Classic JobShuk

Although we have a few business deals in this parsha, due to their unique nature, we won’t analyze those this week. Instead, we’ll focus on one’s attitude towards business, and subsequently, life in general.

When looking over the parsha, one can’t help but notice the "Cardinal Sins" demonstrated by some of our greatest forefathers. Excuse me for borrowing from a non-Jewish concept, but we’re shown greed, jealousy, and pride, to name a few. Let’s have a look at the details before we draw any conclusions.

From Avraham to Yitzchak to Yaakov, only one son is chosen to carry on the family tradition and subsequently, the promises of a great nation. My rabbi R’ Yaakov Beasley called it "passing the football." This is not the ideal way to build a nation, but it was the reality until the sons of Yaakov came along.

Yaakov loved Yosef more than the other sons and would have chosen him to carry the family torch. Yosef was aware of this and became proud and oblivious to his family’s feelings. The brothers grew jealous and resorted to getting rid of Yosef in an underhanded attempt to change the future.

Meanwhile, Yehuda fears for the life of his youngest son Sheila after his other two sons die upon marrying Tamar. He greedily withholds Sheila from Tamar, betraying his obligation to her, so she tricks Yehuda into giving her a son, finally fulfilling the obligation.

Yosef’s vanity continues to get him into trouble as he unwittingly seduces the wife of his boss, Potifar. This lands him in jail where he interprets 2 dreams, that the head baker will be killed and the head wine steward will be freed.

The final Rashi of this parsha seems to sum up the entire drama which took place. Rashi writes that because Yosef depended on the head wine steward to get him freed, Hashem kept him in jail for 2 more years. Most scholars believe that Yosef’s actions here do not reflect one’s necessary hishtadlut, effort, in rectifying a situation while maintaining a belief in Hashem’s will and assistance. His faith was solely in man and as such, Hashem’s redemption was not swift.

Similarly, with the "passing of the football", Yosef and his brothers should have recognized the unique nature of their situation and had faith that Hashem would allow all of them to be pillars of the nation of Israel. Had Yehuda given over Sheila and trusted in Hashem’s decrees, maybe he would have saved himself the embarrassment of impregnating his own daughter-in-law.

When developing or running your own business, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that past trends will continue, or that relinquishing some control will lead to the business’ demise. This causes people to suffer from anxiety and sometimes sin through lying and cheating in an attempt to take the upper hand.

This parsha teaches us to put our faith in Hashem and do that which is good in His eyes, and He will guide us along our path to ultimate success. 

Parshat Vayishlach contains 2 major stories of military strategy employed by Yaakov and his sons on their return to Israel. The first story concerns Yaakov’s confrontation with his brother Eisav, and the second tells us of his sons’ dealings with Chamor and Shchem.

But what do these have to do with business? It’s not a coincidence that military strategy books, such as Sun Tzu’s The Art of War have become invaluable resources to business people all over the world.
Businesses cannot rest in peace any more than a Country in the game Risk can rely defenselessly on a treaty with a fellow player, no more than Shchem could trust the treaty with the children of Yaakov, the very people he defiled.

Employing business strategies is not reserved for the ruthless and unethical masses. Those strategies, if gone unchecked, are despicable in the eyes of G-d, and will ultimately fail as the people become aware of this deplorable behavior. Responsible and honest strategies, on the other hand, are a necessity to the survival of any business. Any success, no matter the barrier to entry, will meet some conflict, either by competition, government, or the people. Preparing for conflict is an obligation. Just as Yaakov employed careful strategies when approaching Eisav, such as dividing his camp, sending gifts, and parting ways quickly, to name a few, so should we be equally careful with our businesses.

Delving a bit deeper, the splitting of the camp into 2 is presented in the Torah as Yaakov’s most blatant act of preparation for war. Unfortunately, many business people fail to learn the lesson of "don’t put all your eggs in one basket" and lack vital things such as:

1. Multiple suppliers
2. Multiple buyers/revenue streams
3. Exit strategy (plan for failure)
4. Willingness to take a small loss

Let us all learn these lessons from our forefathers and prepare our businesses to guarantee for future successes.

Begrudgingly, we’re going to learn a business lesson this week from Lavan. I can offer 2 justifications for this: 1) since the history of the Jewish people was kick-started through Lavan’s intervention, it must have been G-d’s will, 2) we can still learn positive lessons from the actions of bad people.

Without saying that the end justified the means, Lavan is the king of Supersizing. Also known as up-selling, Lavan wouldn’t settle for marrying off just one daughter to Yaakov in exchange for 7 years of labor. Although his technique more resembled the bait & switch, Lavan "sold" Yaakov both Leah and Rachel at full price (7 years apiece). He even threw in maid-servants for each to sweeten the deal.

How does one up-sell? You have to use your eyes and you mind to assess the customer’s needs and concerns, meaning, pay attention. Also, always keep the idea of selling in your own mind so that you’re ready to sell when they’re ready to buy. Offer a solution to their needs instead of a product, and the price will become unimportant.

Point of notice 1: Lavan sees that Yaakov is looking to marry.
Point of notice 2: Lavan probably knows of G-d’s promise to Avraham to make him into a large nation, and suspects it may take more than 1 wife to make it a reality for Yaakov.
Point of notice 3: Yaakov is stricken by Rachel, and would agree to do almost anything for her, including marry her sister.

