For a long time it has seemed to me that someone should endeavor to set down briefly and consecutively the words of Jesus of Nazareth that apply most specifically to industrial relations. These words could then serve as a guide to labor and management in the practical application of Christian principles to what may be called human engineering.
With this objective in mind I have read through my New Testament several times, marking the words of the Master that seem to me to have the most significance for industry. Reading the New Testament in this light, I discovered that it is the world's greatest manual on human relations. To present the teachings of Jesus in full as they apply to industry would require a sizable book, and sizable books on serious subjects are read by too few. So I have endeavored to select the ten statements that summarize, in my opinion, the application of the Christian principles to human relations in business and industry.
1. "Agree with thine adversary quickly."
You must get in step with a man and start moving in his direction, with him, to influence him to go your way willingly. The tugs that pull the giant steamships out of the harbors into the open sea do not crash head-on into the sides of the giant ships. They ease themselves alongside, heading in the same direction as the steamships, and soon the little tugs work the miracle of pulling the majestic ocean liners in the desired direction.
Head-on human collisions cause many wrecks in industry. Arguments are won at the cost of friendships. The wise foreman or executive knows the power of suggestion. He rubs the fur the right way. He gets results by indirection. He mentally disarms his adversary by first agreeing with him and then gradually swinging him in the direction he wishes him to go. He uses the soft answer to turn away wrath. Instead of throwing dynamite into the fire of ill will, he uses the fire extinguisher of tact and understanding to put out the fire. He gets into the other fellow's shoes before he passes judgment. He knows that honey catches more flies than vinegar. Instead of driving men he draws out the best in them. He makes them desire to go his way by making his way their way also. When Jesus said, "Come ye after me, and I will make you fishers of men," He was talking the language of the men He wished to win to His cause. He was using the technique we are outlining here.
2. "And whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two."
Someone has defined a genius as a man with his heart harnessed to his task. The first mile that a Roman soldier could compel a Jew to carry his burden was drudgery for the Jew. It was something he was forced to do; his heart was not in it. But when a man goes the second mile of his own accord, because he wants to render the service, that is when he finds happiness. One of the big tasks of industry is to glorify work, to inspire workers, to put the thrill of heart interest into work.
In his famous sermon on "The Second Mile," Harry Emerson Fosdick said: "Underneath every other practical necessity is the elemental "must" of the breadwinner. Now this compulsion may be faced in one of two ways. If he will, a man may accept it doggedly, skimpingly perform the bare requirements, and bitterly trudge that one scant mile.
"Thousands of men work that way, with their eyes on the clock. Or a man may welcome the necessity of work, recognize the dignity of honest toil, and in that way go the second mile, translating duty into privilege. Work, greeted like that, loses the frown of compulsion and begins to smile. When a man works that way he feels that it is his meat and drink, wishes there were more hours in the day than twenty-four, and dreams of heaven as a place where a man can work all the time at his best and never be tired. All the slavery of work vanishes for such a man."
Sweat and toil and labor have been considered ugly words, something to dodge. These words must be given new and inspired meaning by industry. We must revise the definitions. Industry should go the "second mile" to make working conditions safer, easier, friendlier, cleaner, more enjoyable. Give the worker more than he expects and you will get more than you expect from the worker. "Give, and it shall be given unto you."
3. "Every tree . . . that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."
To succeed men must be creators, not parasites. They must bear the fruits of energy, ideas, ideals, methods, plans, designs. They must produce, achieve, contribute! Thus only do they grow and serve. Success must be earned, it must be deserved. There are those who seem to get by without giving forth good fruit, but they are riding for a fall. Sooner or later they will be cast into the fire. To get from life we must give to life. The richer our gifts the more we will receive in return. The law of compensation works for us or against us, depending on the kind of material we furnish it to work with.
A business organization may also be likened to a tree. It must serve the public, it must give forth good products, honest products, quality products if it is to grow and flourish. It must perform a useful function and give value "pressed down, shaken together, running over" if it is to survive. In the years ahead business competition will be intense. The consumers will demand only "good fruit." The firms that fail to deliver will be cast into the fire of failure. Like individuals, a business must give or go! The only sound basis on which to build a life or a business is to bear good fruit.
4. "All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets."
I purposely did not put the Golden Rule first in my list of the Master's words, because that is where you would expect to find it. Everyone agrees that the Golden Rule expresses life's highest idealism. So much has been said about the Golden Rule that talking about it has become somewhat commonplace. But there is nothing commonplace about its application. Somehow I think we have come to think of the Golden Rule in its national and international applications to such an extent that we have missed applying it in the many little ways in which we could put it into daily use. There would be no wars if all nations practiced the Golden Rule, we say, forgetting that many little wars could be eliminated in the same way, little wars in our homes, in our offices, in our factories.
