Pigs Get Slaughtered

Do you have integrity where money is concerned or does greed get the best of you?

 

I’ve been working in some form of sales my entire life, and without fail, I’ve witnessed greed rear its ugly head more times than I’d like to recall.

 

Trust me – it’s not a pretty site.

 

It’s always amazed me how, when presented with opportunities to make a lot of money, some business owners choose lusting after the dollar instead of remaining honorable. It’s as if desperation creeps in over the deal yet to be closed and their white knuckles grab onto the money yet to be made.

 

I’ve never understood this approach to business. I firmly believe in the theory that if you are holding on too tight to money, your hand’s not open to receive more.

 

At the moment when greed takes hold, peace flees, resulting in anxiety and stress for all parties involved.

 

Lately, I’ve been doing some sales consulting and contract work on the side to supplement my income while launching my resort based websites (Resort Locals, Hire Me Aspen, etc.)

This exposure to multiple businesses has provided a lot of insight into human behavior – insight that may previously have been overlooked as behavior reserved for the unique corporate environment I previously found myself working in.

I’m sad to report that greed is alive and well in both corporate America and in local, resort-town businesses alike. Small business owners always have a simple choice when conducting business: to live by integrity or not. Who do you choose to be when reconciling your values against the need to make money?

 

I understand that everyone desires to live a comfortable lifestyle, especially in resort towns where money flows and envy can be deadly. Dreaming of the good life propels you forward to achieve the results you desire, whether that be good old-fashioned greenbacks, a car, a home, a trip…even jewels.

 

But when greed takes over at the expense of morals, it sure is an ugly sight to behold.

 

Once your eyes are wide open and you’ve dug around a bit, you usually find a filthy wake of bitter employees who’ve left the scene of the crime or dazed ones actively planning their escape.

 

You’ll usually find a legal mess in their wake too: a disgruntled ex-employee who’s since filed a lawsuit over monies owed or a competitive claim over stolen ideas (or people). Even old and new acquaintances, when probed, start telling you the truth about reputations not previously disclosed.

 

I’ve been around the block enough times to know when ‘it’ starts happening. It begins with a feeling of contraction. I may be talking to the greedy offender when something feels off, and I get a pit in my stomach. I tighten up and immediately sense dishonesty.

 

Or they’ll start rambling on in an attempt to justify their behavior like a child whose hand is caught in the cookie jar. I no longer ignore these telltale signs, brushing them aside because I am trustworthy to a fault. I listen to my intuition because unfortunately, in instances such as these, it has never let me down.

 

This nasty greed scenario played itself out the other day with one of my contract employers.

 

The new client I just landed for them has the potential to make them very rich. I’m talking lots of zeros. Although I just reeled in the big fish, they’ve already gobbled it down and regurgitated the pitiful leftovers back to me.

 

They’re already disputing my previously agreed upon commission rates because they’re envisioning the additional zeros that would be required on my commission check. They’ve started hustling me out of client conversations so I am no longer in the know. They just scheduled a formal client meet-and-greet -- in another state -- behind my back (of course they got caught red-handed when the client cc’d me on their email chain, inquiring about my attendance).

 

All this would actually be humorous to watch if it wasn’t so pathetic.

 

It would be very easy for me to not only play, but beat them at their own game right now. People get stupid when they get greedy. They get sloppy trying to cover their tracks. They look like idiots trying to justify unjustifiable behavior.

 

But I’m no longer interested in investing my valuable time counteracting fear-based, scummy behavior. Luckily, I’m old enough to know that pigs get slaughtered. They’ll have their comeuppance. It may not happen soon or even for a while. But it will happen.

 

In the meantime, I’ll play along. I'll let them think they’re winning while continuing to collect my lesser commission checks. I'll also consider taking the other two just-caught fish on the line to their competitor.

After all, a savvy salesperson never reveals their entire pipeline (not to mention, signs a non-compete).