I’ve always heard it said that “there is no profit in winning if you lose your soul.” Will historians say of us: “They won fortunes in the new global economy…but destroyed families, communities, and even nations”? What do you call winning?

Winning, actually, doesn’t have anything to do with the markets or profits—though it can. Winning is a personal journey. It’s about reaching a destination you choose. At its most fundamental, winning is about achievement. Your goal could be creating a happy family, teaching children to read, or sailing around the world. Then again, it could be building a company that succeeds in the global marketplace.

Your suggestion that economic success is somehow, by definition, morally corrupt is dead wrong. Look, winning in business is not a zero-sum game. In sports, when one team wins, the other loses. In business, when a company wins, there are usually collateral winners, too. The executives and shareholders, of course, but also employees, distributors, and suppliers. Success often leads to dozens of startups that supply the “mother” company, creating jobs, the lifeblood of any society. When people have meaningful work, they have the freedom to set goals, not just survive. They have the freedom to dream.

Sure, there are those who lose their souls to profit. That old story gets refreshed with every new account of corporate cheating. There always will be corrupt jerks in every field, from the priesthood to politics. But we believe that most businesspeople want to win the right way. They want to start companies or help build them. They want to search for new ideas. They want to invent new technologies. They want a better life for their families, friends, and colleagues.
Will future historians look back on these people and say their definition of winning ruined the world? Or might they just say they made it a better place?

This question and answer originally appeared in Business Week magazine on January 30, 2006.