“Life is not fair, get used to it” Bill Gates
I’ve taken a little sabbatical from blogging and I thank the many fans who have pinged me wondering if I was ok (well, if two constitutes many).
I’ve been in the process of starting a new business, which I will fill you in on when I get a chance to properly construct a blog about it. It may have to be in multiple parts so I’ll use this as a tease.
This new venture has involved banks, architects, designers, contractors, partners, vendors, distributors, family and friends. That is, all the elements that makes people crazy.
Over the course of the last three months I’ve heard the term “fair” many times. Used in context it sounds like this; “The bazillion dollars I quoted you to paint that wall is a fair price”. Or, “it’s not fair that you’re buying so much of your inventory from Vendor X instead of me”. Or, “The appraisal on your building in this economy is a fair one”.
What I’ve observed is what someone considers to be fair means that it’s fair to them and not necessarily to anyone else. In fact I can’t think of a single instance during this science experiment of mine where that observation hasn’t been true. So it got me watching life and times outside of my sphere to see if it’s more global.
Let’s see.
“It’s not fair!” - Bank of America executives on forced pay cuts”
“It's not fair,” - man who was arrested for publishing a Do It Yourself terrorism book.
“It’s not fair” – man indicted of embezzling his clients money after a judge froze his assets.
“It’s not fair” – ex-mayor of Detroit Kwame Kilpatrick when ordered to pay the fines levied against him from his felony conviction.
Yep, seems to be universal.
I’m not sure as a society that we’re any less fair minded than in times past. There has always been the “if it’s fair to me then its fair” mentality. I think it’s hugely human nature but it sure does make doing business more difficult. And it’s a bit discomfiting because in order to pull things back to center square with someone who’s being overly fair for themselves you are forced to do the same thing.
Ah well maybe Benjamin Disraeli had it right when he said “my idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me.”
I’ve taken a little sabbatical from blogging and I thank the many fans who have pinged me wondering if I was ok (well, if two constitutes many).
I’ve been in the process of starting a new business, which I will fill you in on when I get a chance to properly construct a blog about it. It may have to be in multiple parts so I’ll use this as a tease.
This new venture has involved banks, architects, designers, contractors, partners, vendors, distributors, family and friends. That is, all the elements that makes people crazy.
Over the course of the last three months I’ve heard the term “fair” many times. Used in context it sounds like this; “The bazillion dollars I quoted you to paint that wall is a fair price”. Or, “it’s not fair that you’re buying so much of your inventory from Vendor X instead of me”. Or, “The appraisal on your building in this economy is a fair one”.
What I’ve observed is what someone considers to be fair means that it’s fair to them and not necessarily to anyone else. In fact I can’t think of a single instance during this science experiment of mine where that observation hasn’t been true. So it got me watching life and times outside of my sphere to see if it’s more global.
Let’s see.
“It’s not fair!” - Bank of America executives on forced pay cuts”
“It's not fair,” - man who was arrested for publishing a Do It Yourself terrorism book.
“It’s not fair” – man indicted of embezzling his clients money after a judge froze his assets.
“It’s not fair” – ex-mayor of Detroit Kwame Kilpatrick when ordered to pay the fines levied against him from his felony conviction.
Yep, seems to be universal.
I’m not sure as a society that we’re any less fair minded than in times past. There has always been the “if it’s fair to me then its fair” mentality. I think it’s hugely human nature but it sure does make doing business more difficult. And it’s a bit discomfiting because in order to pull things back to center square with someone who’s being overly fair for themselves you are forced to do the same thing.
Ah well maybe Benjamin Disraeli had it right when he said “my idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me.”
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