Guy Reams (00:00.654)
Today is day 188, Greed is good. No, Greed gets a bad rap, bad rapport. People have learned to just not like Greed. Ebenezer Scrooge, that guy on Mario Brothers, whatever his name was. Burns from The Simpsons. You know, all these characters that we learn to revile and hate. Gollum from The Lord of the Rings, all these greedy, kniving,
creatures the way that greed is depicted on our movies and on our shows that we watch and the books that we read. But greed is not always bad. I got reminded of that this weekend as I listened to a speaker at this event I was at. And I've thought this concept before. It's not a new concept. But greed is a very simple motive. Like you can really understand the motive of greed.
Sometimes people have different motives, like they'll have agreed for recognition or agreed for, you know, they'll have a different, you know, motivation for, you know, I don't know, lots of different motivations out there. I'm not sure what they all are. I often remember what they all are. There's, I'm sure there's like self -actualization or different types of things, or maybe there's some desire to help or others, or there's lots of good.
good, valuable motivations that are out there. But greed is a very simple one. It's something that we can all understand. It's not complex. When you know somebody that's greedy, you know exactly what'll motivate them. You know exactly what'll inspire them, what'll get them going. So greedy people are pretty easy to work with, because you know what they want. I'm okay with greedy people being very transparent about it. Problem is, is we tend to...
We tend to criticize greed so much that people go into hiding. So a lot of people are greedy in their motivations, but they're hiding their greed because they don't want to be found out. And I just think that that's probably bad. We actually should be okay with greedy people. Now, greed has many benefits besides just being a simple motivator. Greed also, people that are greedy tend to work really hard. They tend to be persistent, they tend to be stubborn, they tend to show up.
Guy Reams (02:25.358)
They tend to get the work done. They work very hard. They're pushing for progress. Greedy people are constantly trying to get other people to help them get what they need done. When a greedy person works in your organization, they tend to push the organization to greater heights, to take on new challenges, to get out of their fixed mindset. Greedy people tend to be growth -minded people. Greedy people are aggressive. They like to work hard. So,
For a company that's trying to grow or a new business that's trying to get a foothold in a market, they absolutely need and want to have greedy people working for them.
Now I agree that having too many greedy people around can be negative. It can create a caustic culture and us versus, or me versus you culture. But the reverse is true as well. Not having enough greedy people can be very detrimental. It can lead to a mediocre and underperforming organization. You'll end up with a culture that does not grow. So you need greedy people. Now, if the word greed makes you feel uncomfortable, let's use the word ambitious. It's really the same thing.
In either case, it's probably a very good point to draw clear ethical boundaries that greedy or ambitious people cannot cross. But assuming those lines are not crossed, having ambitious people around generally helps you get to greater goals, pushes the organization forward. Generally, they will end up causing you to push to new innovation, and they will be the most determined, hardworking people.
So at times in my life, I've been pegged as a greedy person. I used to feel bad about this, like, oh man, people think I'm greedy. But now I've changed my mind. I've now decided to embrace the concept. Yes, I am greedy. I'm greedy for more benefit for my family. I'm greedy to earn more so that I can fund the causes I have going on. I'm greedy in my goals and very passionate about my goals. I'm very greedy about.
Guy Reams (04:32.43)
I want to have a better place, a better society, a better community. I'm really greedy about that. I'm greedy for better relationships and better friends. I'm greedy for success, for growth, for profit. I'm greedy for that. So count me greedy. I'd be glad to work for, work with, and hire anyone who shares the same attribute. Embrace the greed. Greed is good.