The Business of Business

When I wrote that story about the little girl and the scale butterfly yesterday, I had a number of comments, most of which were of the "you made me cry" variety, or something about how nice it was that I did that. One comment, though, really stood out for me. He said that it helped "all of us to be not just good business people, but better people."

That, of course, got me thinking about the implications of such a statement, nice as it was.

There are many strange beliefs about business, ethics, and people that I question on a regular basis.

• Why do we accept that the desire for greater and greater profit should be the fundamental operating principle of business?
• Why have so many people placed economic activity at the very centre of human existence?
• Why do we presume success is synonymous with economic wealth?
• But most of all, where do we come off defining a human being as a consumer of goods and services?

Once we begin to raise these questions, we will find that our very attitude towards business begins to change.

To start, we need to look at materialism, and how its influence has pervaded our entire civilization. We often read in various spiritual and philosophical writings a condemnation of the materialistic attitude. But what is that attitude? Materialism means that we place an undue emphasis on material objects, and have a disinterest in spiritual, intellectual or cultural values.

A healthier attitude does not mean that we ignore the material side of existence, nor that we live an ascetic lifestyle. Instead, it means that we live a more balanced life, with our family and friends, people in general, as a higher priority than objects. It means understanding the very source of our happiness, discovering what makes us noble in character, and striving every day to become better and better people.

Once we understand what leads to our upliftment, as opposed to what abases us, then we can better see how every aspect of our life can be bent towards helping us achieve our goals in life. After all, nobody wants to be a worse person.

With business, we will no longer see it merely as a means of acquiring a little bit of money, but instead value it for the opportunities it offers us to interact with others.

Yes, we have to eat. I won't deny that. Paying the rent is a good thing, too. But are those the overall objectives of our life here on Earth? Are truly here merely to get a few more pieces of dust to clutter up the bookshelves of our lives? How many people have you ever heard, on their deathbed, wishing they had spent just a little more time in the office?

It sounds absurd to put it that way, but this is how many of us live our life.

Many years ago I made the very conscious decision to not do that.

When it came to choosing between advancing my career or spending five years as a stay-at-home dad to help raise my son, the choice was clear. I stayed at home. Well, rather I went out with him, picking a different virtue each week on which to focus. We would go to the conservatory and talk about how we could show this virtue to plants, or how they showed it to us. We explored those same questions at the zoo with the animals, and at the children's museum with kids. For the first five years of his life, this is what we did together.

I made almost no chain-mail during that time.

Do I regret it? Are you kidding me? I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

My wife and I made the mutual decision to cut out all those things that sucked up our money, such as cable tv and a cell phone, and live off her salary, which was far higher than mine. All our lives are far richer because of that decision.

At my booth in the summer, where I sell my work and make most of my money for the year, I have an unusual policy. If someone comes up to my table and obviously feels like they have to buy something to be a good person, that purchasing some material item somehow validates their existence, I will talk them out of buying anything. Instead, I spend time with them, asking questions and truly listening to their answers. I get to know them, praise them and encourage them. And if someone else comes up needing assistance, I ask them to wait while I finish with this very important person. And then I try to give the new person the same degree of attention, just to make sure they don't feel hurt.

People come first.

Over the years I have lost many sales because of this attitude, but I have gained something far more valuable: friends. And these friends have also, incidentally, become my greatest client base. They have demonstrated true "customer loyalty", returning year after year, bringing their friends with them.

True wealth lies not in what you own, but in who you are.

In the end, if you want to be a better business person, then you have to become a better person first.