Posts Tagged Mercantile Ethic

In Die Broke, Stephen M. Pollan and Mark Levine propose “a radical, four-part financial plan to restore your confidence, increase your net worth, and afford you the lifestyle of your dreams.” Hey, sign me up!  The book, first published in 1997, attempts to poke holes in conventional financial and estate planning.  Though published over ten years ago, the material seems rather timely, namely the authors’ assumption that real estate values will be stagnant, and excessive borrowing will lead to financial ruin.  Let’s take a look at the four-part plan. We’ll start with the first step, called Quit Today.

Step One: Quit Today

The first step in the Die Broke philosophy is to realize that job security is dead.  The authors want us to give up hope of following the outdated Career Ethic that created the loyal, organization man of our parents’ time.  We shouldn’t be defined by our jobs, or seek self-fulfillment from our careers.  We should separate ourselves from our jobs, to pay more attention to our own bottom lines as we do to our company’s.  A job should be used to generate the money necessary for you to pursue your financial goals, and nothing more.  The authors call this the Mercantile Ethic, and lay out these principles:

1. It’s Just a Job - Forget about a holistic work life, and concentrate on actually having a life.
2. Jump Ship - Quit in your head, as the only way to increase job satisfaction and/or income is to get another job.  The more job hopping that you do, the more likely you’ll increase income.  Always look for a new job.
3. Short Term is the Only Term - Long-term benefits like pensions are worthless if you’re fired before becoming fully vested.  Focus instead on short-term benefits that will improve your quality of life, such as health insurance, day care, parental leave, telecommuting, flex-time, and even health club memberships.
4. Lateral is Better than Vertical - It’s better to take a lateral move that expands your skills than it is to take a position with greater responsibility.  There’s probably no increase in pay, just the chance to be a scapegoat.  Added skills make it easier to jump ship.
5. Will This Be on the Test? - Learn exactly what’s expected of you and do it the best you can.  Do your job well, then go home.
6. Just Do It -  Pay no attention to company politics.  Who gets credit doesn’t matter.
7. There Are No Dues - There’s no point in paying your dues, as jobs must make economic sense from day one.
8. Show Me the Money - The only reward that matters is what you are paid.  Everything other than money can come from the rest of your life.  Your job is the only part of your life that will bring you money, so you need to maximize that.

My Take:

1. Wow, and here I was following Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs all these years.  I’ve always looked for something else besides money from my job, whether it’s friendship, company softball games, golf outings, respect, etc.
2. I tend to only look for a new job when I feel that I’ve stopped learning.  I treat my job as a kind of paid schooling. Why leave if class isn’t over yet?
3. I don’t know about you, but if I have to put in an extra year to become vested in a pension, I’m doing my best to try to stick around.
4. I agree with this one,  why take a promotion on a promise of greater income, when the company would have to hire someone from outside at the going rate.
5. You should always know what your job responsibilities are, and they should be defined by your boss.
6. It’s hard to ignore company politics if they affect you directly.
7. I think you have to pay some dues when you join a new company.  It’s just part of learning the job, and earning people’s respect.
8. I guess the bottom line is the bottom line, though I do get more out of my job than just a paycheck.

We’ll take a look at Step 2, Pay Cash, in Part 2 of the Die Broke review.

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