scha·den·freu·de [shahd-n-froi-duh] noun
Satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.
A friend of mine who
teaches a marketing strategy class to second-year MBA’s asked his students last
week how many were happy they had chosen a marketing emphasis over finance.
Nearly every hand went up, which isn’t surprising given the recent pummeling of
Wall Street, with businesses failing, reputations being shattered and fingers
pointing this way and that.
The public relations
whipping that the financial community has taken will likely have long-term
implications on how the career path is viewed. Having said that, I think it’s
safe to assume that even after all the pink slips have been issued it is the
investors who will feel the financial hit of the recent collapse, much more
than those who have been pocketing extraordinary commissions and bonuses for
the past six years. And as everyone knows, it is a profession that has
always attracted those most attracted to a surfeit of commas and zeros.
While the markets may take
some time to recover, and the industry suffers the knee-jerk impact of a Congress
fueled by high-minded populism, it won’t be long before capital is again
available and those that turn (and churn) the gears of investment banking will
be raking in eye-popping compensation once again.
In the meantime, the
marketing guys can indulge in their schadenfreude. Sure, their businesses are
suffering. Sales and profits are down. But there remains a small consolation.
They still have their dignity.
