Business is personal. I have written about this before but I find everyday that people don’t realize business is personal. You can say I am wrong but it doesn’t matter the facts are simple.
1. an occupation, profession, or trade: His business is poultry farming.
2. the purchase and sale of goods in an attempt to make a profit.
3. a person, partnership, or corporation
engaged in commerce
,manufacturing, or a service; profit-seeking enterprise or concern.
4. volume of trade; patronage: Most of the store’s business comes from local families.
5.a building or site where commercial work is carried on, as a factory, store, or office; place of work: His business is on thecorner of Broadway and Elm Street.
Politicians and businessmen alike say “we care” as they want to convey that for some reason they do. What would be the purpose of caring if there wasn’t a message to convey that they care about something related to you? It is personal because it is about people. If business wasn’t personal then it wouldn’t matter that children making clothing in China in sweat shops is wrong. It is personal. If it weren’t personal then it the BP disaster wouldn’t matter. I am not writing about good business or bad business, good choices or bad choices, I am saying all that doesn’t matter, it is personal. What you do as a business person will have an effect on others. It will change their lives even if you are simply selling a small screw. That small screw could fit in someones glasses or it could be something even more important. What matters is that we as business people don’t say “It’s just business” because we have a responsibility to understand that business has cause and effect, the relationship of what you do as a business person to what the result is for someone as a customer must not be overlooked. I think some of us put blinders on and we think we can do and say anything we want. The media rewards some of this kind of behavior with shows like Hell’s Kitchen, we could name a others of course. Just because they are defacing American morality doesn’t mean that we should allow this entertainment practice to seep into our daily routine. Sure as long as business has existed there have been bad people doing bad things, shame on them and they will have to face their demons or maybe they have already but that is no excuse for us.
I am seeing a moral decline and I don’t like it, I am hearing people say “it’s just business” and I don’t like it and I won’t practice business that way. Taking things personally is something that should be addressed in business in that we must be able to have open and honest dialogue without repercussions, in other words no “ugly baby syndrome.” Of course taking things personally is different from understanding that business itself is a personal. Without more than one party to conduct a transaction there can be no exchange. Exchange should benefit both parties, there are cases where it won’t but it should. If you believe in “caveat emptor” I say that is fine but then again, that will only happen once and the person who was wronged was affected. I will finish by saying it all boils down to the playground, everyone needs to be treated fairly, saying that actions are “just business” is an excuse for poor behavior. Good business is knowing that business is personal but not taking business personally, it is a formula for good exchange, good commerce, good behavior, and great success.