Karma And The Threefold Rule

He sayeth unto you, dude.

The previous post posed the question of whether honesty is always the best policy, especially in business when there’s money on the line. Generally, people seem to prefer being honest unless the consequences outweigh the benefits. A mercenary attitude? Perhaps, but also realistic.

The question of consequences is another matter entirely. Anyone who has read a little about karma understands the notion that whatever we do in this life comes back to haunt us in our next incarnation. Running parallel to this idea from Eastern religions are the Wiccan tradition of the threefold rule – that whatever we do comes back to us three times as strongly – and the Christian maxim of “Do unto others.”

When it comes down to it, these beliefs can all be seen as saying “You will suffer the consequences of your actions.”

Since the 1980s and Gordon Gecko’s immortal “Greed is good” line, many people prefer to sell hard, to pressure the market, to be almost abusive in dealings with partners and clients. But times have changed. Regardless of whether you subscribe to the esoteric beliefs, there is certainly something to be said for honesty and kindness in business.

Just take a look at the reactions to bad service all over the web. Consider how many customers are lost every day by hard selling, by tight-fisted greed, by dishonest businesses. It’s true that scandals are quickly forgotten, but they’re also quickly remembered – those customers won’t come back and neither will their friends.

The guy who runs a shop round the corner would do well to understand this. He tries the hard sell all the time. And the number of people who look the other way when they walk past his shop increases daily. Myself included.

Conversely, good news travels slowly, but does your business more good in the long run. A single person who loves what you do (and how you do it) could talk to ten friends, who each talk to ten more and so on. It takes time, but that word-of-mouth reputation builds and builds: it generates confidence in you, it builds authority and it also protects you from bad news and rumour.

While nice guys may finish last, they finish in style!

Have you had a situation where your reputation for good business has preceded you? Has word of mouth brought you wealth, happiness and fame?