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What
Are Ethics?
In today's politically correct world, ethics are a hot topic
of conversation. In the wake of well publicized costly business
scandals, knowing what's right and wrong, and having the conviction
to do what's right, might give you a competitive advantage--it
may distinguish you from the competition. Ethical behavior
invites trust, and because you can be trusted, others will
want to do business with you.
Discussions
about ethics can get complicated, but the issue is simple.
What we're talking about here is behavior, nothing
else. Doing the right thing. Talking one way and walking another
is like promising a good game and playing a questionable one--and
we all agree this is wrong. The thorny right and wrong paradoxes,
however, come wrapped in justifiable circumstances that lead
to rationalizations. That's where exceptions to the rule become
easier and "just this once" finds its way into our
speech. And our reasons for wrongful behavior don't always
have to be self serving. Telling ourselves it's to help someone
else can be a strong motivator--but don't delude yourself.
Never
Say Never
How did it happen? How did I get here? I'm a good person!
Look at all the good I've done! Martha Stewart has probably
pondered some of these questions. It happened to her, and
it could happen to you also. In the right circumstances, we
are all capable of the unthinkable. And being respectful of
this truth is what keeps us from nodding off at the wheel.
All it takes is a moment of inattention to miss the opportunity
to make the right choice--to do the right thing. Socrates
shows us how and why those in high office can fall from grace
with such a deafening thud. His point is that harmful behavior
causes damage to the one engaged in it.
My words
below are paraphrased from the Center
for Ethics and Business website. I highly recommend a
visit to this informative site, and learn more about your
ethical style by taking their quick quiz.
Socrates
makes the point that vice harms the doer and he may as well
as well be talking about many of the people who have been
arrested for unethical business behavior in the last two decades.
What is striking about such cases is not the shocking unethical
behavior, but what led to a wrongdoer's undoing. Invariably,
these were bright, talented, capable people brought down by
carelessness, poor judgment, overreaching, and going to the
well one time too often.
These
people failed to assess the risks involved. Statistically,
the more often you do something illegal, the more likely it
is that you'll be caught. But these people apparently came
to see themselves either as invincible or as involved in something
inconsequential and hence unlikely to be noticed. They were
careless! These bright people got caught because they failed
to exercise self-monitoring and control. Their appetites were
allowed free reign, and their minds became subject to their
desires. These men and women couldn't even do basic risk assessment.
They stopped seeing the world as it is.
Be
Ready To Resign
Play the Devil's Advocate; think ahead of unethical requests
that could come your way and plan your response ahead of time.
Decide on what grounds you would fire a client or even resign.
Don't wait until an unethical request or behavior presents
itself. We create our own future with every thought, word
and act. Plan yours now. Once that invisible line is crossed
with a client, vendor or contact--there is no going back.
Extra profit gained in what could be perceived as unethical
means is too high a cost against future business.
VAs
and Clients
For the virtual working relationship, the real issue is trust.
For VAs, it's the backbone of our business. Any VA who doesn't
hold to this line will not be in business long. Virtual working
relationships are different in that there is no way to monitor
what VAs are doing. All you have is their word and the results
of their efforts. Clients trust their VAs to handle their
time and business affairs. It's not uncommon for VAs to know
their clients' credit card numbers, as they arrange flight
schedules and send gifts on the client's behalf. VAs know
all the passwords, and often have access to email, communications,
contacts, vendors, suppliers and their clients' clients.
Trust
is awesome and fragile. It takes time to build and seconds
to ruin. To be trusted at this level is an honor we VAs don't
take lightly. It is in our own self interest that we manage
our clients' business affairs as carefully as our own. Trust
is the foundation of good business, and as we learned, is
linked to our own health and well being. Think on this the
next time you're weighing the cost of a good decision or a
bad one.
"We
are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act,
but a habit."
Aristotle
References
used in this article:
Jones, Dell. Military: A model for execs; Sometimes, the lesson
is what not to do. June 9, 2004. http://www.keepmedia.com
White, Thomas I. The Moral Life: What's In It For Me? November
7, 2004
http://www.ethicsandbusiness.org/toolbox/index.htm
The
Real Issue is Trust © 2005 Diana Baker
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