IndyMac Got a Sweet Deal.
by Evan Vanderwey on 11/02/10 at 3:34 pm
I am posting this video link for two reasons:
1. I am angry about this kind of thing and hope that if for no other reason, the fact that we know about it, may deter some from participating.
2. Remind us all that being self interested is not the problem. Not one human being living today isn’t self interested. Profit motive is not a bad thing – we do not want to throw that baby out with the bath water, no matter how bad the bath water stinks sometimes.
IndyMac got a sweet deal from the government that almost guarantees they will make a HUGE (and by huge I mean 100% kind of huge) profit. That does not mean we should work against the free market system where profits are a primary motivator of businesses and individuals.
I propose that we work and deal in the following manner:
We keep a profit motive and a servant’s purpose.
Profits are required to keep my employees paid and their retirement accounts growing. My employees want me to be profitable. Profits are good. They motivate me to innovate and get better at what I do.
A servant’s purpose is important because we ought to help people. Where one has an expertise, she should share it. Helping others, caring about others, even considering others before oneself is key to building relationships in business that will last.
Zig Ziglar always said that if you help enough other people get what they want, then you will have more of what you want. This is true.
Let’s work hard for the benefit of others in a way that works from a profitability standpoint.
The free market will sometimes reward us greater than we deserve and sometimes we will be on the bad side of a stinky deal. So be it. Learn from what happened, and get back in the game.
The bad actors will get what is coming to them in time. Just don’t be one.
