Tevia was right

I just finished reading a book called "The Mormon Way of Doing Business: Leadership and Success through Faith and Family" by Jeff Benedict. The book was interesting enough. It told about Mormon business executives who succeeded in the fast-paced, high-intensity business world, while staying true to their religious principles such as integrity, fidelity, and family. Many of them had even held positions of significant responsibility in their church while serving as CEO or CFO of a large corporation.

I was impressed with the stamina and ability to juggle many priorities demonstrated by these busy execs as they would fly home to a child's ball game or a church meeting amidst jetting around the world. However, as I read quotes from these highly successful men, I couldn't help thinking about the line Tevia sang in Fiddler on the Roof: "When you're rich, they think you really know!".

Being a Mormon myself, it occurred to me that most of what these men were saying about their beliefs could have come out of the mouth of any young child in the church. The author of the book seemed to be asserting that there was something about what these men accomplished that made what they said about life and values somehow more profound. However, the very teachings of the church they belong to does not indicate that what these men had accomplished constitutes the true definition of success. Mr. Benedict seemed to be putting forth some sort of a blueprint for greatness, but it seems to me that even the greatest man who ever walked the earth lived a life pretty much in diametric opposition to the type of success espoused by this book.

I'm all for letting those who want to pay the price reach the top of their field and win at all that they do. What though, of a business owner who never reaches the top because his acts of charity toward customers erode his profits? Is that type of a person any less successful that one who brings massive earnings to gleeful shareholders? I know too many great men who are not rich to buy in to this book's way as the "Mormon Way".