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If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters. -- Alan K. Simpson
Business is good for a community, creating jobs and helping to keep the community alive and productive. And business is, by its nature, a competitive industry. Most businesses are focused on increasing profit while grabbing the larger share of a market. Competition can be good for business, pushing the business owner to become more customer-focused and more efficient. But business, and competition in business, only works for the benefit of everyone when ethics and integrity are included.
Ethics is defined as “a system or theory of moral values or principles of right conduct." Though many people erroneously equate morality strictly with sexual behaviors, morality is much more. Morality means being able to distinguish between right and wrong in personal conduct; it encompasses your overall character and how you relate with or to others. Though there’s no universally accepted or defined system of either moral values or right conduct, the majority of cultures include honesty, veracity, trustworthiness, and honor in their definition of values and right conduct.
Integrity is necessary for a sound business. Integrity is defined as incorruptibility, moral soundness, veracity in speech and action, adherence to a code of moral values. A business person of integrity is someone the customer can trust to adhere to a system of moral principles and right conduct. A business owner with integrity is valuable to the community not because of status, position, name, power, or wealth, but because the community can trust this business owner to treat everyone with respect, speak with accuracy, act with honor, represent the community in its best light, and do business in accordance with sound principles of morality and integrity.
Operating with integrity and ethics, business owners can compete with similar businesses without creating rancor and bitterness; indeed, acting with integrity can create positive business relationships even among similar, competing businesses.
While some business models have declared a “no holds barred,” “greed is good” attitude to be the focus of business, the truth is, that while people are in business to make money, the real function of business is to bring needed goods and services to a community in a non-destructive manner while keeping costs within the reach of the average customer.
Unfortunately, since the first unethical business owner sold the first lame oxen to the first trusting buyer, there has been a battle between doing business with integrity and making a profit though fooling customers or back door dealing that closes out other business owners so the dealer can line his or her own pockets.
There are three parts to this battle: first, the relationship between the customer and the business owner. Second, the relationship between the business owner and the employee or sub-contractor. Third, the relationship between the business owner and other businesses.
In all cases, it’s important to be able to discern the ethics and integrity of the person you are engaged in a business arrangement with, whether you are the customer, business owner, subcontractor, or involved bystander.
So how do ethics and integrity apply to business?
Business owners: Speak and act in a trustworthy manner and your customers and employees will trust your word, your policies and your decisions. They will trust that your business is not only about money, but about enhancing and enriching the entire community.
Respect your employees enough to listen to their ideas or concerns. Whatever your differences, whether gender, position, age, or any other difference, always remember to treat each person with courtesy and respect.
Respect your customers and potential customers enough to pay attention to their complaints. Most people don’t like to complain, so if they do, they might well have a legitimate issue. This is so important I’ll repeat part of it here: Whatever your differences, whether gender, position, age, politics, religion, or any other difference, always remember to treat each person with courtesy and respect.
Honor any commitments you’ve made to employees, customers or clients. Don’t make promises you can’t keep, but don’t avoid making commitments that will take up some of your time. Too often, business owners see giving donations of money or product as more important than giving time. Be aware that often, most communities need volunteers more than material donations.
Never think you can "throw away” a customer or potential customer. You might be on the top today, but tomorrow you could be on the bottom. Remember that any person you mistreat, disrespect, dismiss or diminish might be the person standing between you and hitting rock bottom in the future.
Act with honor. In the present day business climate, a person can find many opportunities to earn extra money through unethical actions. Unethical actions can include, but aren’t limited to, the following:
• Scamming another business or organization
• Taking money without intent to deliver a product or service as described
• Taking money for your own pockets intended for others or other uses
• Putting yourself in a position of power, and using this position to establish a monopoly through intimidation or back door deals (this is called cronyism)
• Holding a position in which you are responsible for dispersing funds, and “dispersing” the bulk of funds to yourself (a conflict of interest)
• Sitting in a position to award contracts and awarding them to yourself (another conflict of interest)
In the business world, there are many temptations to make money unethically. Be certain you are not perceived as someone participating in unethical practices. People notice how you operate both as a business owner and as a person; eventually, payback arrives.
