Human actions are often more complex than they appear on the surface. Today we will delve into one of the famous quotes of the American financier and investment banker John Pierpont Morgan: “A man always has two reasons for what he does – the good one and the right one.”
About JP Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1837, educated in Boston and the University of Göttingen, and began his career in 1857 as an accountant before moving to his father’s banking network in New York.
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From partner at Drexel, Morgan & Co. worked his way up to head of JP Morgan & Co. and became one of the most powerful financiers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Morgan reorganized major railroads, helped form General Electric, US Steel, and International Harvester, and played a central role in stabilizing the American financial system during the crises of 1893 and 1907.
The meaning of the quote
“A man always has two reasons for what he does – the good and the real.” — JP Morgan
Morgan’s quote is really about motif and narrative. In business, people are often the first to present a compelling reason: strategy, culture, principle, efficiency, shareholder value.
But beneath this public explanation there is usually another layer – fear, ambition, protection of power, personal rivalry or a simple desire to win.
The quote matters because it warns leaders to look beyond the official language and understand what driving behavior actually is.
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This does not mean that “good reason” is false every time. It means that human action is rarely one-dimensional. Fusion can be conceptualized as synergy and still be driven by ego.
Restructuring can be called discipline and is still motivated by panic. A leader can talk about values while optimizing for control. Morgan’s insight is sharp because it asks us to separate explanation from stimulus.
For executives, investors and managers, the lesson is practical: better decisions come from an honest diagnosis of true motives. If you misread why people act, you will misread what they are likely to do next. This is as true in boardrooms and markets as it is in normal office politics.
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4. Why this quote resonates
This quote is especially timely because trust in leadership now depends to a large extent on people believing that leaders are honest about their motives. Edelman’s 2025 Trust Barometer found that 70% worldwide are concerned about business leaders deliberately misleading people by saying things they know to be false or gross exaggerations.
The same report found that 80% say employers have an obligation to foster civility in the workplace, meaning that people increasingly expect leaders not just to be competent, but to demonstrate good faith.
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This makes the Morgan range strikingly modern. In the politically charged and highly scrutinized environment shaped by artificial intelligence, employees, investors and customers are constantly asking the same question his quote suggests: what is the stated reason and what is the real reason?
A specific trend over the last 12-18 months is that the authorization of CEOs to act is increasingly tied to motive. Edelman found strong support for CEO action when it can have a large impact or improve business performance, suggesting that people do not reject self-interest outright; they reject hidden or cynical self-interest.
The first thing is character… Money can’t buy that. — JP Morgan, testimony before the Pujo Committee, 1912.
This second quote provides a moral counterbalance to the first. “The good and the real” sounds skeptical, almost forensic. “The first thing is character” sounds prescriptive. Taken together, they suggest that Morgan grasped two truths at once: people often have mixed motives, and the only consistent basis for judging them is character.
This combination creates a more rounded leadership lesson. The first quote tells you to look beneath the surface explanations. The second tells you what to look for when you get there. In other words: don’t be naive about motives, but don’t be cynical about all people either. Judge by honesty, not brilliance.
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How you can implement it — 6 useful tips
Ask, “What incentive is really at work here?” prior to the approval of any significant lease, partnership or reorganization.
Separate public rationale from internal motivations in strategy revisions by explicitly writing both down before finalizing a major decision.
Probe one level deeper in meetings whenever the reason sounds too clean, too moral, or too convenient.
Validate your own image management decisions by asking yourself if you would still take the same path if no one praised you for it.
Reward honesty by creating team norms where people can acknowledge commercial, political or emotional drivers without being penalized for being honest.
Use character as a recruitment filter by testing credibility, follow-through and judgement, not just polish and credentials.
A final thought
Almost all men can withstand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him strength. —Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln’s line lands neatly next to Morgan’s. Morgan teaches suspicion of stated motives; Lincoln teaches caution about what reveals power. Together, they leave a lasting lesson for leaders: the real reason often emerges most clearly when status, leverage, and self-interest are at stake.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, biography and legacy of JP Morgan.
- Quote the investigator, “A man has two reasons for doing anything,” on the questionable attributional path.
- Testimony of JP Morgan before the Pujo Committee, 1912, for the Citation of Character and Merit.
- Edelman, 2025 Trust Barometer Global Report, for up-to-date findings on trust leadership and motivations.
