There’s more to life than a little money, you know. Don’t you know that?
Police Chief
Fargo (1996)
Earlier today I thought of these poignant words shared by fictional police chief Marge Gunderson to a recently captured felon who had offed a half dozen victims as part of a botched kidnapping scheme.
I had come across yet another example of how skewed organizations have become in their all consuming pursuit of growth and competitive advantage. Trade association TechAmerica has filed a $5M lawsuit against the IT Industry Council and three executives for breach of contract.
You can read the details of the legal action in this article written by the Washington Business Journal’s Jill Aitoro.
While this case has to work its way through the system and TechAmerica’s claims may prove to be unfounded, this dispute — like most in business — ultimately comes down to a little money.
Years ago when Strategic Communications Group was in the public relations business, we had a client elect to move its account to another agency. Our philosophy is to fulfill the obligations of our agreement and do everything reasonable to ensure a smooth transition.
In this case the marketing lead at our client elected to forward to the CEO of the newly hired agency contact information for the team who was working on her behalf. She also directly solicited each, encouraging them to explore career opportunities with this other firm.
Was it illegal?
No…just class-less. And to this day years later my stomach knots when I see this marketer at industry events.
As a business owner you are often required to make difficult decisions. You have to fire an employee. Pull back on a commitment. Change paths.
Yet, by subscribing to integrity and honesty as core values you can navigate even the most trying times. After all, it is just a little bit of money.
