Betrayal is as much part of business as is the hunger for success. There is almost no success story in business without their being some skeletons in the closet. The key here is not to suspect everybody of trying to stab you in the back, but simply to be prepared for when it happens. There are no partnerships, friendships or pacts that are stronger than human nature.
A story we all know where best of friends turn on each other for what they believe to be the greater good where you can truly imagine the disappointment in the eyes of Caesar when he utters the words “You too, Brutus!”. After all Brutus was not just another Senate member but a true friend. Although Brutus believed that the only way to save Rome from dictatorship was to kill Creaser it still meant the ultimate betrayal between friends. In the world we live in today these kinds of extremes are not to common, but the proverbial knife in the back was born from this event. The knives we need expect in business is perhaps a little friendlier to our medical aids but attorneys often make more of these events than what it is worth as, again we are human beings and the hunger for revenge sometimes outweighs the need for justice or even the size of our pockets.
The simplest and most common form of betrayal in business is from staff members who don’t honour their part of the employment agreement and then march to the CCMA or the likes when disciplinary steps get taken. Truth is told without a water tight employment contract and meticulous approach to the disciplinary process you will in all probability loose despite the fact that you acted honourably, fairly and well within the parameters of the law.
Protect yourself from the knife in the back with watertight contracts and agreements.
Pat Pattinson
082 749 6462
www.pattinson.biz
pat@pattinson.biz
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