THE BUSINESS OF MANKIND BY KARA HUMPHREY
photo by Molly Kendrick
F ew holiday stories are as well-known or as well-loved as Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol . It’s a timeless story that has entertained generations of readers. There are truths that play out in the life of the story’s main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserable man who is blinded by his insatiable appetite for money. At the beginning, Ebenezer is visited by the ghost of his recently deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, whose spirit returns for the sole purpose of warning the bad-tempered old miser of the awful reality that Marley has discovered after his death. “I wear the chain I forged in life,” Marley said. “I made it link by link,
and yard by yard... I am here tonight to warn you that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate.” There comes a time in the life of every leader when they must decide their purpose. Will they set their focus on power? On money? Or maybe on building a reputation? It’s a widely held belief that the purpose of business is to maximize profit for shareholders. It’s this line of thinking that paved the way for that cold dark night of ghosts and life altering lessons for Ebenezer. He would require a change of heart. In the words of Marley, “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance and
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BUSINESS & POLITICS
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