Gordon Gekko’s of the world don’t represent the majority. In fact, large corporations don’t represent the majority of businesses.
As of 2015, in Canada, almost 98% of businesses were small businesses (between 4-99 employees) employing over 8 million individuals, 70% of the private labour force.
There are always exceptions, but the majority of small businesses and their owners that I have worked with, been associated with or simply know personally are hard-working, generous people who love their families, their employees and their communities…they make a positive difference, everyday, simply because they are in business.
Whether you serve coffee, mow a lawn, adjust a sore back, teach a child math, clean office buildings or build motors…it’s all good. Because business is moral and noble.
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