Lately, I’ve been exposed to a common theme: people trying to “get something for free.” You know the type. People who set up rules very carefully, and then skirt the edges of those same rules to make themselves appear more successful.
It’s insidious the way some people tend to set up these laws and then agree to the letter of them, but not the spirit, all whilst calling on other people in a similar situation to live up to the spirit. This type of person may actually carefully craft a rule as a bit of a trap, and then wait until it's agreed to before they spring it.
A colleague told me once that his company made a huge deal with a partner based on a particular metric. The agreement, as stated, was mutually beneficial and fair to both parties, so they agreed and inked the deal. Shortly after the deal was inked, however, the metric changed in a way that was very beneficial for his company and very bad for the partner. My colleague couldn’t be sure whether his company knew about this metric change beforehand, but the effect it had on the relationship with the partner was chilling. There was nowhere to go but down.
I’ve seen this now on a number of occasions, and I can’t speak vehemently enough against it. To me, this is business in bad faith. It’s hard enough to build trust without deliberately misleading people, setting up rules for other people to follow, and then skirting them yourself.
It’s bait-and-switch and contract-trap mentality that gives corporate America the bad reputation it has. And it is well-deserved.
This also appears to be true across corporate America. A business does something and we decide as a country that we need a rule to stop that business from doing that. All business in that industry follow that rule, and drop anything that's not written. That is, because rules get written down, any unwritten rule is perceived as not necessary.
Does that mean there should be no rules? I don't know. I don't want to have hold people and business to any particular rules. I want them all to hold themselves to a high standard and behave with a social conscience. The only rule is "don't be evil" and I think we need to vote with our feet and wallets if it's broken, but not necessarily regulate them.
Get out there and do business in good faith. Be a good partner. It elevates everyone you work with and for.
This also appears to be true across corporate America. A business does something and we decide as a country that we need a rule to stop that business from doing that. All business in that industry follow that rule, and drop anything that's not written. That is, because rules get written down, any unwritten rule is perceived as not necessary.
Does that mean there should be no rules? I don't know. I don't want to have hold people and business to any particular rules. I want them all to hold themselves to a high standard and behave with a social conscience. The only rule is "don't be evil" and I think we need to vote with our feet and wallets if it's broken, but not necessarily regulate them.
Get out there and do business in good faith. Be a good partner. It elevates everyone you work with and for.
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