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18. What About The Golden Rule?
Robert, a former economics student, came to see
me one day a few years ago. He announced,
''I'm
studying with Paul ... going to convert him....
"
"Great,"
said I, thinking there was to be a religious conversion.
Paul was one of our graduate students from mainland
China. The hold his government had over him, to make
sure he returned, was that his wife and new baby could
not immigrate to America with him for graduate studies.
So, Robert continued, ''/
believe in capitalism."
"Good for you, Robert,"
said I.
''It just seems to me,"
I went on,
"that greed is a human trait rather than an
institutional characteristic
. . .
There are no more
greedy business people than there are quack doctors,
shyster lawyers, corrupt public servants, immoral
televangelists
--
college professors are a pretty fine
breed of folks
--
but as the preacher once said,
'Wherever you've got folks, you've got
problems~"
My
point was that greed can be found anywhere, not
just in business. Fact is, I could be a dirty, rotten, no–
good, low-down, scoundrel. And yet, if I want to
succeed in business for the long haul, satisfy that hard–
nosed, fickle customer, provide quality and value, be a
good corporate citizen in the community, be regarded
as credible and legitimate in the eyes of all the
stakeholders (all who are affected by the business) -–
then I must be on my best behavior.
The discipline of the marketplace, and the so-called
servant leadership of the Golden Rule (Matthew 7: 12),
compel me to meet you at the door, guide you to the
selections of your choice, do and say all the right
things:
"Can I show you something else? ... would you
like to try it on? ... can we wrap it up for you? ... would
you like us to deliver it?
...
can I shine your
shoes?...Please come back whenever you can.
... "
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