We live in a dynamic, global marketplace that places a premium on speed and quick returns. Shareholder value is often considered more important than basic human values. Entrepreneurs are under so much pressure to achieve the unachievable and just survive in this environment that it causes stress; and when people suffer stress, they don’t always make wise decisions. That’s when your ethics come into play. 

Ethics are simply the moral code by which we live and conduct business—our sense of right and wrong. A lot of people think that if they simply stick to the Judeo/Christian ethic, the Golden Rule, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, they’re protected from ethical dilemmas.  However, most ethical dilemmas in business fall into gray areas where people have differing opinions. 

Entrepreneurs face special problems when it comes to ethical issues because their small companies tend to be more informal and lacking systems and controls or a code of ethics.  They tend to take for granted that everyone is on the same page when it comes to ethics.  This is a mistake because unethical behavior left undetected can hurt the business’s reputation for as long as it exists. 

One Oregon construction company hired a subcontractor to do a $15,000 concrete job.  That subcontractor didn’t have good bookkeeping practices (which is not uncommon) and never submitted an invoice to be paid for the work.  The construction company had an ethical decision to make: it could keep quiet, which would be easy, or it could notify the subcontractor of the failure to invoice.  What would you do?

As it turns out, the construction company sent the subcontractor a copy of the plans, specifications, and names of workers on the job, AND told the subcontractor how much to bill it.  In this way the company demonstrated its ethical values, and in the future the subcontractor will probably go out of its way to give the construction company the best deal possible.

In these times when we clearly see unethical behavior in business and in our government, it might be a good idea to pause for a moment and consider what your ethics might say about you.  I recommend visiting The Josephson Institute for Ethics where you’ll find the Character Counts program.  What do your ethics look like?