In the book, If Aristotle Ran General Motors, by Tom Morris, there was a profound quote about business. Tom Morris wrote: “Business is a partnership of people creating, in many ways, a better life for others as well as ourselves.”
The key word in this definition for my business and I dare say yours, is the word partnership. Partnership, in this definition, is based on the question: What can I do for you to get you to cooperate with me? Weren’t we all raised with statements like: What goes around comes around; You reap what you sow?
What a different business environment it would be if everyone embraced Tom Morris’s definition of business, instead of the corporate mantra of “what’s in it for me?”
Partnerships i.e. relationships, are based on trust, other-centeredness, honesty and ethics. Helping others get what they need, in the end helps you get what you need. How did this simple truth get so lost in the world today? How did we “lose our way?”
Partnerships are about serving, about thinking of others before yourself, and reaping the benefits that one gets from doing this genuinely and consistently. Isn’t this is how a business builds a loyal customer base? Isn’t this being “value-based and principle driven?”
It is very clear what happens when leaders don’t act this way, i.e. read the news and watch the media. We get what we got and who likes it? The challenging question for all is, what are you, as a leader, going to do about it in your business or industry?
fbucaro
Like you, business ethics and ethical leadership expert, Frank Bucaro has seen the challenges and problems of corporate leadership, particularly over the past few years in regards to poor decision-making, SEC violations, and record breaking financial settlements in a number of different industries.
With over two decades of executive training, speaking, writing and with real life experiences, his view and approach to ethics in the workplace is uniquely different. He emphasizes that ethics is a moment-to-moment choice and has little to do with position, titles, personalities or education. Ethics is everybody’s responsibility from the top down.
His goal is to help organizations to:
a. Strengthen their ethics training initiatives in order to significantly decrease the odds of an ethical/compliance violation.
b. Energize, train and motivate employees to understand the value of consistent “high road” behavior as a business advantage.
c. Support individuals and thereby the organization by contributing to its success by quality, ongoing values based leadership development.
Frank is known for his very practical, slightly irreverent, yet somewhat humorous approach to ethics and leadership development. His conversational style and real life stories connect with his audience in a personal, intense and practical level.
Companies such as Bayer Healthcare, BP, ReMax International, EnMax Energy, Danone, etc. have partnered with Frank when they want to proactively stress the message, tools, insights and practical applications that good ethics IS good for business!