There was once a book written by Rich DeVos with this title.  In my opinion, it’s a very good title.  When I originally read the book, I bought in whole-heartedly to the concepts contained therein.  What the concept meant to me (and still does) is the idea that both compassion and capitalism can work side-by-side to the betterment of everyone. 

Compassion is good.  Caring for our fellow man, wanting to make a difference in the lives of others, and leaving a lasting legacy of positive change are aspirations worthy of every leader.

Capitalism is good.  Competition breeds toughness and an even greater ability to compete, strengthening the competing participants and benefiting the customer as a result.

When compassion and capitalism are fused together, as they should be in our free enterprise society, a virtuous cycle results.  Competition drives competitors to find better, faster, cheaper ways of doing the same thing; benefiting the customer.  Then, as the competition responds, even newer and better methods are found to compete even further.  Again, the customer benefits.  When these competitors are people desiring to make a difference in their world, they will give generously to worthy causes, operate their business in a fair and balanced manner, conduct their manufacturing and shipping in an ecologically friendly way, and basically become a responsible corporate citizen.  The very way they conduct business is contributive to the greater good of society as a whole.

This all sounds good, and I believe most people would agree with the concept.  What happens, though, is greed or a desire to protect one’s interests can take over.  Fear of stiff competition, being worried that competitors would pick one’s market share apart, and a desire to take the shortcut of protecting one’s interests rather than working toward the long term goal of increasing competitiveness pervades decision making.  As in the demise of the once mighty Pan Am Airlines, lawyers take over a company and erase the entreprenuerial spirit that founded it.  When this occurs, an interesting thing results: not only does compassion disappear, but capitalism vanishes as well.  Everybody suffers; especially the customers.

What do we as leaders do about this?

Always be willing to compete.  Be willing to stay in the field and improve yourself and your abilities and/or business with a PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Adjust) cycle.  Never get into "management mode."  Don’t build fences to lock your niche in place.  Keep the pressure on yourself, and be resistant of shortcuts or special deals that eliminate the need for you to compete, which may be alluring in the short term, but certainly destructive in the long run.  Customers always sniff out the best deals.  It’s a law of the free market.  Better quality, better pricing, better value overall will always be discovered by customers.  It can be resisted for a while, but it cannot be overcome.  The best thing for any leader, business person, or company to do is make the mature decision to chase the customer demand wherever it should lead them. 

When foreign competition of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars were demanded by the skyrocketing oil prices of the mid-nineteen-seventies, the American car companies were forced to respond in kind.  Although they sought governmental tariffs and protections from "unfair competition" abroad, they had to learn to face the music or die on the vine of irrelevance.  These same stories could be repeated for every industry.  Companies and leaders either respond to the changing marketplace, or go out of business.  It’s that simple.

As one of my favorite quotes states, "Your only sustainable competitive advantage is your ongoing ability to change."  Without that ability, no amount of fencing or wall-building can save you.  With that ability, there is no limit to the amount of compassion you can engender to society. 

Choose well, and lead on!