I worked on an integration project team while in Houston during the early 2000s. The project was winding down and I began thinking about my next assignment. I wanted to return to energy trading after working on a year-long organizational project. My supervisor called me into his office, told me to attend a trading IT project meeting, and listen to the report on the state of an IT project.
I dutifully went to the meeting room and spent the rest of the day listening to IT consultants give their bleak report. The IT project team had spent their budged funds, not completed the project, and needed many more millions of dollars to finish. As I suspected, poor project governance and little customer involvement were the primary reasons for the failure.
The next morning, my supervisor called me back into his office. He asked for my feedback from yesterday’s meeting, and I told him the grim news. I concluded my assessment with the statement: ”I feel sorry for the person selected to lead this project.” He smiled and said that the management team was unanimous as to who would take over the project. Naively, I asked who was the “fortunate” person? My supervisor looked directly at me and said, “You.” I did not see this coming and was in shock. Upon recovery, I asked if I had a choice? He said I could turn it down, but then added, “I will work to find you a great job upon successful competion of this project.” After a long night of emotional turmoil, I reluctantly accepted managing the IT project turnaround.
Did I take the leadership of the IT project because I hoped for a great next job, perhaps a promotion? Did I take this dreaded job because I did not want to disappoint my supervisor who was my advocate? Did I accept the new assignment because my current position was ending? All these factors did contribute to my acceptance, but the payback of a great job in the future was tantalizing. My supervisor was well-connected and fast-tracking up the corporate ladder. He could open future doors for me if I performed well. His payback statement resonated in my mind.
I understand that the military culture is also one of paybacks. Requesting assistance requires promising something in return. You constantly had to give to receive. Networks are built through obligations of reciprocal favors. It is the reality of the system and without paybacks, one cannot effectively perform within the military culture.
The payback system reminded me of mafia movies where the godfather grants a favor in exchange for loyalty. I give you “x” (money, job, protection, etc.) for your loyalty. I have the right to ask you for a favor in the future which you cannot refuse. Someday, the marker will be called. Refusal to help may prove to be personally painful, perhaps deadly.
Politics is another system where paybacks are a regular part of the system. Trading votes is a normal political process. If a person wants “their” person to get a governmental position, then he or she will vote on something that another person desires in exchange for helping him or her. President Lyndon Johnson had a knack for always finding out what a person truly wanted, then used that knowledge to obtain and trade for something he needed. Political quid pro quo is a way of life for those in the political arena.
Christianity offers another view on paybacks. “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you: Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well, and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.” (Matthew 5:38–42). The good Samaritan (Luke 10:29–37) who helped the injured man did not negotiate a payback. The Samaritan gave abundantly out of love for his neighbor. He was “moved with pity” and “took care of him.” Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.”
After nine long months of hard work, the IT project was successfully completed, and the metrics were achieved within budget. I learned about how to successfully manage a project. Although it was hard work and fraught with risks, the IT project assignment made me a better leader. My supervisor called me into his office and asked me if I would like to apply for a position in LNG trading. It was a promotion and a transfer to The Hague (NL). My supervisor had leverage with this position because he would trade me for a Dutch ex-pat who wanted an assignment in the US.
I was now the positive recipient of a payback. My successful IT project had removed a millstone from my supervisor, and I was rewarded with a promotion into a trading assignment. I was qualified for the promotion, so it was fairly granted. I trusted that the corporate system would, over the long run, reward those who performed well. However. my supervisor’s earlier statement was always in the back of my mind. He could have walked away and not helped me.
The Kingdom is a world without paybacks. We are called, as followers of Jesus Christ, to love our neighbors. We are called to love with compassion, without being rewarded. God created the world and gave it to humans to steward. All our possessions come generously from God without paybacks. Does God need gifts or rewards from humans? The clear answer is “no.” We praise God with overflowing gratitude for what is freely given. While Luke does not inform us of what the injured man was thinking when the Samaritan helped him, I would venture to guess that he felt gratitude and love. I certainly did at the end of my IT project assignment.