View from Silicon Valley - If they don't already know...
Copyright View from Silicon Valley, 2005. All rights reserved.
A couple Saturday's ago we were patronizing a local retail
establishment where it just so happened I could see our car parked in the lot. We parked right in front and the
spots on both sides were empty. (But this is not another rant about how business is softer here than widely
reported.) It turns out I could also see the woman who had pulled in next to me coming back to her car and very casually
opening her door right into the side of my car. As her door edge bounced off my car, she caught it with her elbow and
banged it back into my car again.
We have more or less learned to accept California culture
runs heavily to cars. People love their cars, love to show them off and love to keep them clean and sharp.
Here in Silicon Valley, it is common to be sitting in traffic surrounded by Mercedes, BMW and, lately, Audi sedans.
The BMW, Lexus and Acura (and even Porsche?!?!) SUVs are very popular. Lately, you can usually also spot a Toyota Prius
hybrid or two on a daily basis. (As an aside, we read the sticker on a new Prius driving next to us a few weeks
ago and it was over $29K. It's so Silicon Valley to load up $10K of options on a sub-$20K car. Spending
an extra $10K to save $10/week on gas makes perfect sense, wouldn't you agree?)
Compared to our experience with the "average" Californian, we
have always kind of felt like old grumps about cars. We don't drive SUVs. We don't keep a "spare"
so that we can drive a sports car (or a camper or a boat) on the weekends. We do not clog up the
street with cars which are driven maybe once a month. We do drive nice cars, and keep them clean and in good
condition (and in the garage!). However, our "new" car is a 1999 model, which replaced a 1986 model.
Knowing all this, I was angry but I was also sort of laughing
as I ran out to the parking lot to confront this woman who had just dented my car (OK, "dinged" is probably more accurate)
and was about to drive off. During my jog, I marveled she wasn't looking around to see if anyone else noticed.
She didn't have her head down. She didn't look like she felt guilty. I should have known this was not going
to go smoothly.
As she saw me come running out, she did stop her car. When
she saw me go to side of my car and examine the door, she rolled down her window. When I asked her why she thought it
was OK to ding somebody's car and just drive off, she replied in quick succession:
1) "I didn't hit your car"
2) "It was your fault";
3) "It's not that bad.";
4) "That's what the trim on the side of your car is for.
So that it can get hit like that."
Ignoring the obvious jokes about "pre-ethical" children,
alert readers quickly see an adult being outright dishonest in the first two answers. (Not to mention the fact
more than one was given.) The reality of #3 is not the point. When you damage something, you take
responsibility. Then #4 is clearly a manipulation of the facts, most suitable if you plan to hire a lawyer
and fight things out in court.
In the heat of the moment, the retort I came up with was,
"So you won't mind if I dent the side of your car so that we can be even?" I listened to her list of excuses but couldn't
get through why this was unacceptable behavior. Recognizing the next "logical" step in my progression was to
kick or scratch her car, I eventually gave a dismissive wave and walked away.
Overall, a very unsatisfying encounter.
Over the course of the afternoon, a much better response
came to me:
"If you aren't already ashamed, there's nothing I can
say to shame you now."
Unfortunately, even if I had been able to drum up this rhetorical
gem on the spot, I was still stuck with the door ding.
It occurs to me this experience -and retort- could be a
parable for many areas over the last few years. Instead of seeing the right thing to do --and doing the right thing--
the standard has become "What can I get away with?" and "Where's the edge of the legal/ethical envelope?"
Public companies, rather than take their medicine when results don't
match expectations, dynamically decide what counts and what doesn't. Then they calculate how many shares to buy
back to achieve the desired effect. (Lately, the magic number seems to 1.5 cents which can then be
rounded up to 2...)
Politicians tell us they can balance budgets and ensure
prosperity with nary a moment of risk nor pain. (At least not for them and at least not until after they leave
office.) Rather than admit they can't spend more than they take in, they issue bonds and invent accounting
gimmicks.
Real estate and mortgage agents tell us there is virtually
no chance housing prices will ever decline significantly, so lever up, max out and buy now before it's too late.
They cite facts convenient to their arguments and omit ones which "don't fit" (i.e., contradict) their own strategy of making
as much money for themselves as possible. (In fairness, much of Silicon Valley operates on this same
principle of maximizing the "monetization" of an idea or strategy. However, most of us don't outright distort
data as a means to convince individuals to assume massive debts, just to earn a commission.)
Consumers, presumably thinking each of the above professionals would
be ashamed to brazenly manipulate facts in their favor, follow the pros' advice and believe everything is fine.
And we have to admit, it is not impossible consumers are going to be proven correct. It's possible the last three
years were indeed the time to believe all the worst is permanently behind us and lever up. Who knows...
Conclusion: Except that this story has been
bugging me and I wanted to write about it, I'm not sure there is a point here. Of course, we continue to recommend
thinking for yourself and understanding how the person you hear is motivated (i.e., gets paid). We would be ashamed
to claim we had all the answers.
By the time you recognize who really told
the whole truth vs. who was just cynically manipulating their talking points it, it may be too late.
If the professionals don't already know they should
be ashamed of themselves, you won't even have the consolation of convincing them they should be ashamed.
