Business is business, “bro.”

Is there a universal understanding of how to do business?

I remember the first time I almost bought my first car. It was impeccable and the walk convinced me; I asked him to take it to a mechanic friend, the next day, to check that everything is okay and, if so, move forward with the purchase. I even suggested making a sign to reserve it, but the seller replied “Don’t worry. Tomorrow we will see it with your mechanic and, if everything is fine, let me know ”. I was euphorically happy.

That same day, at night, I received a message from the seller saying that someone else had offered him more money and, therefore, was going to sell it to him. Anguished, I told him that his attitude bothered me, because I had taken his word for it, but that, anyway, I wished him success in the sale. The answer was:

“Business is business, bro. Who pays more, takes it “

The answer worried me and I decided to analyze it.

Faced with a situation where someone talks about trust, the answer “business is business” could imply that in business there is no / it is not worth / does not add / trust is not respected. Another possible analysis is that money kills confidence; in other words, “I don’t care what I said / did to you, I go where there is more money.” I understand that money is important, but how important. If I escalate this situation, I make it the majority, is it viable to develop business (not from the functional but from the human)? This thinking and acting, is it a symptom of a major problem or is it the root of a particular situation? Do I know the values ​​of the people I am working with? These values, do I know them by words or have I seen a congruent manifestation between what they say and do? How important are values ​​to me?

Thomas Reid (1710–1796), dedicated to intellectual solidarity, developed two principles: the Principle of Credibility states that people tend to trust testimonies since doing so is like trusting our instincts; the Principle of Veracity is the inclination to tell the truth and feel real as beings, stating that the lie is a violation of our nature (nature here mentioned in the sense of being).

I differentiate between operation and business; I consider an operation as a specific transaction / action whose link does not last over time, while I see a business as a set of transactions in the medium-long term. In each organization, conversation, work team, decision, are the principles raised by T. Reid respected? Being congruent between what a person says and does, is it synonymous with being a person? Are there different behaviors / values ​​between work and non-work actions in a person?

Does the behavior manifested by the car salesman correspond to a cultural “operation” or a cultural “business”? Is business this cold? How much is trust worth? How important is it to be congruent between what the person says and does?

If a person cannot respect his own words and actions, can he respect another person? If businesses, projects, undertakings are made up of people, how can I ensure that there will be respect for the Principle of Truthfulness? Is there anyone else who is concerned about this symptom?

-I trusted you.

-It’s business. Where there is more money, I go.

Will it be a short-term vision? Is it a cultural symptom? What is happening with human links in operations, businesses, work teams, ventures, organizations?

In business, does only silver matter? Because if the answer is positive, I think it is important to emphasize that businesses do not exist by themselves, but are originated by people and, if the general message is “only money matters in business”, then people also feel that statement ; And if it were, then I wonder if I only think about money when doing a business? If at any time the economic situation is not favorable for conducting business / undertakings, does it mean that there would be no reason to carry them out? Does it mean that there would be no purposes to create? Will it be necessary to question / rethink about some predetermined concepts?

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) spoke of Intellectual Autonomy within the Enlightenment period (also called Enlightenment. 1715–1789). Kant, contrary to the position of T. Reid, says that we should not rely on the testimony of other people since, in that case, the understanding would be guided by another person who, as T. Hume said, “people have reasons to lie ”. Kant promotes following our own understanding, by looking for evidence that confirms the testimony received, manifesting that this search for personal knowledge / understanding is a virtue. Such a virtue he called Intellectual Autonomy. On the other hand, Kant said that “enlightenment is the departure of the person in his self-inflicted immaturity”, defining immaturity as “inability to use his own understanding”

If the general message to male / female entrepreneurs is the search for funds to validate their ideas, are they promoting intellectual autonomy in each person or are they shaping their behaviors according to testimonies whose origin derives from ingrained concepts / ideals?

Entrepreneurs, do they just need money? What is the entrepreneurial culture that society is promoting?

How much is the money worth? Not from the functional but from what it means for the professional and personal development of each person.

Peter Singer, in his course Effective Altruism, ponders on whether money can buy / ensure happiness. To answer, difference between emotional life (personal development in expressing emotions) and life evaluation (imagination of each person when thinking about the ideal of life). One of the conclusions that Singer manifests is that the higher the income, the higher the life evaluation, which does not always mean more emotional life. It expresses a study where it shows how the curve is steep at the beginning (I earn more money, my life evaluation increases) but, later, the curve tends to decrease and / or stagnate. What does this mean? That when a person already has a high income and a high life evaluation, the increase in money income is not proportionally equal to the increase in emotional life. In other words, I can earn more money, but it won’t give me the same happiness boost in my emotional life.

What does money mean to me? What is the value of money in my organization?