Within and Beyond Ourselves – the role of conscience in modern business

“This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night of the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” William Shakespeare

The following is an excerpt from Robert Gay’s convocation address for the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in April 26, 2002. Robert is Managing Director and Senior Partner of Bain Capital and received his BS in economics at University of Utah and his Ph.D. in Business Economics at Harvard University.

You will receive appeals to pride, prominence, prosperity, and power. You will be tempted to aspire, accuse, contend, and covet. Every day in your job someone will try to convince you that it's all about the money, but it will not be in those exact words. It'll be more like: "I got a 10 percent raise. What did you get?" or "I can't tell you how great getting the beach condo has been for our family." Others of you may find that you can't get the job or advancement or make the sale unless you pay some person some small favor or unless you join their party or club. And, as you protest the unfairness of the situation, there will be three or four others ready to take your place. Still others of you will feel emotionally empty from the loneliness of the road or the stress of the day and will find that, away from home where "nobody else will know or find out," there will be innumerable age-old invitations to fill that void. These calls to choose self over conscience will be endless.

At the other end of the spectrum is the need to guard against self-righteousness. You may recall the story of the disciples who Christ rebuffed when they complained to him—with what the scriptures describe as "indignation within themselves"—about the oil that was being poured on his body and how much better it could be used if sold to help the poor (Mark 14:39). This should serve as a reminder to each of us that when we go about our daily labors without the Spirit, ends and means can become confused, even when more noble aims are intended. What may seem to be good can actually end in unnecessary frustration and even harm.

Acts of the self-centered mind are a goodly part of the beat of modern industrial life and are like the "salutations in the marketplaces" referred to by Christ (Mark 12:38), which will always both flatter and tempt you. They are the very practices and challenges that so often make business a demanding world of raw selfishness aimed at ever-increasing profit. If not courageously resisted, this commercial environment will work to deafen you to all other voices. It will blur the lines between moral and legal correctness and try to make you doubt, compromise, or set aside your values. The recent events at Enron are a powerful witness to this very outcome.

Indeed, the Enron example alone should impress on you forever that you will not be able to stand if you rely solely on your own reason or desires. The more subtle reality—less visible to most—is that if you knowingly or passively accept your environment without question, just roll with the humdrum of the marketplace, or even if you rise to admired public reputation or exceptional Wall Street success, it will not matter because inwardly you will be conflicted. You will be unfulfilled and at odds with yourself because you will not be where you are supposed to be but rather in a spot where you risk your very soul. All my experience tells me this is so, and I can't even begin to tell you how many self-justifications you will be able to find to put your own voice over the voice of the Spirit. I believe President John Taylor saw this when he spoke: "It matters very little what we are engaged in; it is impossible to do right without the guidance of the Almighty."

Heraclitus (Greek Poet, Philosopher)

“The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the full light if day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think, and what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny . . . . It is the light that guides your way."