In Defense of The Businessman

For the sake of those who are not businesspeople, I would like to express my opinion of that person who in many ways seems to confound.

There is a sense of the businessperson as somehow driven by morals and policy but nothing could be further from the truth. While he at times appears to be that way, his policy and morals are shaped by circumstances more than by ideology and beliefs. His "policy" as it were is shaped by goals which may or may not be transparent and stated. It is a surprise attack at every stage wherein the ultimate goal is concealed or not in order to achieve the goal with the most effective process and to avoid the embarassment of perceived failure.

For the businessperson, life is an everchanging landscape which requires constant adjustment and refocus. It is a journey and adventure through constantly unknown terrain. He begins on a path to a goal and finds it impassable.  He sees another path and goes that way only to encounter another obstacle. He climbs over, walks around, tunnels underneath, flies over, breaks down the obstacle. He seeks advice which he filters and adopts or discards or chooses promising elements. Where he himself cannot succeed, he finds someone who can to help him.

His view of the world is unlike others because of experience. His experience tells him over and over that strict adherence to policy or goal is likely to produce financial failure. Life is full of opportunities if he can see them and compromise if he must make them. Policy blocks vision and perception of new opportunities and it also prevents compromise.

His process is complex.  He knows that the solution to any issue is there at some level. He pursues it with dogged determination, peeling the layers away until he becomes satisfied with the truth, knowing that there may be more that he hasn't seen and watching for it as he goes. He pokes and jabs his oponents to size them up, to feel for weaknesses and strengths, but never underestimates them. 


Because his process is complex, it is difficult to enunciate as it is and even more difficult to update followers because it is subject to rapid change. 

Is he a person without morals? Do his morals serve his purpose?

As with any other endeavor, it varies with the individual. As certain as he is with his principles, his experience tells him that some of them are subject to change while others are sacrosanct. Where he draws the line varies from one businessperson to another. 

Businesspeople are not embarassed by changing their minds. Their opinions are the product of a set of circumstances and an observation point locked to a moment in time. This is precisely where he differs from others who don't see the time component. 

For this, he also sees and recognizes those same qualities in others and surrounds himself with them. 

He is not a scholar, a professional or a laborer yet he is all of those things wrapped in one. He is a searcher for the combination of disciplines that will succeed.