the nature of business...

I can’t help but feel as though I’m witnessing an institutional problem.

I’m not quite sure how to describe it, other than it doesn’t make me feel good. My professor, a project manager at Lockheed Martin ,is bombarding us with terms like “hypercompetion” and “hotbuttons” and telling me how to “disrupt other companies”, “feed disinformation”, schmooze with other managers and associated things that generally do not give me warm fuzzies.

I’m sure it’s not all bad. After all, I am a capitalist at heart, and I think free enterprise and competition is a very good thing. But I’m not out to “screw” the other guy. And while I understand that there’s a certain practicability and marketability when it comes to delivering products to market (because money is needed to drive innovation, which requires a sellable product or service) I don’t believe that this is all about acquiring wealth and power. Let me be the first to state that I reject the notion that big companies are inherently evil, and I believe in the ability of wealth and power to bring benefits to society. But when the focus is on mearly acquiring such wealth, and not using it as a force for good, I become disillusioned, because I believe it’s a slippery slope from there where one might find themselves making hostile or corrupt decisions, even when not intended.

This teacher may spout on about the need to know where the money comes from and how to get it, but that’s not suppose to be the driving force. Businesses exist because people desire products and services that will help their lives. Our “customers” truly are our focus as far as humanity is concerned, and the money we make is to enable us to continue doing so while sustaining ourselves and our families, and better ourselves as individuals.