9346$$$$FM

CHAPTER THREE

Kindness and

Compassion

‘‘Did I not cry for those in trouble?’’

—J29:16

‘‘Oh king, be kind to the oppressed... It may be that then your prosper-

ity will continue.’’

—D. 4:27

indness and compassion have not always been considered
necessary components of business leadership. Until about a
generation ago, the paradigm for American business was
‘‘command and control,’’ otherwise known as Theory X,
whose assumptions included:

❖People are naturally lazy and need the threat of punishment to

make them work.

❖Kindness to employees will too often be interpreted as an invi-

tation to slack off from the achievement of key business results.

The leaders of the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, often seem
to subscribe to Theory X. The Bible is full of episodes where misbehav-

49