The Business Soul

Often we hear the idea of the soulless, faceless corporation. The question is, did corporations ever have souls – and, if so, what happened to them?

There was a time when businesses functioned more like extended families. There was a sense of responsibility on both parts. Individual contributors were valued for their skills. Relationships were made, recognized, and considered important. The heart and soul of the business was shared not just by the owner and key people but by most of the people within the concern. The sense of responsibility often extended beyond the employees to the town, state, or country, sometimes even to the progress of humanity/society itself. The people who came into the business were not only united as a family, they were united in achieving a vision. That’s not to say that the family couldn’t be dysfunctional at times, but it was still family. The company took care of its people for the most part and the people were loyal to the establishment.

Unfortunately, as time went on and the business passed out of the single family, single owner, single vision stage, it became harder to pass its soul on. Or perhaps the problem was that the business succeeded too well, and the original founder(s) and key players were distanced from the employees by new and requisite levels of management. Perhaps the vision was lost, diluted, or rendered meaningless through changes in society or the business environment. Corporations claimed primary responsibility to boards and stockholders before loyalty to employees. Employees felt the loss.

As companies lost loyalty and soul, they also lost integrity.

The business bottom line became “the ends justify the means” and as long as the corporation didn’t get caught, any behavior was acceptable to maintain or increase profits. Not only acceptable but desirable, rewarded and defended. Anyone with a moral compass became undesirable and was marginalized, made powerless, discredited, or removed.

This is not a pro-union diatribe. Unions that were created to stop employee abuse only followed the same evolutionary process as the corporation itself. The union ends were different but, with time, no more honestly achieved than the ends of the corporate leaders. Within a few generations, lack of vision and integrity within the unions became as much of a problem as lack of loyalty and integrity within the business structure.

As corporations grew, the role of government shifted. The entrepreneurial spirit which founded this country was not burdened with oversight, regulation, or government intervention. But with increasing complexity and decreasing integrity, however, laws regarding monopolies, employee safety, stock manipulation, etc became necessary. The crash of 1929 paved the way for an increasingly Big Brother attitude that led to social security, the minimum wage, and unemployment benefits.

Where does that leave us now? Unfortunately, government regulation of business did little to remind corporate America of the need for soul and did nothing to change the corporate philosophy of “the ends justify the means”. We have lived through eras one after another, rapid-fire, of corporate issues that not only made headlines but shifted our country’s understanding of what it means to be “in business”. Bernie Madoff, the failure of America’s auto industry, the bailout of AIG, the corporate personhood debates, the rise of dropshipping and the ethical issues it raises, corporate billionaires becoming key political figures, oh and of course we can’t forget a sham of a businessman now twice holding the highest office in the nation.

Over and over, we say we live in a time of unprecedented government intervention but an all too familiar lack of accountability, only for more scandals to hit, more businesses to get caught up in shady practices, and more moral conundrums falling at the feet of consumers who are left to navigate the ever-changing realm of ethical consumption. We live with the consequences of unparalleled greed.

Is there no hope at all? Yes, there is. Our hope lies with the family businesses, the small enterprises that are characterized by visions to improve the lives of workers, to improve the environment on which all depend, to provide an honest living in return for hard work, cooperation, and loyalty. Our hope lies with the small concerns that still have a soul. Our saving grace is that in the current economy, the entrepreneurial spirit is at an all-time high. We are going back to America’s basic business model of innovation, thinking outside the box, and taking risks.