Good For Goodness Sake

I was at a networking event in Dublin earlier in the week where specialists from The Referral Institute offered tips on how to make more of your network.

The early part of the day was presented by Mike Macedonio, best-selling author of the book Truth or Delusion. One of the networking myths Mike sought to defrock was the traditional 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you' (which he suggested should read more along the lines of 'Do unto others as they would have you do unto them').

I was reminded again of how poorly a christian education prepares us for the world of marketing where the good man often goes unrewarded whilst the charlatan prospers. Don't for a moment think I'm suggesting that we cast off our morals when we don our marketing hats but we are likely to be disappointed if we see virtue being its own reward in the way the old maxims suggest.

Just as Macedonio suggests, the marketplace usually demands much more from us and I think that, whilst we may start with doing things well, we must move beyond plain goodness if we are to succeed commercially.