Introduction

Value is a subjective business term. Opposing interpretations are formed depending upon the perspective in which the transaction is viewed. From the seller’s perspective, the value of a product and/or service is determined by finding the maximum price the market is willing to bear. Value from the buyer’s perspective are the benefits received from the product and/or service purchased.

Profit however is an objective business term. It represents the amount of earnings generated from the sale of a product and/or service. Determining methods in which to maximize profitability then becomes the single purpose of the business.

These are the basic rules of capitalism.

A couple years ago, my business partner Faizel wanted to learn about Judaism. Being that he’s Muslim, I was excited to introduce him to something I’ve been studying my entire life. We set up a meeting with my rabbi, Rabbi Baitelman, the following week. As the three of us discussed the similarities between our beliefs, Rabbi asked us questions about our business. While he was impressed with the respect and appreciation we had for various religious differences, he seemed just as interested in our business philosophy as Faizel was in Judaism.

The conversation shifted to the influence that our religious backgrounds have on the way we conduct business. We explained to Rabbi Baitelman how we have a very different approach to business. It starts with treating our “customers” like friends and family members rather than consumers and suppliers. The next step focuses on giving. Giving the best service, so we can make our business friends more successful, with the hope that it will generate more volume over a longer period of time.

Have you ever noticed how “business” sometimes seems synonymous with “tension” or “conflict”? We feel that negotiation in business tends to result in an adversarial relationship between buyer and seller. Wouldn’t business be much easier if each side of the transaction were transparent and trusting so that both parties could earn their fair share of revenue? What if the real art of making the deal wasn’t about getting the biggest piece of the pie, but securing the best, and most fulfilling, outcome for all? This is what’s known as utilitarianism, the greater good for all.

Here’s the problem as we see it, and as we explained it to Rabbi Baitelman: Profitability maximization.

These two words summarize the business world as we know it today. These two words are taught at business schools around the world. These two words are also thought about, spoken, and acted upon in just about every business, regardless of its product and/or service offering. These two words are about as un-revolutionary as they come and as dangerous as it gets.

What is revolutionary is eliminating this misguided, too-long-entrenched ideology and focusing on balance. Balancing value to the customer and profitability to the business.

Rabbi Baitelman listened patiently, then he pointed out that maybe our concept wasn’t as strange as it seemed. After all, as humans, didn’t we all have an innate desire to be valued and happy? Wasn’t it really the success of the whole that let communities flourish historically? We totally agreed.      

Bringing this type of balance into business starts with operating from a place of complete honesty and transparency. Displaying trustworthiness in one’s actions is the only way balance can be achieved. Lead by example. Be honest. That’s it.

Unfortunately, the moral compass of our modern society has drifted and twisted as people have moved further away from spiritual guidance and universal law. What it means to be human—to be good, and just, and generous—has been polluted by what it means to be greedy.

When Rabbi Baitelman asked us if we were in business for self-driven reasons or a mission-oriented purpose, we responded before he could finish his sentence.

“We’re mission-oriented rather than self-motivated because we know our work is for a purpose greater than just ourselves,” me and Faizel practically said in unison. “We’re not only providing for our own families but for the families of our employees and everyone we do business with. It isn’t about what we have individually; it’s what we’re giving to everyone involved with our business.”

Call it a lack of negotiation skills, laziness, or perhaps business savvy, but we let our customers determine our profitability. No, seriously. We’ve been to business school, cut our teeth on the old, greed-driven ways, and know that this better way of doing business that we want to share with you actually works. We’ve been operating like this for several years, all while earning handsome returns for all parties involved—us and our suppliers, consumers, and trade partners, and growing into an international leader in the scrap and recycling industry.

Faizel and I were telling all this to Rabbi Baitelman when it struck him as clear as could be. “You should write a book,” the rabbi said.

He told us that we needed to share our philosophy with as many people as possible and encouraged us to do so through literature. To truly be abundant is to be generous, after all. And truly discrediting profitability maximization means remembering how to give freely without expectation. We saw that sharing our philosophy in a book and an online course would allow us to give on the largest scale possible.

While this is our book and our philosophy, we wrote it for you. Agree with it, argue with it, mark it up, return to it later, and share it openly and widely. In it we’ve attempted to share our philosophy and our success story with the business community at large in an effort to encourage both would-be entrepreneurs and existing business owners to challenge traditional business thinking.

The Honor Behind the Honor System

How is it possible to create wealth without focusing on profitability maximization? Let’s turn to a golf analogy.

There are many country clubs across this great nation with member bases composed of highly influential and wealthy individuals. These people like to spend their leisure time golfing. For those unfamiliar with golf, there are a total of eighteen holes in a “round.” These holes are divided into a front nine and a back nine with a snack shack in between. The snack shack offers a variety of food and beverage options for all club members to enjoy. Upon selecting their snacks of choice, a member simply writes down their member number along with the snacks they’ve consumed in a logbook. The staff reconcile the inventory against the logbook and invoice members accordingly on their monthly statements.

That’s the honor system at work.

From an outsider’s point of view, there are several blatantly obvious flaws to this system. The most common rebuttal: the logbook will never balance against inventory. This argument is firmly planted in the assumption that humanity is inherently greedy and/or deceitful. We beg to differ.

Greed (noun) / ˈgrēd /
Definition of greed: humanity’s worst trait

Let’s challenge the argument by learning a bit more about the members of these clubs. Entrance fees to some can cost upwards of $50,000. Not only is there an entrance fee, but there are monthly dues of at least $500 as well. Some members belong to multiple country clubs, and every applicant must be sponsored by at least four existing members.

Has this changed that rebuttal at all? I mean could you imagine Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos lying about or not claiming the snacks they’d consumed during a round of golf to save a few bucks? Imagine if one of them got busted doing it? Talk about a foolish way to damage their reputation publicly. So here you have the wealthiest dudes on the planet, and they’re stealing from their own country club, clubs in which they own shares via their memberships! Now that would be embarrassing. Do you catch the drift, though?

Greed’s Accomplice: The Scarcity Cycle

Scarcity (noun) / ˈsker-sə-tē /

Definition of scarcity: the fuel behind humanity’s worst trait, greed
 

If greed is our worst trait, scarcity is the fuel that keeps it burning strong.

This idea of scarcity is a total fiction—there’s no shortage of money in this world of ours. It keeps us chasing a greater share at the expense of another’s size of the share and leads to the type of resentment that can eat away at a society and keep us all trapped. The have-nots, as we unfairly call them, feel oppressed and exploited by the haves. The haves feel resented by the have-nots. Everyone’s armor comes up, growing thicker with each slight or each success.

Suddenly it’s easy to see why we assume the worst in people. The vicious circle that greed has spun around us becomes pretty obvious if we can step back and see its inner workings. Who really benefits here, though? You guessed it—greed...