Serving Two Masters?

According to Bill Pollard, in his book Serving Two Masters, Reflections on God and Profit, there is a standard within our company which says, “Leaders are to put the interest of those they lead ahead of their own personal interest, even when it results in the loss of an economic benefit.” Bill Pollard was our CEO and President for many years.

Bill asks the question, “Where does the standard of right and wrong or the restraint of evil and greed come from in a business environment?” and “How do we define integrity or an ethic of right behavior for the business leader?” With ServiceMaster it’s always been our first objective TO HONOR GOD IN ALL WE DO. This is put into action by the way in which we treat people, namely the people we lead.

Now that our company is being sold, the question is, “will the standards remain?” Will it remain with the new leadership being installed?” “Will it remain with those who report to the new leadership?” Or, will people rob from each other for personal gain, turf protect, and have expectations of lavish golden parachutes? Will leadership walk the talk? It's easy to treat people well when your business unit is doing reasonably well. Now the pressure's really on. Will it be so easy?