A Knight's Code of Business: How to Achieve Character and Competence in the Corporate World

Citation

Paswan, A.K. (2005), "A Knight's Code of Business: How to Achieve Character and Competence in the Corporate World", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 238-239. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760510605399

Using the quotes from Don Quixote, Gene Del Vecchio tries to capture and present key determinants of success in business. On the surface this book seems to talks about wrongdoings and unethical behavior in business organizations. The literature on ethics has suggested several determinants to unethical behavior, such as a firm's ethical philosophy, opportunities, organizational environment, or reward and punishment system.

Gene goes a step further and argues that a key determinant of unethical behavior is the moral character amongst managers. Strong moral character gives people the strength to resist temptation, use the right philosophy, and rise above the quagmire of not‐so‐clear signals. A lack of moral character, on the other hand, pushes people into the dark abyss of all things and to act loathsome. This notion of moral character determining unethical behavior is very intuitive and conforms to the conventional wisdom. However, the problem with this book is its beginning. People not familiar with Don Quixote may find the beginning a bit too mundane and almost pontificating. I would urge the readers to continue on. Slowly, the book takes on a very moral storytelling flavor and touches a raw nerve, especially amongst people who have worked in the marketing and advertising functions. The book reflects a deep understanding of how these disciplines work and rich experiences on the part of the author. The stories used in this book have a universal appeal, and they could be from anywhere in the world.

The book focuses on the notion of competence – both innate and learned, as well as moral character – “how a person balances various interests, particularly self‐interests and the interest of the company” (p. 25), as the two key desired qualities amongst managers. The interaction between these two dimensions creates four cells in a two‐by‐two matrix. The first cell includes philosopher kings and queens, fair princes and princesses, and good knights, all having high moral character and increasing competence; the second includes evil kings and heartless queens, evil barons and duchesses, and dark knights, all with increasing competence but low moral character. The third cell includes squires in training, faithful pages, and good serfs, that have high moral character and stagnant competence; and finally the fourth cell includes henchmen‐in‐training, dungeon keepers, and ogres who have stagnant competence and low moral character. These cells are not watertight or permanent, i.e., people shift from cell to cell depending upon the situation. Having worked for eight years as an account manager and brand manager in India, I could identify several (in fact a large majority of) these prototypical characters.

The first of the moral character flaw is the aristocracy – “Instead of displaying gratefulness for the wealth their company has afforded them, they begin to feel entitled” (p 43). This flaw could be based on factors ranging from family background to ivy‐league education. The second character flaw deals with duplicity, lack of integrity, and deception. Gene laments: “Legality has replaced character. It is not so much about what you should do anymore, but about what the law says you must do” (p. 61). The third character flaw deals with fraud, larceny, and other related crimes. This is associated with incompetence, and often leads to the destruction of the company. The fourth character flaw is indecency (e.g. sexual harassment, affairs, etc.) and is found to be present in all kinds of firms, including the church. The fifth character flaw, anxiety, may be an outcome of what managers do. However, the deliberate act of creating a fearful environment is worrisome, for it often dampens creativity and accountability – “Fear of taking responsibility for our actions has turned us into a nation that blames others” (p.103). In order to face fear and rise above such an environment, one needs courage – to participate and push their limits. A related character flaw identified is insincerity. Gene argues that, “the corporate world is infected with insincerity, providing either too much unwarranted praise or too much unwarranted criticism” (p. 125). Finally, there are maladies such as substance abuse, lunacy, and lack of anger control. Some of these may be rooted in physiological problems, while others are encouraged by senior managers and organization cultures. Nevertheless, “each affects the way we express our character… others perceive our character” (p. 110). Apart from the moral and ethical problems, there are tangible costs associated with these character flaws – poor motivation, lower productivity, human turnover, destroyed careers, lost opportunities, bankrupt organizations, and sometimes extremely violent reactions, to name a few.

The second focal dimension is the notion of competence – “the condition of being fit to do one's job” (p. 133), which is directly linked to greater performance. The book discusses some of the roots of incompetence, the first one being lack of passion. Passion often translates into continued upward learning, and it helps people get over their inertia against learning new things. However, passion alone is not enough, one also needs vision. Unfortunately, in their search for visionaries, organizations often overlook the insiders and bring in an outsider, often with disastrous consequences. “The best balance often exists when both the visionary and the manager share power, and each recognize and appreciate the contributions of the other” (p. 160). I personally like the assertion that “Visionaries make us nervous, because following a vision carries risks to our jobs, careers, institutions, and to our sanity” (p. 163). However, “vision, determination, and hard work are not always enough. Failure sometimes means simply that others do not share your dreams” (p. 165). Clear communication helps transfer the passion to and share the vision with everyone. Then it becomes infectious, like among the workers at Disney World. However, there is the problem of information overload, and a possible solution is the focus and simplification of communication. The fourth cause of incompetence identified is mediocrity – “We settle too early, too often, for less than we can be” (p. 177), and this often leads to disaster. Mediocrity is easy and creates a sense of false security. A possible solution is to constantly question the status quo and reinvent. Then there is tomfoolery – when style overwhelms substance, and finally there is the notion of futility – being afraid to take risk for fear that things simply cannot be changed. Tomfoolery is sexy and enticing, but one must never “confuse charisma and style with competence and substance” (p. 203). Futility, on the other hand, leads to feelings of disenchantment, anger, and being jaded. It often is a result of organizations not addressing issues related to chronic incompetence and character flaws. So where does it leave us? Borrowing from Gene's book, we can answer as follows:

We live in a cynical world. The reputations of age‐old institutions we once revered have been torn down, or at least, have been badly tarnished. It was not the institutions that were at fault, however, but the people who dwelled within them and who did not meet our collective expectations. These expectations can be harsh and hypocritical. We demand perfection in others, yet we make allowances for our own flaws. We are eager to reveal human failings in others, but we are equally quick to hide our own. This dichotomy has made us weak (p. 219).

It's not about the company you work for, or where you stand in the hierarchy, or your salary, or the perks, or the size of your office, or your title. It's about you. It's always about you. It is about who you are inside, and the way that manifests itself in your character and your competence (p. 234).

Instead of climbing to the very top, fall instead to the very bottom. It can be a very nice place to land (p. 230).

I tell my marketing research students that the researcher is completely responsible and accountable for the research results – good or bad. There is no one else to blame. A Knight's Code of Business suggests that this is true for everything that we do. It rang true for me and brought back memories of changes in my own career path from media sales, to account management and planning in advertising agency, brand management in a consumer product company, and then a drastic side step into academia. This could be very good book for teaching the politics and ethics of a business managers' world, something that we as academics do not do a very good job of.