Cowards in business.

A belief, a viewpoint, an opinion worth having, is worth expressing and standing up for. If a person is afraid to be known publicly, either by co-workers, clients, fellow students, whoever, by what they believe, then what does this say about the steadfastness and sincerity of that alleged belief? Not much.

I have heard accounts of business people, who amongst themselves, or their families will openly express their views on religion, politics, and anything else “controversial.” But they will go to great lengths to keep these views from being known to colleagues and clients. Why? Two reasons: cowardice, and the almighty dollar.

It is actually, when you cut right down to it, it is pretty phony and disingenuous to be one way in private and another in public. If a business loses business because a client or two don’t like or agree with that business owner’s religious or political views, then that business didn’t want that customer’s business to begin with. Or they shouldn’t.

I worked briefly for a company out in West Texas. I asked the owner if I could put a link & the company logo on this blog. He agreed because he liked the idea of free exposure and publicity. Well, apparently a customer of his also found the blog and disagreed with some of my posts and said something to him about it. Rather than asking me to take down the link and logo, which I would have gladly done, he took the approach of basically ordering me to tone down the rhetoric of its content.

I took down the link and the logo for two simple reasons. Number 1; this is my blog, and only I get to control, regulate, or dictate its content. Reason number two; I don’t want this blog, its reputation or mine, linked to a coward. I have the spine to get on here and exercise my God given and constitutionally protected right of free speech. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me and debates with those who don’t are entertaining. I am not going to allow someone who does not have the spine to be assertive about their views have a say on the direction of this site nor do I want this blog to appear to be watered down by its association with such an individual or business.

It really is a shame that there are so many cowards in business. The ironic thing is, starting and running a business is not something done by the faint of heart usually. I don’t at what point in the business ownership process the spine goes away, but sadly it does.

Jim L. Chitty