The age in which we live seems to be the age of money worship. A man is considered less than the dust of the earth unless he can display a fat bank account. So eager are we to possess wealth that we will acquire it in whatever manner we can, through legal methods, if possible, through other methods if necessary. We do not care whom we trample on, nor do we care about the misery we cause, just so long as we become wealthy!

If this is your mindset then please read no further because no advice, counsel or guidance will redirect your selfish pursuits. You are walking the road that leads to failure for both you as a person, and for your business! You have many painful lessons to learn!

Someone close to me was someone whom I thought was one of the untouchables, arrogant to the extreme and loved material ‘things’ more than life itself. His business was a cash cow, which he could pillage at any time he saw fit and everything around him was geared towards his personal gratification … then came the fall.

It took painful examination and analysis to mine for the lessons he, and as collateral damage; we, had been forced to learn. Painful because we felt, at the time, life had been cruel to us. We were victims of the ‘system’! Slowly, as he identified the lessons life had taught, and as he changed his focus with committed fanaticism, things began to change. Once more he was permitted to taste the fruits of success, only this time we savoured them with sparing gratitude.

Today, every time I hear of a business failure and every time I am called into a business in trouble, my first point of departure is to analyse the attitudes and actions of the leaders of the business (the owner(s) and/or the guardian(s)). Forget all the commonly touted reasons for failure. In my experience, reinforced by what I have uncovered in other businesses, the common denominator throughout is that the business leader(s) had sanctioned, or were themselves committing, one or more of the seven deadly sins.

The penalties for committing these sins are extremely severe and you would be well advised to avoid allowing the business to fall into their tempting grasp at all costs. If their presence is identified immediate action must be taken to eradicate them by finding the root cause and then mercilessly obliterating those roots. Left untouched, they will grow at an alarming rate in the business and, like a virus, will feed on the host until it dies. We shall not elaborate at length upon each one of these sins as you instinctively know what they mean and will be able to identify with the symptoms of each one once you subject yourself, and your business, to closer examination. To give you some assistance though, read on:

• Greed: An insatiable longing for wealth. It is evidenced by a totally self-indulgent focus of the business leaders, which manifests itself in the business environment as an inordinate focus on profits. Invariably it will be found that the guardians of the business are extracting untoward financial rewards for themselves, both in terms of remuneration and benefits. In advanced stages, it will be apparent that the overheads of the business are chasing sales.  Generally, in such organisations, staff are treated like slaves and there is truly little harmony in the business – if any at all! Focus on customer service will have all but disappeared.

• Sloth: Laziness, indolence. Various factors give rise to the cultivation of this toxic weed in a business, chief amongst them the inability of the business leaders to exercise concise, disciplined, thinking. This in turn results from a dislike of work and/or effort. The mentality that work is a place to go to so you can get money at the end of the month hangs like a cloud that stifles the efforts of any industrious employee who may have the misfortune of working in that environment.  The presence of this sin is easily identified. Simply observe the way in which people walk and go about their work. If caught early, it is easily eradicated through enforced discipline. In more serious cases varying degrees of surgery may be required.

• Gluttony: Commonly defined as excessive eating. In business its presence is highlighted by numerous office parties, excessive customer ‘entertainment’ and manufactured business trips. Again, the leaders set the example, thereby encouraging everyone else in the business to adopt similar practices. Observe how quickly it spreads as it is cultivated by the desire for instant gratification.  Diets are unpleasant to say the least, as they demand self-control. Unfortunately, the only remedy for this sin is an extremely disciplined diet, but this in turn means that slothfulness must be attacked.

• Lust: Excessive sensuous appetite for indulgences. In business it brings indulgences such as the lust for growth, size, status, and power. Few people realise just how dangerous this game is. The reward is self-gratification, and the penalty is the destruction of lives and businesses, either directly or indirectly.  All too often this sin plays on the same field as the remaining three sins. It poisons the air of the business to such an extent that the business will end up being led by a core of people who are of similar mind, resulting in the balance (harmony) of the business having been destroyed. When balance goes, disharmony rears its head and without harmony the business dies.

• Envy: In its infancy it is a feeling of grudging or somewhat admiring discontent aroused by the possessions, achievements, or qualities of another. In its more advanced stage, it is the desire to have something possessed by another and to eye that possession maliciously. It is possibly one of the easiest sins to identify because the organisation will be highly politicised. Rumours will abound and character assignations will be common practice.  The business will manifest all the traits of an absolute dictatorship, with the dictator gathering around him/herself a group of mindless ‘yes men’. If not eradicated the business will be robbed of fresh energies and will implode within a relatively short space of time.

• Anger: A feeling of great annoyance or antagonism as the result of some real or supposed Generally displayed in a leader lacking in self-confidence or one who has little emotional intelligence. When allowed to vent itself within an organisation, displays of anger are very soon played out against customers. Once this happens things are in an advanced stage of decay. Ironically, anger is one of the easiest emotions to control as you can feel it welling up from deep within and there is therefore always more than enough time to take evasive action. Any business where anger is allowed to run rampant will erupt into an operation with which no customer, or balanced person, wishes to associate. As practical proof, observe the body language of third parties who are forced to witness displays of anger – they veer away. So do customers!
• Pride/Ego: In this context pride is defined as excessive self-esteem, regarded by the observer as conceit. Probably the most dangerous of all the sins because pride will not allow apology, it does not recognise fault in its owner and it will lie, cheat, and besmear to protect itself. It is a silent killer because it grows slowly over time but once grown it dominates all rational thought. Pride will not allow a business to negotiate. It will not permit survival tactics to be adopted and it will cause its owner to take almost any radical action or express any unsavoury emotion – just because it can! Remember, pride comes before the fall!

A business is a person.  It learns from its guardians and will adopt the value systems it has been taught. If you want it to succeed, teach it to adopt healthy value systems and guard it against being influenced by those forces, which are determined to destroy it.

Success in business is all about getting the business fundamentals right … and the actions you take!

QUOTATION:

Seek the counsel of men who will tell you the truth about yourself, even if it hurts you to hear it.  Mere commendation will not bring the improvement you need.  (Unknown)

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