Great People Works

I've heard it said that a good measure of integrity is what you do when no one is watching. Do you do the right things for the right reasons or simply to avoid getting caught. It is not easy to admit to one's mistakes, especially those that hurt others. There are some people who fail to even recognize their own mistakes. It requires even more strength to use one's mistakes as a learning point, to hold them in one's memory dearly as a constant reminder to do the right thing in the future and avoid repeating past mistakes. To recognize a mistake or misdeed and correct it is something anyone hoping to maintain personal integrity or honesty must do in order to preserve their own personal integrity. It does not speak highly of our businesses or ourselves when it requires a lawsuit, outside investigation or new legislation to correct our mistakes.

Many businesses have made huge mistakes resulting in the recall of various products and an admission of wrongdoing but it is still somewhat rare. So, we have laws to protect "whistle blowers" who draw attention to mistakes, corruption, errors and sometimes outright fraud. Wouldn't it have been good if more people had stood up and said "Wait a minute", months before the Enron collapse? Wouldn't it have been more productive if people at the tobacco companies spoke up about the dangers of smoking long before it had to be proven over and over in order to counteract the huge pro-smoking advertising that continues today? Wouldn't it be great if companies actually policed themselves to ensure they issued faulty or dangerous product recalls earlier, ousted bad management sooner and made one criteria of every decision whether or not it is socially and morally responsible?

I like to believe that most business people are honest folks just trying to make a living. I like to think there only a few bad apples who think the end justifies the means, or that competition and winning are the goal instead of winning responsibly. I believe that every product or service should improve life. How many of us actually ask, does this product improve something and make the world better? Does it benefit mankind? If you can't answer yes to those questions then why are you selling this product or service? To continue to offer something of no value, or even detrimental to most of humankind is to waste resources and demonstrates a lack of integrity on your part. All products and services should have meaningful, healthy benefits for most of the people who purchase them and not just benefit the seller or producer.

Some companies like to "spin" their news, much like a few popular TV Networks. They take facts and news items and put their own special "spin" on the information in order to create a certain reaction, persuade or influence those who hear the what they say as "facts". In the world of advertising and politics this has become acceptable, but why should be continue to accept it? If we expect to be lied to by the omission of facts regarding the downside of the person, product or service why are we listening? You wouldn't expect Coca Cola to say, "Try this product saturated in refined sugars with various colorings, additives and preservatives but most containing carbonated water that is almost guaranteed to help you gain excess weight and contribute towards achieving Type II diabetes". On the other hand, perhaps if they were socially responsible they would put a warning label on their bottles and cans much like cigarettes and alcohol companies are required to do by law stating that it is a product with questionable health value or it's consumption should be limited to an appropriate daily limit. And therein is the crux of the problem, why do we have to pass a law to make people tell you both sides, the pro's and con's of a product. What has happened to social responsibility in business?

Is it brushed off with countless contributions to various charitable groups and foundations? So, that by contributing a few million to charities and sponsoring fund-raising events companies can feel free to provide unhealthy or tainted products to the rest of the population. It's time businesses pony up and it's time the public wake up to this shell game. We are entitled to honesty from the businesses we allow to operate and thrive in our country. Those of us who practice ethics and honesty in our business practices can help by encouraging those who display questionable integrity and tactics to come clean and join the rest of us. Individually, we should learn to talk about the pluses and minuses of our product and services, sharing both the benefits and drawbacks. This is actually the smart thing to do because it frames customer expectations. Customers won't come back later surprised and angry when they realize the product did not live up to expectations or had some serious side effects that were not expected. Most people appreciate honesty and we will all sleep better at night knowing we have lived up to our best every day, at work and at play.