Tweet

Nothing is static – all is in a state of flux

Guest post by: Andrew Campbell-Watt

Article Overview: Nothing in the world is static. Nothing remains the same. Everything is in a state of change. Those who long for stability, whereby what is present now will forever be so, are delusional. Such a situation will not and cannot exist. Change is everywhere at all times. The world and life is dynamic. Everything is in a state of flux.

Nothing is static – all is in a state of flux

Nothing in the world is static. Nothing remains the same. Everything is in a state of change. Those who long for stability, whereby what is present now will forever be so, are delusional. Such a situation will not and cannot exist. Change is everywhere at all times. The world and life is dynamic. Everything is in a state of flux.

It is this very state of flux that presents opportunities and allows for innovation – that allows us to be creative and take advantage of such opportunities – for our own or others benefit. The current world financial problems just highlight this point.

Yet this state of flux can be a source of great anguish and gives rise to problems. People generally are risk averse and like to assume that things will remain the same but this cannot be in a world that is dynamic. We all try to keep changes to manageable proportions – in the commercial world there are ninety-nine years leases; there are ‘binding’ contracts that assume that what prevails now will be the same for the foreseeable future; there are budgets and five year forecasts and thirty to forty year mortgages are not uncommon. We like to think we can control events.

Shareholders are not immune from this pattern of thought – always expecting greater and greater returns, year in year out, from their investments. But there is a paradox in this mind set. Take a purchaser, for example, who also happens to be a shareholder, and who like most people, wishes to pay as little as possible for any items purchased. Now let us assume (not unreasonably), that this purchaser/shareholder wishes to buy, at the lowest price possible, some items from the same company, the stocks of which form part of an investment portfolio. Let it further be assumed (again not unreasonably) that the CEO and board of directors of this company (and any company you care to name) is under pressure to increase (or least maintain) share value and dividends. How can this happen if the shareholder, as a purchaser, and in common with most other purchasers, is currently trying to keep costs down by spending as little as possible – always seeking out discounts and “special offers?”

Something has to give way. This is when CEOs try to cut costs by – the old standby – reducing the cost of labour, which normally results in staff lay-offs. This further exacerbates the problem because fewer people are now able to purchase the goods or products available, which in turn puts more pressure on the manufacturers and the suppliers, and so on, in a vicious downward spiral until something dramatic takes place, as if a tipping point is arrived at – as has now happened in the USA and many of the developed countries with their economies in turmoil.

This is also where the story becomes murky. To maintain the value of their company’s shares some CEOs resort to all sorts of stratagems to firstly, prop up their own position, and secondly, to maintain their shareholders investment value. In the name of ‘good business’ and ‘sound management principles’ greed, corruption and fraud, as we have seen, often takes over. Any thoughts about ethics; any thoughts about morality; any thoughts about the importance of virtue; any thoughts about holding fast to one’s values are trashed in the headlong rush for “the money”.

This is when you get melamine in milk products (China) and other short cuts taken with foods and food products (China and many other countries); this is when you get strange financial ‘products’ (i.e. sub-prime mortgages, CDOs and others with bizarre names) sold by banks and other financial institutions (USA and Europe); this is when you get ‘ponzi’ schemes (Bernard Madoff and others in the USA, Antigua, Belgium, the Channel Islands etc); this is when you get internet “scams” (principally Nigeria and Eastern Europe); this is when you get companies moving their production ‘off shore’ – often a euphemism for using ‘sweat shop labour’ in third world or developing countries – name the product and choose the name of the company involved, with its head office situated in any developed country from Australia to the USA.

This is the paradox and how conflicts of interest arise. As has been stated before in these articles, when money is considered to be pre-eminent and more important than people, problems arise - money, money, money and all the rest can go hang! It must be remembered that without people – the general populace – there would be no money. It is people who buy and sell and spend money. It is people who work for businesses. It is people who make the products that organisations sell. Money only has the worth, the value, that people place on it – if people believe it has a certain value, then that is its current value. If a particular currency is generally considered worthless then it is worthless. Nothing is fixed, value is never a certainty. It is a matter of confidence. People decide.