I tend to be quite cheap when it comes to buying myself luxuries, although I do have a weakness for meat, as you may have noticed in previous posts. I habitually reject offers to sell me something, and only afterwards consider going back and accepting. But one time in a deli, I ordered a corned beef sandwich. Instead of asking if I want double meat for a few extra Shekel, the cashier recommended that Turkey breast goes great in a sandwich with corned beef. I heartily agreed, and a mere few Shekel later, I was enjoying my supersized sandwich.

I recently approached a company and proposed doing business with them. I suggested a partnership of unspecified terms, or an advertising campaign to their clients. I had my wallet open, figuratively, awaiting an offer. They came back to me rejecting a partnership, but didn’t try to sell me any advertising either. What fools!

Don’t be like Lavan, but learn from his salesmanship, recognize opportunities, and offer solutions to be on the path to better business.

Once again, our Parsha begins with a business transaction. This time, it takes place between two brothers, Eisav and Yaakov, over a strange item: the right of the firstborn child, the Bechora.

The background to this story is rather limited. Eisav is a hunter, he has his father’s love, and he returns from hunting on this one occasion rather tired. Yaakov is a simple tent dweller, beloved by his mother, and is currently preparing a lentil dish.

Eisav demands the dish and freely accepts it in exchange for the Bechora. He has two major factors keeping him from dealing with this situation rationally. First, his exhaustion leads him to desperation, and he thinks only of the current state of affairs. Second, he is confident in his father’s love and doesn’t see the value in the Bechora since he expects a good blessing from Yitzchak regardless.

Yaakov recognizes the opportunity in front of him, and the importance of the Bechora. It represents more than the love of his father; It’s a paved road for his future and his descendants. As love can wax and wane, and opportunities missed are opportunities lost, Yaakov springs into action to guarantee his future.

In business, as in life, we must act like Yaakov and consider our future and the outcomes of our actions, and not be blinded by the fleeting here and now.

Welcome to my new Parshat HaShavua series discussing business principles and ethics as they relate to the weekly Torah portion.

You may be wondering where the first 2 volumes of this series are. They were delivered on Shabbat, and are still in my head. I’ll put them in here soon before I forget, no worries.

As a further note of introduction, this explanation was given on this page prior to the joke that I’ve inserted at the bottom.

"Nisht in Shabbos Gereht" is an expression that religious Jews use on the Sabbat when they are about to say something inappropriate for discussion on the Sabbat day.

Parshat Chayei Sara begins with one of the Torah’s most famous business deals – Avraham’s purchase of Mearat HaMachpeila from Ephron HaChiti. The point most often made emphasizes the honesty of Avraham and the conniving greed of Ephron. Honesty and greed aside, Avraham might have "sensed" the future turmoil over the ownership of this land. He knew that he had to protect his investment in such a way that the transaction could not be questioned and invalidated. He insisted on paying full price for the land, and even a bit more, so that the deal would be done and that no one else could stake claim to it.

We see a similar situation a bit later in the Parsha with Eliezer. Eliezer makes a deal with Avraham to take a wife for Yitzchak from Avraham’s family, not from the Canaanites. He also makes a deal with Hashem to make some signs come true so that he knows which girl is the right one. When Hashem presents him with Rivka through the signs, Eliezer gives her gifts, and then confirms that she is, in fact, from Avraham’s family. When telling over the story to Rivka’s family, he feels the need to change the order, such that he asked about her family before giving the gifts. It seemed to Eliezer that her family would object to the true nature of the events. Perhaps they see it strange that he gave her gifts without knowing her family, perhaps they didn’t believe in Hashem’s help that the fulfillment of the sign meant this girl was Avraham’s family too. Perhaps they would see the gifts as a present to a girl, and not a proposal and betrothal, which would entitle them to the gifts without requiring the marriage. Regardless, Eliezer believed he had to tell the story this way, and then hurry Rivka out of there, to secure this deal and avoid complications.

Like Avraham and Eliezer, we should protect our investments, especially those important to us. We shouldn’t involve ourselves in too much negotiation. We should secure the deal and make sure there is no ill will, and continue on our journey.

And now, the awful joke, as mentioned above:

These two guys are sitting in Shul on Shabbat morning when the first guy says to the second, rather quietly and secretively. "Nisht in Shabbos Gereht, but I’ve just put my car up for sale."

The second guy responds, just as quietly and just as secretively. "Nisht in Shabbos Gereht, but what kind of car is it?"

First guy: "Nisht in Shabbos Gereht, but it’s a Cadillac, late model, low mileage, and is in creampuff condition."

Second Guy. "Nisht in Shabbos Gereht, but how much are you asking for it?"

First Guy. "Nisht in Shabbos Gereht, but I’m asking 15 thousand dollars."

Second Guy. "Nisht in Shabbos Gereht, but let me think about it."

They meet again in the afternoon at Mincha, when the second guy corners the first guy and says quietly, "Nisht in Shabbos Gereht, but I’ll offer you 12 for it."

The first guy responds. "Nisht in Shabbos Gereht, but I sold it already."