A while back I had read a fine piece by Jack Welch in an issue of Fortune magazine.
He would effortlessly get to the heart of complex issues.
I've encountered each of the four groups of business-haters that Welch cites.
Sadly, they are all too prevalent among our media, academic and political elites.
(BUSINESS = FAT-CAT-IN-A-TOP-HAT)
Do these elites see the countless small business owners who every day work hard to provide services or products that make our lives easier?
People like my parents, who ran a small family restaurant for four decades, employing dozens of people, providing thousands with good, wholesome food at reasonable prices.
(And putting their kids through school thereby, so we could start small businesses of our own.)
A big problem, if you agree that sound, stable ethical business is the way back for American and the world.
What to do?
For a start, each of us in business must reflect on our core values - and try to practice them every day.
Disgraceful behavior by financial leaders is a root cause of business hatred.
It'll take time, but through daily practice we can rebuild the good name of commerce.
Secondly, let's not be shy about calling out bozos that bad-mouth business with impunity.
Business (commerce) is an honourable calling which has fuelled prosperity, art & civilization for millennia.
Where there is free-wheeling, ethical commerce, arts, science, and democracy follow.
Classical Athens, the Renaissance & Elizabethan England are just a few examples of this pattern.
The Medici, great patrons of the arts, were businesspeople first.
If not businesspeople, who?
Do we put our trust in academics, politicians, labor leaders or media pundits?
Can anybody point to a flourishing culture that was created and sustained thereby?
Best regards,
Pascal
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