Tweet

For want of a nail

Guest post by: Andrew Campbell-Watt

Article Overview: Oh dear! We really are in a bit of a financial pickle aren’t we? It could even be said that we are up a creek, without the proverbial paddle. And what is so distressing (not to say depressing) is that this whole financial mess is so unnecessary. Greed, corruption, ethical and moral shortcomings (in that order) caused this whole problem. Some people are prepared to do anything to make a quick buck.

For want of a nail

Oh dear! We really are in a bit of a financial pickle aren’t we? It could even be said that we are up a creek, without the proverbial paddle. And what is so distressing (not to say depressing) is that this whole financial mess is so unnecessary. Greed, corruption, ethical and moral shortcomings (in that order) caused this whole problem. Some people are prepared to do anything to make a quick buck.

People have idols; things they value above all others, even, unfortunately more than they value themselves – their self-worth, their honour or their reputation. As has been said before poets have the ability to say in a few words what it takes others many words to express. There is a very appropriate verse in the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (Omar was an 11^th Century Persian mathematician, astronomer and poet) - which goes as follows (verse 69):

Indeed the Idols I have loved so long

Have done my Credit in Men’s Eyes much wrong:

Have drown’d my Honour in a shallow cup,

And sold my Reputation for a Song.

For many people their idols are money (or the “stuff’ that money can buy); or prestige and the power that comes with the position. If you “love” something above all others – an idol - this will soon be apparent to all who know you. You will have removed yourself from the rest of humanity; you will be using people as a means to an end; you will be using people to acquire more of what you “love”. They will sense this and you will have done your “credit in Men’s eyes much wrong”.

To get your idol you will cheat, you will lie, you will become untrustworthy, you will be immoral, you will be unethical in your activities. You will have drowned your honour in a shallow cup – lost your honour for something of little value – a “shallow cup”.

Your love for, your fixation to, your worship of your idol means that you will have lost all sense of proportion or reason and are prepared to sell your self-worth – who you are – for something of no substance, a “song”. You will have diminished yourself as a human being.

No one will want to trust you again – your self-worth, your reputation, your honour will have been damaged almost beyond repair.

Think Wall Street. Think World Com, Enron, Arthur Anderson, Lehman Brothers, News Corporation, and there are surely many, many others. The outrageous even breathtaking absence of ethical and moral standards displayed by those in charge of these organisations is astounding.

It would seem, almost, that our technical skills are out of step, have even out run our ability to apply ethical and moral standards to our daily dealings. It is not the organisations that are at fault (these are fictitious, legal persona, without lives of their own). Ethical conduct can only take place between humans and other sentient beings – ethics and morality start at the top, with the CEO. If there is an ethical or moral vacuum at the top of any organisation, expect nothing better down the line.

Governments and the various regulatory authorities can only do so much. They can legislate specific measures to maintain minimum levels of liquidity. Regulators can demand annual audits, they can demand director accountability and introduce financial checks and balances together with other controls. But they cannot legislate against human frailty - even their own.

In this context it may be useful to recall the words of an old nursery rhyme – a cautionary tale about the importance of doing things properly. By doing things properly, doing them well, unintended consequences are minimised. This is a story of the “Horse-shoe Nail”:-

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.

For want of a shoe the horse was lost.

For want of a horse the battle was lost.

For want of a battle the Kingdom was lost,

And all for the want of a horse-shoe nail!

The nail represents the “glue” that binds us together as humans. The main component of this “glue” is trust. This is what holds us together as a society – trust. Trust that those we deal with believe in ethics, morality, virtues and hold to their values. Trust that people are honest and will treat others in the way they would like to be treated. When it comes to organisations – be they Governments, financial organisation, multinational news conglomerates, political parties, police departments or families there is a need to understand, today as never before, what it means to provide a duty of care and its corollary – a fiduciary duty. Anything else will lead to chaos, as is the current situation.

This leads back to the opening passage of this article – when people love their idols more than their fellow beings; love their idols (whatever they are) more than they love themselves, we are in real trouble. The shoe was lost years ago and we have already lost the horse; if we now lose the battle as well the kingdom will be in grave danger.

Related Articles
  Get Off The Nail!
  Nail salon franchises
  FOR THE WANT OF A NAIL
  Find out what your customers REALLY want
  Business Opportunity to become a Hair Extension Consultants
  Lying on a Nail
  Paint A Word Picture - Excite Your Customer
  How to Make the Most of Being Let Go.
  NLP isn't only for creating change & modeling excellence... often its for tolerance!
  Prospecting TIP
  The Rusty Nail
  What it Takes to Get More Appointments
  Finding a New Job Through Cold Calling
  Bridging the Gap between Your Prospects Your Offerings
  Video SEO-Search Engine Optimization Using Video
  A Philosophy To Live By
  Everything You Do
  Sales Presentations That Command Attention
  How To Get Prospects Interested In What You're Selling
  Staging Diva Reveals Her Top 5 Home Staging Tips

Article Tags: duty of care, ethics, fiduciary duty, honour, horse shoe, morals, reputation, trust



Related Forum Posts
Re: How to Promote Your Business Online - I think AlexisJ hit the nail on the head. You can do all the advertising money can buy, but if you don't have good service it's all for nothing. You have to go above and beyond if you want to stick out above the rest.
Re: Is YouTube Going Commercial? - YouTube is definitely going commercial. It's a real shame too. But Josip hit the nail on the head... Google is trying to get their investment back, and they'll do whatever they have to. They're catering to the big name companies that have a lot to spend on advertising, while the little guy (aka you and me) are pushed aside. I guess that's what happens when you become the leader in video sharing. There are many other sites out there that we can take advantage of, though. Alan
Re: Take Action - This is a verse from a poem written by Felix Dennis one of the Britain's wealthest self-made Entrepreneurs. It hit the nail on the head that you need action more than anything Ideas? We've had 'em Since Eve decieved Adam, But take it from me Execution's the key. This is taken from his book "How to Get Rich"
Re: How do you create a million dollar idea? - Find something that earns you a dollar......and repeat one million times. Sorry, I couldn't resist. LOL Seriously though, when I was a teacher I read about a kid who started selling nail polish to the little girls at school and he ended up compounding what he made each year in order to pay his way through college. So starting little IS a possibility.
Re: Review My: e-product sales letter - I guess I'm a little late here since you wrote this in 2010, but I found it to be very well written. I appreciate reading from an expert like you Evan! I think you did a great job of using bold and italics to emphasize your points, but I think there are some areas where they may not fit as well (i.e. "wouldn't stand a chance of getting funded"). However, I think you hit the nail on the head here. I am putting together a sales letter myself and will use this as a starting point.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

LEARNING TO HAVE FUN – EVERYDAY!

Effective Leadership

Making the Most of Your Trade Show Experience

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.