Here is how you can put the Golden Rule into action tomorrow. Make a list of the things you like to have people do to you, then do those things to them. Do you like praise? Then praise others. Praise your wife's dinner. Praise the men under you for the good work they are doing. Praise your children for the good marks they are getting in school. You like to have others greet you with a cheerful "Good morning!" don't you? Then greet them that way.
The Golden Rule is a long rule; it reaches from you here on earth to the highest peak of mankind's ideals. And as we use it today where we are, we best extend its use into all spheres of life.
5. "Not that which entereth into the mouth defileth the man; but that which proceedeth out of the mouth, this defileth the man."
The ranting, hysterical words of hatred and bitterness issuing forth from the mouth of Adolph Hitler plunged the world into what was perhaps the most terrible war in all history. And in those words and the ideas expressed were the seeds of his own doom. They set into motion mighty forces of retaliation to bring about his destruction.
Hitler is the world's number one example of the destructive power of negative thinking. He sought victory through hatred, he poisoned the thought life of his people, he created worldwide ill will, and he reaped what he sowed. The law must work.
Almost all the trouble in the world is created by things people think, say, and write. Words of anger, malice, hatred, resentment, jealousy, like physical blows, cause people to hit back. Overbearing, demanding words create determined resistance. And the attitudes of mind back of them, even though we do not speak the words, are sensed by others. For the telepathic power of thought is no longer merely a theory. Thoughts are things.
Abraham Lincoln is a glowing example of one who in thought, word, and deed endeavored to express the goodness of God. What came out of his mouth and his heart united men, created understanding, established teamwork and harmony. He expressed justice, calmness, quietness, tolerance, good will, love. What a contrast to the wild, excited, angry words and attitudes that separate men and create wide seas of misunderstanding between them.
Hitler's attitudes and words have defiled him and made him one of the most hated men of all history. Lincoln's attitudes and words have made him one of the most beloved men of the ages.
That which comes out of your mouth, your expression of ideas and attitudes, the visible and audible expression of what goes on in your mind and heart--this paints your portrait for the world to see! This determines in a mighty measure your success in your contacts with others.
In Tibet, when the natives meet, they stick out their tongues at each other. This is to show that there are no evil words on their tongues! It should also mean that there are no evil thoughts in their heads. Labor and management should sit down at the conference table in the same spirit.
6. "And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant."
These twelve words express the ideal of leadership in a democracy. Not the great dictator but the great servant is the symbol of the leader. Such a philosophy of leadership involves not so much a sense of power as a sense of obligation. Such a leader does not hold people down; he lifts them up. He does not repress people; he endeavors to express their wishes, purposes, aims. He does not tear men down; he builds men up. He seeks out their undeveloped capacities and helps men and women to grow and expand their personalities.
A business builder today must also be a man builder. He duplicates himself in others. He serves his employees by helping them to succeed, and in doing this he also best serves his business, helping it to grow. He realizes that many big men in a business make a stronger business than a business with only one big man at the head of it. Employees are jewels to be polished.
The totalitarian concept of leadership considers the people the slaves of the State. The great servant concept considers the people as the ones to be served.
The top executive of a business should think of himself as a master servant of employees, customers, and stockholders. He is working for them. In the measure that he wins their loyalty and devotion he will create a spirit of teamwork and harmony, and lead the business along the road to true prosperity and success.
Labor, too, should consider itself as a servant. From top executive to janitor all who work are paid by customers. The customer is the big boss of all of us. The amount of money in our pay envelope depends on how well we serve the customer and how many customers we hold year after year.
Service is the key to true leadership of both men and institutions.
7. "Feed my sheep."
The wise executive feeds the whole man. Much of our lack of harmony in industry has been due to the fact that we have thought in terms of physical hunger alone; we have concentrated on the monetary return to the worker. Men have many hungers to be satisfied. Men hunger for appreciation, praise, recognition, acceptance as worthwhile personalities. Adler, one of the major figures in modern psychiatry, said that most of all a man wants to feel significant; he wants to feel that he counts. Another psychologist lists four things that men live by--work, play, love, and worship. When these four factors are balanced in a man's life, he attains happiness. The modern executive broadens the scope of his work to include all the factors that make for human happiness.
Leland Stowe, famous war correspondent, told a group of us one of the secrets of Russian morale. Almost every regiment has a newspaper where the names of men doing heroic deeds are listed. By satisfying this hunger for recognition great soldiers are made. Medals and insignia of rank in all armed forces serve a similar purpose. Industry should adopt similar techniques.