Be forthright, “speak directly and without evasion." You can be forthright without having to declare your beliefs and political views to every customer. As stated in an earlier article, people will know soon enough what you believe. What they are most interested in is how you act towards and treat people, because this is where they are impacted most.
One aspect of being forthright is telling your customers if you can’t do a particular job. If you don’t know how to do something, don’t say you can and then attempt “on the job” learning. Recommend a competitor who you know can do the work well. Though initially you’ll feel like you’ve lost a sale, in reality the customer will remember your honesty about your limits and will trust you to do other work.
Customers: Though too many business owners forget this, every business has two kinds of customers: external and internal. Your external customers are those who enter your business to make a purchase, or other businesses that you purchase from or sell to. Internal customers are your employees, your subcontractors or consignees. With the external customer, your actions and words are your measure. If they learn you have lied to them, or cheated them in some way, they will slowly stop coming to your business. If they learn you treated someone they care about in a rude manner, they become less interested in supporting your business.
In the panic that often comes in times of local or national crisis, or periodic times of change that come upon every community, there are those who look for scapegoats; they refuse to serve certain customers, or tell them they “aren’t welcome” in a business. The problem with these behaviors is that, when the crisis passes or the change becomes the norm, people remember your actions or words and begin to see you in a negative light, or as bringing a negative tone to the community. The reality is, most small towns can’t afford division if they’re going to thrive, and treating each other with civility and respect is the only way most small towns survive. Ultimately, forced conformity is not an American value. You don’t need to agree with your customer, but you do need to show them civility and common courtesy.
Employees or subcontractors: As your internal customers, employees and subcontractors have a daily opportunity to take the measure of your character. If you lie, cheat customers, treat others with disrespect and discourtesy, cheat employees, or speak ill of other businesses, your employees witness these actions. If you try to use employees or subcontractors to their detriment and your benefit, they are witnesses to these unethical behaviors. If you break federal, state, county or city regulations, your employees will take notice and measure your integrity or lack of integrity as a member of the community.
As an employer, you stand as a role model either for or against ethics and integrity in business. As a business owner, you set the tone for how business will be conducted in your community. As an employer and business owner, you decide how young people will perceive participation in the business community: either as an honorable way to earn a living or as a way to cheat or diminish others in your community in pursuit of money. The choice is yours. How you are perceived by your employees, fellow business owners and customers is also your decision to make.
Other businesses: It can be tempting to “badmouth” other businesses to make your own look better; it can be tempting to try to drive out your competition or use cronyism to secure the best contracts or control over business in your community. But the reverse side of these practices is that you limit business growth, limit opportunities for young people to find jobs and remain in their communities to raise their own families, and limit new ideas that could potentially offer long-term benefits to the community as a whole.
Few things harm a community as much as unethical business practices, cronyism and attempts to close or stop other businesses from coming to the community because they will “compete” with your bottom line. Blacklisting, blackballing, boycotting, or badmouthing other businesses in an attempt to close them down or drive them out is a sure sign that a town is under the control of too few people. While the “bottom line” for those few might look good every year, the business integrity account is running low and there is less and less opportunity for young people to remain in the community or perceive business as a positive element.
The sad reality is, business owners who lack ethics and integrity can inflict damage on a community that can last for years. Whenever a lack of ethics or integrity dominates the business scene, there is always a consequence, a price to pay. That price includes the closing of opportunity to others, the reduction of potential jobs in a community, the loss of individual freedom due to intimidation and control, and eventually, the closing of the last door of the last business.
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Your Business
As I turn up the dirt driveway, movement in a stand of trees across the pasture catches my eye. I realize I’m looking at a large eagle’s nest, and as I watch, a bald eagle swoops in past me moving towards the trees. The silence is notable; birdsong is the only sound punctuating the silence as my gaze travels over rolling tree-covered hills, green pastures and blue sky.
Republic gained a wonderful addition to the business community when Pioneer Books and Gifts opened in 2008. This store features new and used books as well as specialty gifts. When you step into the shop, which is situated across the street from the Northern Inn, you are met with a wonderful array of fairies, dragons, jewelry and artistic cards for all occasions.
