Answering the Call of the Business Underworld

Why do we find Star Wars so captivating? It’s not just about the heroes; imagine Luke Skywalker without Darth Vader. The villain or obstacle in a story often plays a more crucial role than the protagonist, and modern writers have become adept at crafting “relatable villains” to draw us into the narrative.

Similarly, in business, you often hear the same things about customer service, quality, and employee care. Yet, poor customer service, low quality, and tedious work cultures aren’t always the result of bad intentions. Many businesses start with good intentions but eventually succumb to the allure of the dark side. The dark side is powerful! Think of the way the emperor taunted Luke before zapping him with lightning. Overcoming the dark side takes more than just words; you must be prepared.

So how can you avoid falling into this trap?

If you stay in business long enough, someone will take advantage of you. It might be a client who doesn’t pay after multiple promises, someone writing a bad check, or an unfair Yelp review lashing out at you. You will get burned. Sometimes these experiences provide valuable lessons for improvement, but often there’s nothing you can do. It can feel helpless, but resist the urge to punish the 99.9% of good customers because of a few bad ones.

Even those close to you—employees, partners, vendors, even your mom—might do something that feels like a betrayal. This feeling of betrayal can lead you down a negative path, thinking, “If they don’t care about me, why should I care about them?” The longer you’re in business, the more betrayals you’ll face. You either let go of the bitterness or risk embracing the dark side.

Following the straight and narrow can be tiresome. Day in and day out, doing the right thing, being polite, calmly dealing with difficult employees, paying well, and maintaining quality work—it’s exhausting!

It’s tempting to abandon excellent customer service for high-pressure sales tactics, maybe even dabble in a pyramid scheme, or hire a cheaper call center overseas. You might want to do this just to make easy money.

Don’t give in. Future you will be thankful for sticking with a genuine strategy instead of opting for quick, shady tactics. Plus, you’ll set an example for other businesses, proving that maintaining integrity is possible.

Even if it feels like Emperor Palpatine is draining the life out of your business while Darth Vader watches, remember that the light has a powerful pull of its own. Just when things seem darkest, help might come from an unexpected place, much like it does in the movies.