I made another video about ethics! This one takes ethics to the EXTREME! Watch now…
VIDEO SUMMARY
Ethics is one of those few areas in life that you can take to the extreme, and it can actually be very beneficial to your career. So I’m going to talk a little about what that means.
When I say “Extreme Ethics” I’m describing an approach to business where you understand your moral values and you always follow them. You take your personal ethics to the extreme. So for instance, most cultures agree that it is unethical to lie, cheat, and steal. So if that is your moral code, then you would never lie, cheat, and steal. Now that sounds pretty straight forward, but in practice it is a lot harder than it sounds.
This is something I started doing about five years ago. I made the decision, I am never going to tell a lie. This means never lying to your boss, your co-workers, your customers, and your family. And I’m not just talking about regular lying. I’m also talking about little white lies. I’m also talking about exaggerations. White lies and exaggerations seem harmless, but they degrade your reputation for honesty. You want people to talk to you and feel comfortable you are telling the truth.
Now I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. But I really do think about this a lot. And I make it a priority in my life. And because it’s a priority, I guarantee you I’m a lot better than a lot of other people in business. I don’t know if you have noticed, but people lie all the time. That occurs because our culture doesn’t put a lot of importance on this. So if you develop a reputation for honesty, you will really stand out.
And this can be very helpful to your career. Imagine if you became known at your organization as someone who always told the truth. That reputation is so valuable. And it is something that people can’t create overnight. Trust takes years to build. So this is a real competitive advantage in your career. This takes a lot of practice, so the younger you can start practicing telling the truth, the better you get over time.
There is something you have to be careful about here. Most cultures have different sets of morals. So it is important to be sensitive to that. This is not about forcing your ethics on to other people. You don’t want to be the ethics police, telling people how to act. This is about you.
The point here is to think about what your moral code is. What do you stand for? And then follow those ethical standards always. If you don’t think about this in advance, you will run into trouble when grey areas pop up. Let me give you an example. What are you going to do if you find yourself with an opportunity to cheat and no one will ever know about it? That is a tempting situation, if you haven’t made the commitment not to cheat beforehand. If you think about it, it’s not a grey area. Don’t cheat ever. So know what your moral code is, and implement those ethics to the extreme.
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Neither Zach De Gregorio or Wolves and Finance Inc. shall be liable for any damages related to information in this video. It is recommended you contact a CPA in your area for business advice.