You can take a step to gird against the economic storm that will take many businesses down. Companies smart enough to live their ethics standards will have a far stronger foundation than those that merely cut expenses to survive. Businesses without a code of ethics should develop one immediately. And teach it. And live it.

99% of the readers quit by this point because they won't take the time to think about this. I know that. My web statistics show that 99% of visitors to this page will spend less than 3 seconds reading it.

You, the smart ones, will spend about 3 minutes. You may even contact me to discuss a business ethics plan. Here's why you should.

Declining ethics in business costs billions in lost revenue. Billions.

These are only a few of the costs associated with the lack of a "living" ethics program.

The most successful businesses I've worked with, live an ethics policy. Some have actual written policies, some don't need one because their employees see ethical actions by management every day.

If you don't have an ethics policy, forget about training, forget about improving customer service, forget about team building.

Nothing will improve your business more than adopting and living a set of standards for ethics. Nothing. Why? Because anyone with a computer can shout his experience with your company to a million other people with computers.

Is it hard to do? 

Not really. The hardest part is getting started. Once you start an ethics program, things immediately begin to improve. The changes come slowly at first because your people won't really believe the program will be lasting or evenly applied. But if you stick with it, you will reap huge benefits. You might even thrive.

How is an "Ethics Program" Developed?

Developing an ethics policy is a process that involves all levels of your business. We start by having some conversations about values. We discuss the core values your company wants to be integral to your business culture. We then work up a sort of "Etics Constitution" that serves as a reminder and a guideline for daily conduct of business.

The values developed are up to you. Some companies believe they have an ethical requirement to contribute to charitable works, some do not. My role is to facilitate the process, not to preach values.

If your company wants to improve the environment, fine, we'll incorporate that as a goal. You may simply want to instill fairness as part of your effort to build employee loyalty.

Understand that I do not impose any values or beliefs on your decisions. I'm not there to sell you on going "green" or saving the world. My work is to bring focus to proper business conduct as you define it.

Here's an example.

I know of a company with many in-house salespeople. A lot of those people spend a very high percentage of their time "surfing" the internet. That may seem like an enforcement problem but it's really an ethical issue. Is spending company time playing on the internet right or wrong? When behaviors are branded as wrong, the behaviors subside. Breaking an ethical standard touches deeper within people than breaking (fudging?) rules.

A little internet surfing isn't going to break the bank, so it doesn't hurt to overlook a little thing like that unless it gets out of control, right?

Wrong. I see stories every day where a little surfing gets companies into big trouble. Someone "stumbles" into an adult site and the next thing you know, Sally launches a sexual harassment lawsuit. You think that's silly? It happens every day.

I read stories every day about companies paying huge fines because an employee tried to skip a step or save a little money. Look at all the flights cancelled recently as American and Southwest tried to catch up with their safety inspections. Do you think they "saved money"?

Okay! 

If you're in the 1% group of people smart enough to read this, think about it. Give me a call if you'd like to join the successful group that takes action.

We can start out free. I won't charge you anything for a couple of conversations. If you don't believe I'm on to something, we'll quit and you're out nothing. Deal?

(800) 462-6052  Or Email Chris@TeachU.com

"If ethics are poor at the top, that behavior is copied down through the organization."

Robert Noyce, inventor of the silicon chip