Henry Ford once said, “There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible.” Ford was interested in producing an automobile for the mass market and he knew that if he didn’t pay a reasonable wage, the masses wouldn’t be able to buy his cars.

This is a pretty simple concept that seems to get lost periodically.

Robert Reich, in TheNation.com , recently pointed out that the two biggest economic crises in our country occurred in the year following peaks in the percentage of income going to the richest 1% of Americans. In 1928 and 2007, almost a quarter of the income went to 1% of the people. In the late 70s, only 8 or 9% of America’s total income went to the richest 1%. Draw your own conclusions. 

Yes, the game of business requires a determination to win, but that doesn’t mean someone else has to lose.

If you cut employee wages and benefits as low as the market allows, you are damaging the community and the economy in which you hope to succeed and live. Squeezing the blood out of suppliers is no different than taking advantage of your own employees. It is one thing to want to win, it is another to win at the expense of others. Seek win-win solutions in all things so that we may all live enriched lives.