www.challengesinc.com                                                                        March | 2010    

"Always do right. This will surprise some people and astonish the rest."
– Mark Twain

What does ripping off your investors, illegal accounting practices, cheating on your taxes, stealing from someone, telling lies about another, purposely hurting a family member through words or actions and teenage boys raping teenage girls in school, all have in common? All of these incidents bring the same questions to mind. Where were the “Ethics” in each of these cases? What set of morals did each person use to justify their actions? When it comes to what is legal some of these incidents carry more weight than others. Some of them are not even illegal. Yet they all are unethical. When it comes to right and wrong in each case the universal answer to each action is they are very wrong. Even the perpetrators, usually only after they have been caught and had the time to think rationally about their actions, admit their actions were wrong.

To really understand what “ethics” mean for you, every individual can begin by thoughtfully listing what they believe is right and what is wrong. This will help us identify our moral beliefs. Each of us has to think through all potential possibilities before we act to ensure we are acting in accordance with our moral beliefs. We have to imbed our ethics into our mind. When we know what we would do before the situation happens, our mind will have our bodies react according to those known beliefs.

How do we begin? How do we get our mind and body to react ethically? We begin by adhering to a set of principles which we commit to refer to before all our decisions and actions.

Six principles to practice are:

1. Exercising control over your behavior and your decisions. Don’t allow others to “prod” you to do or say anything you “know” is not morally right. Identify what is right and wrong for you in every situation you can imagine. Control your language. Care more.
2. Treating everyone with integrity, respect, and dignity, in all situations. Even when others may not treat you the same way.
3. Honoring your “word” including all of your promises, commitments and contracts. Do what you say, when you say it will be done and be the first to apologize when you don’t
4. Investing the time to know the laws of man and the laws of God. Doing the right thing is not always easy, but it is always right. When the laws are in conflict know what is right and moral.
5. Committing to be an “ethical” person by living your values and core beliefs in every phase of your life. Check your decisions and actions and be sure they are “right and moral” before you implement them.
6. Setting the “right” example as that is how you will be judged. What you do is seen by others and because of your influence they will, in turn, become more ethical in their words and actions.

To be a truly “ethical” person may mean you will not be in line with some of the moral standards of today’s society. People may mock you if you do not comply. Sometimes it will be hard to reject what, at first blush, looks or sounds like a very appealing idea with the “everyone is doing it” mentality. Right is better. You have to train your brain to know how important ethical behavior is to your overall well-being regardless of what others may be saying or doing.

Your behavior of “doing right” can change lives, families, your company and because of your ethical behavior reach further than you can ever imagine. Now is the time to understand how “ethics” will fit into your life and how you are responsible for influencing others to always do what is right.

If you would like more information on how to become an “ethical” organization contact us:
call 888-27308307 or e-mail jim@challengesinc.com
or visit our web site www.challengesinc.com and join us for our FREE WEBINAR Titled, “Ethics and your Family Business” on March 9, 2010. Register HERE

Jim’s new book “Roadmap to Success” offers tips for personal and business success. Books can be ordered by visiting our web site: www.challengesinc.com

“We offer custom built strategies for families involved in businesses to strengthen relationships, increase performance, and ensure your family business legacy and value. We also provide online assessments that can help decrease turnover and increase employee productivity.”