mind your own

i also dream of managing my own business someday. business? usual definition - entity that produces a product or provides a service. but then what is the real essence of having a profitable business?

in a speech by mr. Goizueta some ten years ago. by the way this man is the former CEO of coca-cola company. he said, "Not long ago, we did some research and came up with an interesting set of facts. A billion hours ago, human life appeared on Earth. A billion minutes ago, Christianity emerged. A billion seconds ago, the Beatles performed on The Ed Sullivan Show. A billion Coca-Colas ago was yesterday morning. And the question we are asking ourselves now is: What must we do to make a billion Coca-Colas ago be this morning? By asking ourselves that question, we discipline ourselves to that long-term view." that is the power of having a positive perspective about life and business.

business controls our lives. it controls our elections through campaigne contributions. it controls our legislations through lobbying. it also controls our media through ownership. and it controls our everyday interactions as employees and costumers. and all of this is done in the narrow self interest of business. and that the big difference between what we have the situation today with business in control vs. when it used to be religion or goverment because ATLEAST religion and government had as their purpose to improve the quality of life in the community. not all business has never really had that as part of its reason for being. think why?

as a matter of fact, what they teach in business school today is that the only worthwhile purpose of business is to maximize profit, maximize profit and maximize profit. and that's the PROBLEM, that the most powerful force in our society is in many cases focus solely on maximazing profit. but Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream business is really different. they define business as a combination of organized human energy plus money which equal to power. ben and jerry is different because from the start they also learn that there is a spiritual aspect to business. as you give, you receive. as you help others, you help in return. and just because the idea that good thing you do will comes back to you is written in the bible and not on the business textbook doesn't make any less valid. all are interconnected and AS WE HELP OTHERS WE CANNOT HELP BUT TO HELP OURSELVES.