Why It Pays to Shun Greed

“Make yourself an honest man and then you may be sure there is one rascal less in the world.” –Thomas Carlyle

People do unethical things more out of greed than anything else. It is because of greed that people cut corners, cheat and generally do things that demean their persons and put their businesses in jeopardy. Greed makes people shun ethics, bend the truth, take undue and unnecessary risks for instant gratification. It is greed that lures people into gambling and many other negative vices. Remember the parable of the straw that broke the camel’s back? That is what greed does to the greedy. The following story best illustrates the danger of excessive greed.

“A wealthy farmer was once offered all the land he could walk on in a day provided he returned by sundown to the point at which he started. To get a head start, early the next morning, the farmer started covering ground quickly because he wanted to get as much land as he could. Even though he was tired, he kept going all afternoon because he didn’t want to lose this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain more wealth. Late in the afternoon, he remembered that the condition he had to fulfill to get the land was to get back to the starting point by sundown. His greed had gotten him far from the starting point. He started his return journey, keeping an eye on how close he was to sundown. The closer it got to sundown, the faster he ran. He was exhausted and out of breath and he pushed himself beyond the point of endurance. He collapsed upon reaching the starting point and died. He did make it before sundown. He was buried and all the land he needed was a small plot.” Adapted from Shiv Khera, “You can Win”

Let me add that even though this farmer was already wealthy before this extremely greedy adventure, no portion of his wealth followed him into the grave.

 

Why Honesty Pays

“An honest man is the noblest work of God.” –Robert Burns

“Honesty” they say “is the best policy.” In business, dishonesty might give you some mileage but it is sure to end up in disaster. Once you are caught cheating, you may end up losing even all that you honestly earned. This is a heavy price to pay for a short period of dishonesty. Cheating is the commonest form of dishonesty in the business world. This should be avoided at all costs by those who hope to go far in business. Honesty may not get you instant hefty profits but it is guaranteed to insure you for small and steady profits over a prolonged period of time. This is more desirable than the dishonest way out for instant and huge gratification. In year 2001, the sudden crash of Enron Corporation, a frontline Service Company in the US is a typical example of what happens when a business is run by dishonest people. When the Regulatory Authorities moved in, most of those who called the shots in the Company at the time of the shady-deals were given heavy fines and jail terms which will stigmatize them for life. When the law moved in, they must have been asking themselves, “Was it all worth it?”

 

Why You Must Avoid Short-Cuts

“People forget how fast you did a job, but they remember how well you did it.” – Howard Newton

The law of “Cause and Effect” is a natural law. What you sow is what you reap. What you get out is in direct proportion to what you put in. Delayed gratification is best for business. Human greed and the desire for instant gratification are what make some people fall victims to Advance Fee Fraud, a k a “419” fraudsters. Follow laid-down rules and procedures and avoid the desire for instant-wealth. There is no free-lunch anywhere even in Freetown. The ultimate loser is the man who cuts corners in doing business. Only one mistake is required to put him and his business into disrepute. Doing things properly is and will always remain the best option.

“Once there was a lark singing in the forest. A farmer came by with a box full of worms. The lark stopped him and asked what do you have in the box and where are you going? The farmer replied that he had worms and he was going to the market to trade them for feathers. The lark said I have many feathers, I will pluck one and give it to you and that will save me looking for worms. The farmer gave the worms to the lark and the lark plucked a feather and gave it in return. The next day, the same thing happened and the day after and on and on until a day came that the lark had no more feathers. Now it could no longer fly to go hunting for worms. It started looking ugly and stopped singing and very soon it died.” Adapted from Shiv Khera, “You can Win.”

The short-cut the lark thought was the easiest way for it to get food turned out to be the costliest. This is the moral of this story.