Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

It’s Only Common Sense: ‘A Christmas Carol’ Lesson

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is one of the best and most original business books you can read. It’s full of valuable lessons that apply to all facets of business, even today, more than 180 years after it was written. This time of the year you can watch any version you like, from the 1938 Reginald Owen version to the 1951 Alastair Sim version to Disney, the Muppets and Mr. Magoo. Even Bill Murray has his own version. Given that, I’ll move forward on the assumption you know the story.

Except you’ve probably never thought about it as a business story. In fact, it’s probably a book you think you’ve read, but haven’t. You’ve probably only watched the movie. So, in that holiday spirit, here are six things we can learn in business from A Christmas Carol.

Content is king: First, the book was written to point out the cruelness of poverty at that time in England. Dickens wanted the readers to realize how hard things were for those who did not have any money. As Scrooge himself points out, to paraphrase, “There are the debtors’ prisons and workhouses and my taxes pay for those, so I’m doing my part already; leave me alone.” In short, I’ve got mine, the heck with them.

Dickens had a fantastic ability to wrap this terrible message about the state of things in this warm and fuzzy wool blanket of a wonderful Christmas story. This is a perfect example of using good content to get your message out in the most effective way possible.

Resiliency: Okay, so Scrooge had a rough childhood. The visit with the Ghost of Christmas Past shows us that his old man wasn’t that kind, at one time, but as sister Fan says, “Father is so much kinder now.” So, get over yourself Scrooge. Don’t let your history define your future. You have a choice, you can learn from your hardships and start doing good, or you can let them affect you forever and mess up your life. No matter what life throws at you, the ability to bounce back is what makes you a successful person in the end.

All business is people business: Speaking of success, how successful are you if all you care about is making money? Business is about finding ways to help people in ways that will earn you a living. Scrooge might have been very rich, but he was never going to be successful.

Treat your employees well: This is what business is all about and we are feeling this today more than ever before. For the first time in decades, it is an employees’ market. They are picking and choosing where they want to work. They are evaluating potential companies they can work with, and if they don’t think that company treats employees well, they won’t be hiring on.

Not to mention that the better your treat your employees the more productive they will be and the better they will treat your customers. Old Fezziwig proved that with his wonderful Christmas party for his entire staff and family. That’s another lesson Scrooge did not learn, exemplified when he ends up seeing old Fezziwig going out of business. The phrase “Nice guys finish last" is etched in his business brain.

Change is great: Those who embrace change with open arms will succeed; those who do not will keep making the same mistakes repeatedly. It’s pretty safe to say that old Scrooge hated change. He wanted things to stay the same—miserable. He liked miserable. We all know people like that, don’t we? Even today, some business owners would rather let their businesses die than find and accept a new way of doing things. If you need an example, think how many times a day you hear someone say things like, “This social media stuff doesn’t work,” “I tried LinkedIn once. I set it up and it didn’t work. I did not get a shred of new business,” or “Don’t get me started on those Google ads; a friend of mine did that and he didn’t get any business at all.” Show me a company that hates and rejects change, and I will show you a company that is slowly dying. Scrooge and Marley was a walking dead company as the ghost of Marley points out.

Purpose: Finally, a company must have a mission, and that mission has to go beyond making money. Scrooge was a money lender. I am sure his lending company was what we euphemistically call an “alternative lender,” or one that charges what they want in terms of interest and lends to those who have no other choice. Those companies are in the money business, not the people business. Business is all about people and helping to meet their needs, whether it be lending money or building products. Your company’s purpose must be to help people meet their needs. Do that and money will come your way.

To end on a good note, we see that Scrooge learns the lessons he needs from the mentorship of his visiting ghosts. “I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.” And from what I can see by the smile on his face in every single version of the movies, he was a very happy fella, and a real success. So, this year when you watch your favorite movie version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, don’t think of it as goofing off; instead, think of everything you’re learning to improve your business and that’s a good thing.

It’s only common sense.

Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group.