The thumbtacks and the coke

Two engineers boarded a flight out of San Francisco Airport. One sat in the window seat, the other in the middle. Just before takeoff, an attorney got on and took the aisle seat next to the two.

The attorney kicked off his shoes, wiggled his toes, and was settling in when the engineer in the window seat said, “I think I’ll get up and get a coke.”

“No problem,” said the attorney, “I’ll get it for you.”

While he was gone, one of the engineers picked up the attorney’s shoe and put a thumbtack in it. When he returned with the coke, the other engineer said, “That looks good; I think I’ll have one too.”

Again, the attorney obligingly went to fetch it, and while he was gone, the other engineer picked up the other shoe and put a tack in it. The attorney returned, and they all sat back and enjoyed the flight.

As the plane landed, the attorney slipped his feet into his shoes and immediately knew what had happened.

“How long must this go on?” he asked. “This fighting between our professions? This hatred? This animosity? This putting tacks in shoes and spitting in cokes?”

Doesn’t this speak about people in business?

There seems to be no stop trying to put one over the other.

Years ago, I was caught in the middle of a company going through a bitter and ugly conflict. People who used to be friends and partners became the most bitter of enemies. Endless meetings, shouting matches, threatened lawsuits, and never-ending attempts for power and control.

As both parties in the company attempted to win my favor, I looked at them and asked them one simple question.

I said, “Gentlemen, beyond the rhetoric and the hysteria, am I correct in assuming that the one and only interest everybody is after is just money, power, and control?”

And everybody was silent because I had struck a nerve. It became a dramatic moment for me as I tendered my resignation and said, “There is no nobility and honor in what you are fighting for because it’s just all money anyway.”

But words said could not overpower the greed in their hearts.

One began putting thumbtacks in the shoes, the other began spitting in their drinks, and the conflict continued.

Meanwhile, many good people left the company. The brand name that took them so long to build before it became prominent is losing its appeal, and it’s only a matter of time before the business fails. Less than two years later, it closed.

Greed is ugly.

Even the most decent people show off their fangs when the heart goes after personal gain.

The whole incident makes me think.

They teach you a lot of things in business school.

You get to learn so many things when you enroll in a graduate school for business. You spend a fortune on all those certificate courses and seminars presented by the world’s top business schools, and I’m sure you’ll learn a lot from them. But they could never teach you how to handle the greed motive inside the heart. The heart of the problem is not systems, processes, business directions, or decisions; it is always a problem of the heart.

The best of friends can turn out to be the worst of enemies whenever conflicts in business arise, and the funny thing about this is that the parties involved will never admit that it’s just a battle for money.

I still remember this person who approached me and said, “But Francis, you don’t understand. It’s not money I am fighting for. It’s the principle of the thing.” I looked at him squarely and said, “No, my friend, it’s not the principle. It’s the money.”

A meaningful life lesson I learned early in life is that greed can get you what you want but robs you of what you already have. Lost friendship, reputation, lost trust, and yes, it is a problem of the heart.

Jesus says: Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist of an abundance of possessions (NIV). He also says: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” – Matthew 16:26 (ESV)

He surely knows the human heart. I learned this principle from the Scriptures rather than the business schools I attended.

(Francis Kong’s podcast “Inspiring Excellence” is now available on Spotify, Apple, Google, or other podcast streaming platforms.)