Business Ethics?  No Such Thing.

By Melanie Smollen (April 2009)

I was in the conference room at our firm with the rest of the team participating in one of our monthly leadership meetings when I first heard this statement. Of all the meetings we have, I have come to enjoy leadership meetings more than any other because it deals directly with character development and how decisions are made. It gives us a better understanding of how our co-workers make decisions and, on a personal level, I consider it fuel for the journey.

On this particular day, we were watching a DVD from our Maximum Impact series featuring leadership guru John C. Maxwell. There was nothing unusual about this meeting; there were the usual insights and inspirations and soon we would break into discussion. John wrapped up by sharing a story about a time he had dinner with a fellow mentor and longtime friend who asked him if he would consider writing his next book on business ethics. John finished his bite of food, smiled at his friend and said "I'm sorry, but I can't do that." John's friend asked curiously, "What do you mean you can't do that, John?" He replied "Well, my friend, the reason is simple...I can't write a book on something that doesn't exist." By this time, John's friend was a bit surprised and I must admit I was too! I couldn't help but wonder where he was going with this. What did he mean 'there is no such thing as business ethics'? John looked intently at his friend and declared, "My friend, I cannot write a book on business ethics because there is no such thing as business ethics. There is only ethics and I've already written that book."

In the aftermath of many corporate scandals, people naturally begin to reintroduce their code of ethics into the companies for which they work. In the process, some enthusiasts for ethical reform have created monologues of do's and don'ts that tend to mostly confuse the issue at hand. What's the answer? As we see above, ethics is the same for all parts of our lives, whether professional or personal.

Is this groundbreaking information? Of course not. Our core values and our barometer for ethical decision-making are evident in everything we do and it's not something that we can compartmentalize. John enlightens many of us by saying, "don't just treat others the way you want to be treated, treat them better than they treat you!" He further challenges his audience to:

 Walk the second mile (more than going the extra mile);
 Help people who can't help you;
 Do right when it is natural to do wrong;
 Keep your promises...even when it hurts.

Our firm, while never perfect, assesses the health of our decision-making through leadership training, open book management and accountability among other time-honored concepts. We view these processes as valuable tools for our trade and we've shared these best practices with our clients. We truly believe that what is good for our client is good for our firm and, therefore, good for our community. We do this consistently and it's part of what makes our small group great.

A final thought, a small school in my hometown instructs their students with this Golden Rule and only this rule: "Do the right thing, because it's the right thing to do - and do it for that reason only." What a wonderful thing.

If you would like to comment on this article, discuss it in more detail or learn how our management philosophies can help your business grow, please contact me at melanie@hendricksonbusinessadvisors.com