Values above success

‘I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.
A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.
Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart
I will not endure.’ (Psalm 101:3-5)

Not only for himself, but also for his personnel, David sets a high standard. Lying, shrewdness and arrogance - he does not want to have anything to do with it. Values and integrity are more important than achievement. This may be tricky though, as David experienced with Joab, his commander in chief. When Joab’s successes earned him a stronger position within David’s troops, he increasingly operated more independently. He kills David’s son against David's explicit wishes (2 Samuel 18:9-14) and subsequently kills his direct competition for the position of commander in chief (2 Samuel 20:4-13). David is not able to control Joab, and only after David's death does his son Solomon settle the accounts (1 Kings 2:5-6).

Rick is the managing director of a sales company. He recruits a great salesman, who develops into an excellent sales leader. The results this sales leader manages to realize rise far above the average market results. As this sales leader becomes aware of his position, he increasingly more often makes his own choices independently. He uses his position and successes to allow himself privileges that are beyond what is acceptable. He turns arrogant. He likes to talk about his own successes and speaks derogatorily about others. Rick is not happy about this, but the results are good, so he lets it all pass.

Slowly, but surely Rick notices that other employees are copying this sales leader's behavior. This develops into a group of machismos within the company who treat others in a derogatory way. Rick realizes this is running out of hand. He decides that the sales leader has to be dismissed. He also knows that, when he dismisses this sales leader, he will go through a difficult year, and will lose part of his market share. The conversation is also difficult for Rick, because the sales leader in question has become a confidant and friend. Everything is wrong, and he wonders at which point he should have stepped in to prevent all this. He arrives at the conclusion that it went wrong in his own heart. He preferred financial gain, success, and avoiding confrontation to keeping values high and preserving integrity. His desire for success was greater than his passion for doing good work.

Question for the day
As an entrepreneur, how and where do you draw the line when values and results compete?