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Believe!
By Lauren | December 23, 2011
Every once in a while, a movie comes out that knocks my socks off. “Arthur Christmas” (produced by those lovely English lunatics who brought you “Chicken Run” and “Wallace & Grommit”) did just that. Oh, it was clever. We now know why you can’t find Santa’s workshop on Google Earth (underground tunnels), how the man in red delivers 2 billion presents in a single night (Ninja elves - that’s all I’m going to say), and what Mrs. Claus does while her hubby’s at work (online flight courses and treaties with Greenland). We also learn that even the Claus family can get so caught up in the family business that they forget what Christmas is all about. But the thing that sent my daughter and me to the theatre for three separate viewings was that Santa’s bumbling younger son Arthur believes with all his soul that, on Christmas Eve, it’s absolutely and utterly imperative for every last child in the world to get a present from Santa so she’ll know Santa loves her. Arthur believes - and because he does, so do we.
And then, of course, there was the astonishing news from Italy that the Shroud of Turin is probably authentic after all. According to news reports, Italian scientists have tested the Shroud and concluded that it pretty much has to be the real thing because they can’t duplicate it using any technology that would have been available centuries ago. The skeptics will, no doubt, continue to carp, but the news has to be a real boost to people who believe.
So, what does all of this have to do with business ethics? Simply this: I think people are hard-wired to believe in something, and that it matters a lot what we believe. I also think that people can get so focused on profit margins and productivity that they lose track of why they’re really in business. It’s good to make money, but far better to make money in a way that contributes to the world’s welfare. So, as you wrap up your work this week and head home for the holidays, take a moment and ask yourself these questions. What do you believe in? Does your business support your beliefs? And, if not, how are you going to make it better in the coming year?
Merry Christmas, believers all.
Topics: Business Ethics, Legal Ethics, Professional Ethics, Social Ethics, corporate responsibility, customer relations, ethics |