The popularisation of the phrase it’s business not personal is one I despise.
What can be more personal than the thing you dedicate a third or up to half your day to.
I spend more time working than with my daughter. Or my wife. My work defines me. So it’s quite personal. I don’t have a contract with my client to read up, be on time or keep the gym in good shape. It’s what I do. My conscience urges me to. And I feel unfulfilled if I don’t do my ‘job’. This piece by John Gruber shaped my thinking a lot:
In 11 years, Jim and I never had anything more than a virtual handshake through Messages (née iChat) as a “contract”. They say don’t do business with friends. My experience says otherwise — if you have the right friends.
https://lnkd.in/gJYfQV5F
The loss of trust or good faith in a transaction is tragic. It really does rip the soul or humanity out of capitalism.
A few small examples. I bought my house in 2018 from a gentleman. A self-made millionaire. The first time we met we bonded over books and making things. We didn’t talk about the house or price. He knew I had seen the house. At the end of the conversation, we shook hands and I bought the house at the price he asked me for. No negotiations. The price was reasonable. And I did not want to haggle to save a lakh or two.
I paid him in bits and pieces with me cobbling cash together and family chipping in. Without an agreement or the full amount, he asked me to start our renovation knowing I wanted to move in quickly with my 5 month old daughter.
On the day of the registration, due to some clerical issue HDFC did not release the final cheque. They gave us a cheque number. But the gentleman signed over the house to us. I gave him the cheque the next day.
It was a bonkers amount of trust. We still catch up twice a year. And it’s some of the most meaningful and fun interactions I have.
I don’t think I will ever be able to trust anyone as wholly as he trusted me. I hope to inculcate the judgement and capacity to have the confidence he has in gauging a person.
I don’t mean to romanticise transactions or the lack of contracts. Society cannot operate on good faith. And contracts are necessary for accountability. Our inability to enforce contracts that are not honoured is what makes India such a Wild West destination for businesses.
But when it works, it is a thing to marvel and behold.
It is quite heartening when a person does what is ‘right’, on time and consistently without needing reminders of the legal, ethical or social ramifications of not doing their job.
The job gets done simply because it needs to be done and the person believes that it needs to be done ‘correctly’. There is a clear definition of a positive or desirable outcome. And an objective standard or what success looks like. No contracts needed.
Again, society cannot operate like this anymore. But bits of it do. And if you can manage it, business feels personal again.