when doing the wrong thing becomes the right thing to do

June 6, 2008

when would something unethical, improper and outright wrong become acceptable and would even remain a logical thing to do? ideally, man would always stick to what is right and what is proper. but this is not a perfect world so it is so easy to resort to wicked, unrighteous and deceitful ways.although i mentioned before the interesting and devious things that are not uncommon in the world of sales,  i was oblivious to all of these. i was doing a remarkable job of minding my own business and straining to close “clean” sales. i remained passive, unmindful of who’s screwing who and how they get away with it. then it hit me one day, i was served a written agreement i’ve no option but to sign authorizing my beloved employer to haul my sorry ass out of my dear company should i  not deliver the numbers. i’ve never been this close to losing a job. then came the sad realization, that no matter how hard i strive to get clean sales it would never suffice. no wonder so many sales executives are taking the easy wicked way: cheat, hit the goal, grab the spiffs and get recognized. Makes perfect sense.
but with all these goodies a smartass is getting, which by the way includes ass-kissing, one thing he loses–respect. a dozen dirty sales is not even half worth a single legit one, at least in the eyes of those playing it fair.but here’s a thing, this whole damn thing is not about who’s got the purest conscience and the metrics does not include most number of honest sales. yes there are rules, there are guidelines and we are almost expected to bend them and do anything and everything to hit our goals–which, most of the time, means screwing some poor customers and screwing some fellow sales executives just to attain it. it’s all about bringing in profits to the company, it doesnt matter if its a well earned legit sale or a sale illegitimate as hell, they are all the same and we need a whole lot of them. a  colleague once said that we, like soldiers, are all expendible. true, our service ends the moment we run out of sales. if a sales executive’s main objective is staying in the company, a trade-off between dirty sales and respect is an easy thing to do. anyway, in the cutthroat world of sales respect is nothing different from the holed cents in one’s purse. they dont mean a thing.
and if you’re wondering, yes, still got a job. by a hair’s breadth i made it through. all clean, all honest sales. i’m starting to think if i’m cut out for this job. cant stand the thought of screwing others for my own sake, much more the enormous ass-kissing that comes with it.