Konamoxt, Inc.

Cruising around my favorite blogs lately, it seems clear that the latest thing to do is discuss your thoughts on the current “economic crisis”… who am I to buck the trend? As an entrepreneur, I can’t help but think about the effects of the economic down turn. How it effects my business, my customers, my business partners, and the world in general. You can’t open your web browser (or turn on TV for you less “advanced” media consumers) without hearing the latest on bailouts, foreclosures, and the stock market roller coaster. 

Putting aside for a moment the debate about whether or not the bailouts thus far have made any positive impact, and whether or not potential bailouts of the Auto Industry are needed or even a good idea, I was struck by a strange reaction to recent news in the Sport world, of Dustin Pedroia’s new contract, and it got me thinking more about why I am an entrepreneur, and more deeply about what it really means to have the American Work Ethic.

What? Sports? Dustin Pedroia? American Work Ethic? Bailouts? What’s the connection?

For those of you who aren’t baseball fans, you might have missed the news that this year’s AL-MVP, Dustin Pedroia signed a controversial new contract for 6 years and $40 million… the controversy is that he “let his colleagues down by taking such a small contract”.

When I mentioned there was a controversy about this contract to a friend who’s not a baseball fan, her jaw dropped, she was flabbergasted by the idea of a grown man making $40m for playing a game. (No, I’m not interested in opening the debate about salaries for professional athletes. Their salaries are nothing compared to the salaries and severance packages of most Wall Street executives and non-executives.)

But I was stunned while watching ESPN’s “First Take” show on Thursday Dec. 5th with what Rob Parker, a sports columnist from Detroit, suggested was wrong with this contract. Rob argued that by taking such a ’small deal’, Dustin was letting his teammates and other professional players down. His argument goes something like: other MVPs have signed $15+m/year contracts after their MVP seasons, sighting examples like A-Rod, Manny, and others, and by taking less Dustin is leaving money on the table, and possibly starting a downward trend in the market.

Setting aside the detailed technical debate that baseball stat heads would love to have about the value of these players, what struck me was that Rob Parker was essentially criticizing someone for make a personal choice (whether or not to accept a job) because he felt that that choice makes it harder for other people “to get what they deserve”. He went on to say “I am totally against anyone choosing to get paid ‘less than what they deserve’ for doing any job”.

Ironically, I had just flipped the channels from CNBC where the discussion was the auto industry bailout. The debate there was whether or not the unions would agree to renegotiate their existing contracts in order to assist the companies in surviving this downturn. Although you won’t hear this stance taken on CNBC, I know that many “union supporters” will make essentially the same argument that Rob Parker was making… “But they had a contract, they worked 30 years to earn that health plan, that pension… they are owed that!” This is in fact the exact argument I have heard by proponents of Wall Street for why executives should be unapologetic about their golden parachutes and big bonuses. “Hey, they have a contract, they earned it!”

I have to get a kick out of the fact that these various sides would actually point fingers at each other, and insist that the other is being greedy and not constructive, when it seems clear to me (and I hope many others) that they are all essentially making the same argument… an argument that goes something like “I was always in it for myself, that’s the American way, right? And I got you to agree to this deal, and now I’m owed it.”

I’m reminded of a lesson I learned back in Kindergarten. I convinced a classmate to trade me his “GI Joe” action figure for a pack of baseball cards. I guess I was a born negotiator, I had no problem convincing him that he never played with the toy (true) and the pack of cards could very well contain that card he needed to finish his collection (true, but not likely). I didn’t care for baseball cards, and I really liked those action figures; he didn’t have much interest in that action figure, and he really wanted to complete his collection. The deal was made, and I walked away. He opened the cards, found they were all duplicates of cards he had, and went crying to his mother.

Was it a fair deal? Sure, both parties understood the deal structure, no one was coerced, it was perfectly ethical… But that’s not how his mother saw it. And it only took a couple minutes of an angry phone call before I was sent over to Jimmy’s house to return his GI Joe.

After words, my Dad sat me down and said “Just be cause you CAN do a deal, doesn’t mean you SHOULD!”

I can’t help but wonder if we haven’t gotten into this mess due in large part to the idea that everyone should be “in it for themselves”… and “get the best deal they can now!” I don’t want to come off as a bleeding heart liberal, because, I really don’t see this as a liberal or conservative issue. I see this as a basic ethical issue… and in some sense I see it as something that boils down to motivated self interest.

I am a naturally selfish person. I’m a fan of Ayn Rand’s “Virtues of Selfishness” mantra. But as Rand argues in many of her essays on the subject, many behaviors that we often associate with self-interest may in fact be counter productive to ones own self-interest. I’d say we’re clearly living in the midst of a crisis created thanks to the actions of people who were primarily driven by the concept of “self interest” taken to an extreme… and many of them will in fact suffer greatly. I fully expect the parade of perp-walks similar to what we saw after the collapse of Enron and WorldCom.

I Googled “American Work Ethic” this afternoon, and came across and interesting read from 2003: “Revisiting the work ethic in America“. This was written shortly after the Enron and WorldCom debacles and details the historical view of work ethic and how it has evolved throughout the years.

According to research on the Protestant work ethic, some traits associated with a strong work ethic include asceticism, integrity, independence, diligence, motivation, loyalty, and dependability (Hill, 1996; Kern, 1998). 

I’ve often been described by my colleagues as being very driven and hard working… I’ve been told I have a strong “work ethic”. But I’ve never really thought that… I’ve often responded that I have a horrible work ethic, but I have a great “play ethic” and I’ve been luck to have jobs that I love doing… they are just play to me.

Although, I’ve never met the man, so I can’t say for sure, I suspect that that’s what explains Dustin Pedroia’s decision most clearly… He’s not out to “get what’s his”… because he already has all he wants. 

I’m not suggesting that people should work hard and not reap rewards for their effort. I’m not suggesting that people who work hard, should get paid well. But I think it’s time we stepped back and asked ourselves as a country and as individuals, what is in our self interest? Is an incessant drive for wealth and material things really healthy for us as individuals or as a country?

They say that a being rich is not defined my how much you have… but instead, by how little you need.

Filed by Brad Hefta-Gaub at 12:49 am under Entrepreneurship
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