Compassion in Business?

So does compassion exist in business dealings?  Should it exist in business?  Or is it OK to say that business is business, and follows a complete different set of rules?

Of course compassion should exist in business decisions!!  What kind of a question was that?!  It's amazing however, how so often business decisions seem to fall under a different set of rules.  And people convince themselves that it's all fine and good because business is business and is separate from the individual.  Ultimately I think if you can convince yourself that being ruthless in business is OK, then you can't convince me that you are a compassionate and kind person outside of business.  You might be able to present that to a point, but somewhere the two ideas have to marry up.

I see a lot of bad judgement when it comes to business.  I'm not saying that you can't make the hard decisions.  And I'm also not saying that sometimes when those decisions are necessary that you are not going to end up hurting another individual to some degree.  But let me tell you, it's not usually the the business decision that is wrong, it's the execution of that decsion - how you go about getting the end result that matters.  Even hard business decision can be executed with compassion, but usually they are not.  People often tend to take the hardline approach, and the 'how' becomes painful and hurtful.

Whatever decisions we make in business, they must be tempered with a solution based in compassion, and I guarantee the end result will be on friendlier terms.  You will have gained respect from the people involved, and from the onlookers.  Just keep compassion as the driving factor for your solutions, and you'll be sleeping better at night!