The only certainty, the only fixture in any consideration of commercial enterprise is people. The economy does not, cannot come first – people make the economy – therefore people must be considered first, before money, before the economy and before the “commercial (ie financial)” considerations of any organisation. People are not some peculiar artefact to be manipulated for the benefit of commercial enterprise or the “economy”. People are flesh and blood; they have hopes and aspirations; they have desires; they have likes and dislikes. Above all people have the overwhelming wish to be treated with compassion, consideration, justice and to be treated as human beings.

The best way, in fact the only way to treat other human beings is to treat them ethically – the way YOU would like to be treated. To do anything else is to make a rod for your own back. Provide a good service, treat people fairly and with justice and benefits will flow both in the short term but more especially in the longer term. Good service is long remembered and builds loyalty. Poor service, greed and injustice are long remembered and deeply resented.

Nothing is static, nothing remains the same all is in a state of flux. There are no certainties in commerce except the fact that there are people and that people are the vital ingredient in the success or otherwise of any organisation. There is no simple answer to the current financial woes, except to urge, beg, advise all to be moderate, to show measure in their business dealings and/or as shareholders; accept that enough is enough and don’t push for more; be reasonable with expectations. There is no simple answer to the current financial woes, except to urge, beg and advise all to be ethical in their every day dealings with others, in their relationships by always, and at all times, treating others the way they would like to be treated. There is no other viable alternative.

There is also wisdom in the old saying that one should pay workers enough to buy the products they make.

Think about it.

Related Articles
  Static website wizard
  Member Question Regarding Ariba Experience
  The New Year
  How to setup MT4 Expert Advisor Simulation?
  The Pathetic State of B2B Demand Generation
  4 Steps Towards Your Life goals
  Client Buying States
  Kurt Lewin - The Iceman Cometh! How to Manage Change - Freeze - Unfreeze - Freeze
  Supplemental Material Double Marginalization and the Point of Ideal Price Viability
  SEO For Dynamic Websites
  Make Your Small Business an Overwhelm Free Zone
  State Requirements
  Boost Email Deliverability With a Static IP Address
  It's Official - Your Sales Pity Party Is Now Over
  Will dynamic pages hurt SEO?
  Polysyllabic Fog
  Versatility: The Door to Opportunity
  Gift and Estate Tax Changes....................Are You Ready?
  State Farm Insurance Company - Car Insurance Coverage
  Entrepreneurs – Want to Start A Car Cleaning Business?

Article Tags: ethics, good service, paradox, share value, state of change, state of flux



Related Forum Posts
50 States - All Franchisees of the U.S. Government - Hi everyone. A number of years ago when I was consulting with a franchise expert from s.c.o.r.e. he made it a point to remind me that the US Government is a Franchiser and each state is a franchisee. He said "did you know that each state is a franchisee to the government?" And I thought about it... and sure enough... each state is constantly paying royalties/taxes. The gov't is always issuing guidelines that other states should follow. Yet there is some independence from state to state... I just thought the whole concept was fascinating. Is this common knowledge in the franchise arena?
Re: Run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must; - Great Michell, absolutely right, don't give up the dream or end objective, give up or pause a losing strategy and try another approach Market share for various forms of advertising continues to changes just as the internet changes, what works today, may not be so effective tomorrow, We are or have already moved from the static website to static blogs where the slightest change can be pinged immediately
Re: Free elecrtricity generator - Can anybody help me with any aspect of my invention? In basic terms it is the energy of Gravity conserved and reused = (Auto engaging and disengaging shafts) = perpetual motion Perpetual motion + static friction generated in a pipe = free static electricity Free static electricity converted to usable electricity = Free usable electricity Free usable electricity generated by the constant friction generated by an auto engaging and disengaging machine that conserves the energy of gravity in a overcrankable clock spring The weight is easilly lifted back up the shaft with the aid of a double pully on ropes
Re: Time to get rich in real estate? - With the markets so in flux these days i would recommend taking baby steps to acquire real estate. I wouldnt take out loans I couldnt manage if something were to go wrong and I most definitely wouldnt borrow from friends or family. good luck though!
Re: Plan Your Retirement NOW - Hi, Beat I must say the state of the economy has me worried these days. Not so much the state of it...but the knowledge that the politicians and people who are supposed to be in charge of the economy are so incompetent it's not even funny...


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

When Living the Dream isn't enough!

How to Set Sales Goals that Work

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.