A sales research organization checked the motives of salesmen. Monetary return was fourth in the list! Ahead of it came the desire to excel, the desire to be a leader, the desire to win a prize often of little monetary value.
Many of us have been amazed at the "foolish" reasons for calling many strikes and walkouts in industry. Often the strikes have not involved wages or hours. Psychologically the hidden factors have been pride, exhibitionism, loyalty to fellow workers, and desire to be recognized.
A new day will dawn in industry as executives heed the command of Jesus to, "Feed my sheep." When men are given something more than bread to work for, when the pay is expanded beyond the satisfying of physical hunger alone, to include the hungers of mind, heart, and spirit, then we shall be drawing near to the goal of brotherhood in industry.
8. "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
I talked with an executive recently who is intensely bitter and resentful toward his employees. He feels that they have been traitors to the management, that they have let him down, that they have walked rough-shod over him and taken advantage of the war situation to gain their ends. He is waiting eagerly for revenge. He intends to get that revenge as soon as unemployment looms on the horizon.
The future of industry depends in large measure on executives' being big enough, great enough, and noble enough to forgive and forget, to wipe the slate clean of malice, intolerance, and bitterness. Now as never before in the history of industrial America the times call for true greatness. It is my opinion that the great majority of industrial leaders will rise to the occasion. They will meet the challenge to be big enough and great enough to turn from the misunderstandings of yesterday and walk gallantly into the future.
Labor, too, must be big enough to forgive. At times it has been exploited, ignored, and taken advantage of. It must be great enough to forgive the sins of management, as management forgives the sins of labor. Each must humbly acknowledge its own shortcomings and not attempt to blame the other for all the discord and friction. Both have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
The only effective antidote for the poison of hatred and bitterness is forgiveness. Forgiveness is a mental sulfa drug--a miracle medicine--which can do much to restore industry to spiritual health and vigor.
Hatred, bitterness, and resentment build barriers between men which can only be melted away by forgiveness. Forgiveness sweeps the way clear for a fresh start.
When Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive his enemies the Master's reply was that he should forgive his enemies "until seventy times seven" times. That is four hundred and ninety times! That is something to shoot at for both labor and management. Only if we are big enough to forgive shall we be saved.
9. "Every city or house divided against itself shall not stand."
When labor and management sit down at the conference table, God should be on both sides of the table! With God on both sides of the table the decisions made will be for the mutual good of management and labor.
Labor and management live in the same house. Their interests are identical; they play on the same team. What hurts the business as a whole hurts both labor and management. What is good for business as a whole is good for both labor and management.
A professional union leader of the old school confided to me his working philosophy. He believes that it is his job to fight management constantly. He does not agree even when he knows management is in the right, for to agree would be to acknowledge weakness and lose face with his followers. He treats management as an enemy, not a friend. Off the record he will admit that he is often just putting on an act, but he says that only by picking flaws and finding fault and waging constant war with management can he make a job for himself. This type of leader is unionism's greatest enemy. He divides the house and brings it down on all our heads!
The new union leader considers labor and management a partnership. He believes that by fighting together for a common cause labor and management will go much farther than by fighting each other. He recognizes that the earning power of a business depends on cutting costs and increasing production, and that only as a business earns more can it pay more. Therefore he believes that it is to labor's advantage to help cut costs and increase production and that to do anything else is to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. He sells labor on uniting with management, pulling in the same direction, working together. He is the creator of industrial harmony, not discord. The future of unionism depends on the multiplication of this type of leadership.
The only way for a business firm to get its house in order for the future is to make it a house united! The "Men Working" sign should be changed to read "Men Working Together!"
10. "Stretch forth thy hand."
When Jesus healed the withered hand of the man in the synagogue He commanded, "Stretch forth thy hand!" And the hand was restored. It seems to me that the command of Jesus to this generation might well be summed up in those words. They radiate the spirit of Christianity, dynamic Christianity in action among men. "Stretch forth thy hand!" Stretch it forth in friendship, in sincerity, in good will. Executives, stretch forth your hands to labor. Labor, stretch forth your hands to management. White men, stretch forth your hand to the Negro! The open, outstretched hand harbors no knife of treachery! It is the universal symbol of peace, harmony, co-operation.
Don't wait for the other person to step forward and stretch out his hand to you first. You start it! To make a friend be a friend. To win good will give good will. "Stretch forth thy hand!" The outstretched hands of men and women of all groups, classes, races, and colors can restore and heal all America and make us a strong and united nation.