It's all about the ecosystem…

Yesterday in my supply chains class, we had a guest who said in the starkest terms I’ve heard at HBS:

“Don’t just think about earning top dollar -if you live a life of service to your communities, and do what you’re passionate about, the money will come.”

And he paraphrased Luke 12:48 “For those whom much is given, much is expected”, and told us that we had an obligation to those who were not as fortunate as we were, to give back.

In an environment where we discuss efficiency, and corporate accountability in the context of not getting arrested, it was refreshing to hear a CEO of a small, family-owned business articulate the values which governed his life.

It raises interesting questions for how one should live a life of service, even if not directly engaged in a social mission. We can’t all be Paul Farmer, or Wendy Kopp, but I have to believe that we can pursue our career aspirations while being engaged and contributing community members. We can make the places we inhabit better for us being there, beyond our immediate self-enrichment and nuclear families. We can think about the things we didn’t earn in our lives, that just happened to us, and be humbled in that knowledge.