(Note: Two weeks ago I unleashed a firebrand of controversy by talking about the integrity of the U.S. budget. Publicly we had a spicy debate, while privately I had a number of clients attack me. I was called Liberal, Tea Party Member and Conservative all from the same article!
I believe that America is off track and the ones most capable of righting the ship are businesspeople. Therefore, I intend to continue to talk about these matters. I encourage you to share your thoughts here. Civility and respect for each others opinions are our only requirement — we don’t have to agree, we do have to respect each other.)
In case you missed it, last week Peter Thiel, a Director of Facebook, cashed out nearly all of his shares as soon as he was allowed to and became a billionaire.
There was shock in the investment community, that a Director would cash out all of his shares on the first day he could. Doing so sends a message: either the shares aren’t worth the current price and will fall farther or that the economy is weaker than being admitted to publicly.
Thiel’s personal fortune is no longer dependent on his ability to grow Facebook as one of its Directors.
Common practice is that when the lock out period ends initial investors like Thiel continue to hold a substantial percentage of their shares. By doing so they send a message to other investors that they stand behind the company.
Thiel by cashing out is sending the message “I don’t really give a crap about other investors. I got mine so bite me.”
In his 2012 revision of his classic book “Time Power”, titled “Unified Power”, Charles Hobbs says that the mark of a person is their integrity. If you can say with absolute confidence that a man’s actions are based purely on the best interests for all concerned you are in the presence of a man of integrity. Unified Power: Building a Personal and Organizational Superstructure on Power Principles that Have Stood the Test of Time
We live in an age where we’ve bent the definition of integrity to fit the definition of selfishness. Unfortunately, we are paying the price for this. Desire for achievement is man’s highest purpose (and a key characteristic of top sales performers). Greed is desire for achievement run wild and is not good.
The great philosopher and first Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, Rav Abraham Kook said “The morality of a society is an outgrowth of the morality of each individual. It is essential that every man spend time at the end of every day resting and examining his actions that day. He must ask himself whether his actions furthered a future in which rightness and good for society are fully manifest in this world.”
We as businesspeople must demand integrity of ourselves and our teams. In this way the society in which we live — and base the future of our children — will be one we will be proud of.
This behavior should not be a shock to any one. Success is, today, measured by the size of one’s bank account and ownership of exotic toys. “Take the money and run”, “every man for himself,” has become the mantra. As a democratic republic this behavior from the best and brightest is just plain stupid. The outcome: Obama and socialism, are you surprised? Why does demonizing the rich resonate today? Look in the mirror, see any difference from the aristocracy of Europe in centuries past? Hope and Change, for what? from what? and now Forward, to what? It sure is not I have mine now, so screw you. Think about that before you make your next financial decision.
Hey Dan, Good to hear from you. Been a while.
The only thing I’d add is that the other side doesn’t seem to be offering up any fundamentally better choice. But then, I guess that’s your point, eh?
Alan
Alan:
I’m sorry I missed the firestorm. My suggestion these days to everyone who becomes enraged over something somebody says, liberal or conservative, is to read “The Righteous Mind” by Jonathan Haidt, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia. If it does nothing else, it will help you understand why we differ, and for some, it will uncomfortably challenge them to rethink how they approach issues. If we actually want to persuade someone to our way of thinking, we would do well to rephrase our messages instead of going off on a tirade that only reconfirms the thoughts of those who already agree with us.
Thanks Tom,
Appreciate your thoughtful reply. He seems to be a good resource. He studied at Penn, where Seligman taught Positive Psychology — also a good resource.
Alan
Thanks to a close family member who corrected me: Peter Thiel was a billionaire before selling his Facebook shares.
He also reminded me of that its considered wise to not mix politics/religion with business and that I ran a risk by doing so.
To the first matter, the issue clearly is not the chronology of Thiel’s wealth acquisition. Rather, it is a question of the new definition of integrity he demonstrates by, as a Director of a publicly traded company, dumping all his shares.
To the matter of the risks, I am treading very carefully. However I believe solutions to these challenges need to have the experience of business leaders, like those who make up the Advanced Hiring client community — it’s a fact that the bankers and their lackeys, the academician economists and Congress, have screwed this up royally so far.