Taking Business Ethics to the Next Level (Virtue)

This week I discuss a whole new level of ethics… living a virtuous life. Watch now!

VIDEO SUMMARY

I have made a lot of videos on this YouTube channel, talking about accounting and corporate finance. Out of all these videos, my least watched videos, are the ones about Business Ethics. I am not sure why nobody wants to watch videos on ethics. But I am going to keep making them, because ethics are so important.

In this video, I am going to talk about how to take ethics to the next level. Most of the time, when people talk about ethics, they focus on specific examples of right and wrong. And what I want to do instead of focusing on the micro level, I want to talk about ethics from a macro level. What does an ethical life look like from a 10,000 foot viewpoint. This is helpful, because when you go back to that micro level decision, it puts things in a larger perspective.

The big picture idea, I want to talk about, is “what does it mean, to live a virtuous life?” This is a very practical question you can ask yourself to put things in perspective. All cultures around the world, have some definition of virtue, and it always deals with very foundational concepts around morality. Some of these ideas are:

• Honesty
• Courage
• Love
• Justice
• Respect
• Humility
• Patience

Those are just a few of the many virtues, and a virtuous life would display these qualities. Now I am not a philosopher, so I am not going to try and explain these terms. These are huge ideas. But I think most people understand the concept of virtue and that there is a larger context to life’s decisions. You can choose to live your life in a virtuous way where you are making decisions for the betterment of society. The opposite of this, is to live your life selfishly, and make decisions from a very small perspective.

Just to be clear, I am not saying that I am perfect here. I am just like every one of you. I make mistakes. I lose my temper. Sometimes I say things I wish I did not say. In fact, next week, I am going to make a video about the biggest mistake I have made on the job. That is going to be video you do not want to miss. So despite all of my faults, I have found it very helpful for me personally, to take a step back and ask the question, “Am I living a virtuous life?” And this is a very practical thing you can do as well. Think through the previous 24 hours and all the interactions you have had with other people. Were those interactions of honesty, love, respect, and patience? And here is a tough question for you. If someone has done you wrong or betrayed you, have you forgiven them. That is a very difficult question, but forgiveness is part of living a virtuous life.

So let us bring this back to business. And let us be very real here for a second. You do not have to live a virtuous life to make money. We know this because we can all point to people who have enormous amounts of money, and are jerks. Making money comes from productivity and creating value. So you can make money being virtuous or being a jerk. But it really comes down to the question, “What kind of person do you want to be?” And “What kind of life do you want to live?” I wish more business people took the time to ask themselves these deep questions. And I wanted to share this idea with you, because I have found more happiness and more fulfillment in life, thinking about the foundational ideas of virtue and how to apply them in my business decisions.

Let me leave you with one more thought. I want you to think about a time in your career, when you felt a connection with somebody. Maybe you felt heard, or validated, or appreciated, or just the feeling of being special. Those moments are priceless. I am betting those moments were when someone was acting virtuous and not selfishly. And I encourage you to build your business career on those relationships. That is the reason you should ask yourself “Am I living a virtuous life?”

Leave a comment down below letting me know what you think!

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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.