Honesty & Business Ethics

Thinking about the importance of Honesty and Ethics within a business I remembered the invitation we received for the introduction of the lesson: To look in the mirror and ask, "Who am I, really?" and "How do my habits and behavior affect my ethical decisions? 

Those questions make me ponder about my behavior in all aspects of life, in every environment, and how every action affects my decision and has consequences.

Elder Lynn Robins affirms: "Working in this world to make a living as part of the Lord's plan for His children, not just to survive, but to see how we would get along with others in making that living - to see if we would be honest in our dealings with our fellowmen".  Honesty is a Christlike attribute we can develop and apply throughout our whole life. We will be judged according to how we treat others and how we conduct ourselves regarding our principles, values, and covenants.

In a business environment, we can apply the well-known rule called: "The Golden Rule". Elder Robins states that this rule is a "Principle of Happiness and Success".

He said: "The most basic of all marketing principles is a principle that was taught by the Savior which we know as the golden rule, "Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets".

As important as Honesty we need to develop "the virtue of integrity". Having integrity means doing the right thing in a reliable way. It's a personality trait that is admired since it means a person has a moral compass that doesn't waver. It literally means having "wholeness" of character.

President Joseph F. Smith called integrity “the cornerstone of character” and President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke of integrity this way: “Men and women of integrity understand intrinsically that theirs is the precious right to hold their heads in the sunlight of truth, unashamed before anyone”.

 "Integrity engenders confidence and peace of mind…Integrity is the foundational virtue upon which all other virtues are dependent. It is the first rung on the character ladder. Where there is integrity, other virtues will follow. Where there is no integrity, other virtues have no chance of developing".  This was the definition mentioned by Sister Sheri Dew in her talk: “ True Blue, Through and Through”.

Why is Ethics Important? Ethics is a system of accepted rules about behavior, based on what is considered right and wrong.

“There’s a right way to do things; there’s a right way to treat people.  We just care for good, if you’re really good, go ahead and lead”. (Frank Levinson; Finisar Corporation.)

If we want to be successful in our business and in our life we need to live with honesty, be totally integrated, and set rules and principles of ethics. Living in this way assures us the respect and confidence of others, and people can trust blindly in us.

Hopefully, at the end of our life as entrepreneurs, we can affirm these words written in The Annotated Christmas Carol: "Mankind was my business.  The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business.  The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business".