This morning I received this email from one of our team members that I reckon needs sharing:

Michélle, I'm reading this small book by John C. Maxwell titled Ethics 101 (What every leader needs to know). Here's a few points he makes in this book:

I think most people are like me: I hate losing! Business people in particular desire to win through achievement and success. But many think they have to choose between being ethical and winning. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that a group of executives came together recently at a leadership company in Atlanta to brainstorm ideas for a three-day national conference to be attended by several thousand sales employees. As the team shared ideas for different sessions, a senior vice president of the corporation enthusiastically suggested: "Why don't we do a piece on ethics?"

It was as if someone had died. The room went silent. An awkward moment later, the discussion continued as if the vice president had never uttered a word. She was so taken aback by everyone's reaction; she simply let the idea drop. Later that day, she happened to run into the company's CEO. She recounted to him her belief that the subject of ethics should be addressed at the conference. She expected him to agree wholeheartedly. Instead he replied, "I'm sure everyone agrees that's an important issue. But there's a time and place for everything. The sales meeting is supposed to be upbeat and motivational. And ethics is such a negative subject."

That CEO isn't alone in his opinion of ethics. Many people believe that embracing ethics would limit their options, their opportunities, and their very ability to succeed in business. It's the old suspicion that good guys finish last. They agree with Harvard history professor Henry Adams, who stated, "Morality is a private and costly luxury." Ironically, in today's culture of high debt and me-first living, ethics may be the only luxury some people are choosing to live without!
If I believe that I have only two choices: (1) to win by doing whatever it takes, even if it's unethical; (2) to have ethics and lose - I'm faced with a real moral dilemma. Few people set out with the desire to be honest, but nobody wants to lose.
This is just food for thought as we take the road to achieving our goals this year and the next, and I believe this is a good book to read.


I fully agree on the above as I hate losing, but I was faced with such an issue just this morning. For me ethics, risk and can I sleep tonight goes in the same sentence and is how I say yes or no to a situation. I trust that my self-check system will make me a winner in the long-term, mostly because doing the right thing is a long-term investment.