“It’s like giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell.”

~Steve Jobs

(This was said at the June 2007 D: All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, CA. Jobs was referring to Apple’s popular iTunes music program being available to Windows OS users.)

The sad fact is that most of us are oblivious to this reality. Day in and day out we read of corporate executives who bend or blur or flat out erase the lines between what is right and wrong and we say, “That is wrong!” and then we go back to our goal of succeeding at all costs. Federal regulations aren’t going to fix the problem, neither are shareholders (although they have a stronger influence on executives). Fixing the people isn’t going to do anything, first we need to fix society.

A recent article on ESPN.com brings to light a serious problem we have in our society: win at all costs. I admit that in this discussion it is very difficult to draw ethical lines, but I think it’s safe to say that we can do better than we’re doing.

Maybe we shouldn’t blame the executives, maybe we should blame the shareholders, or the analysts, or the stock market, or if we take anything from the ESPN story, we should blame the little league coaches. Since when was winning everything? This notion is taught to us in our youth, and we aren’t savvy enough to see that greed and selfishness are driving this problem. We have become a society blinded by success and this vicious cycle isn’t showing signs of slowing anytime soon. I think success is a good thing, we should try to succeed, but when that success is driven by greed and selfishness, and it causes a decline in human decency, then it becomes a problem.

I believe that part of being the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth is the responsibility to give back — you might call it charity. And although our government spends a lot of money in humanitarian aid, where have all the great philanthropists gone? I agree with Warren Buffett, we need more people to do what he is doing. As much as Bill Gates is despised for his apparent world domination through Microsoft, here is a man who not only runs one of the largest corporations in the world, but also THE largest philanthropic organization in the world.

What’s the value of giving back? I think deep down it reminds us that there are others in the world and that we aren’t alone on an island. Giving back can be more than just monetary. Giving back can be as simple as giving someone a chance they might not have otherwise had.

I also think that there is something to be said for that warm, fuzzy feeling we get when we do help others. I think that helping others, even just a little, would go a long way in helping our society overcome the greed and selfishness that are currently driving us.

My Two Cents: We will do well in doing good. Winning isn’t everything, it’s something, something we should strive for, but not at all costs!