[Today’s selection is courtesy of 70 Reasons Not to Be an Entreprenuer (and why I wouldn’t do anything else) by Michael A. Babiarz, copyright 2013, all rights reserved]
The third of Gandhi’s seven spiritually detrimental traits is commerce without morality. In today’s terms, we mean conducting business without ethics.
Let’s face it. It’s hard to be honest and ethical when others around you aren’t.
Time for a true confession. Your author is a recovering attorney. I spent 25 years in private practice. One of the blessings and curses which comes from not only the training of law school but also from years of practice, is that lawyers look at human behavior differently from most human beings. We are trained to look at the dark side of human interactions. Some might say that lawyers are trained to be professional cynics. I find some truth to that. It was difficult for me to maintain my normally optimistic attitude towards life in my years practicing.
One thing that happens to lawyers is we see many instances where the reason problems arise is because one or more persons have not been honest or ethical in dealing with one or more other persons. In fact, in a perfect world, where all humans are always honest and ethical, we would not need lawyers. Right now, I know many of you are chuckling and saying, yes, that is a perfect world. Remember, the reason Shakespeare said to kill all the lawyers is because without lawyers the innocents would be without protection.
Despite the years where I witnessed humans behaving badly, I still believe in the old-fashioned values. Lawyers operate under Rules of Professional Responsibility. While the guidelines vary somewhat from state to state, I believe that all have a rule that says, essentially, that a lawyer should avoid all appearance of impropriety. I think that’s a good maxim for life in general. Here’s another thought: did you ever do something that you would be ashamed to tell your mother about? That’s usually a good clue that your moral compass is no longer pointing north.
In addition to being a lawyer, I have been an entrepreneur in other businesses. Moreover, while many may not view it as such, a law office is a business. And in addition to my private practice, both prior to my years as a lawyer, during those years, and thereafter, I have also been involved in other businesses as a solo entrepreneur and partner. I think that in business, as in law, treating others honestly and ethically is the only way to go. But what if you were dealing with someone through your business who is not so honest and so ethical? And what if the dishonest, unethical person is not only getting away with it, he or she is thriving — making beaucoup bucks, driving a snazzy hot car, with an equally snazzy/hot chick or dude sitting beside him/her? Where is the justice in that?
It’s times like that where you are tempted to bastardize the Golden Rule into doing unto the other as he or she is doing unto you. In other words, give him a taste of his own medicine. And we have all been guilty of doing that in our lives, at one time or another.
The semi-virtuous path is a slippery slope. It is hard, very hard, not to operate on the same plane as your competition. And the hard truth is, you may suffer financially as a result. You can shake your fist at God above, or wish that as John Lennon said, that karma should be instant, but sometimes the bad guys do get away. But I firmly believe that the key to success not only in business, but in life, is to rise above. You need to have the inner strength to maintain your honesty and values when others around you do not. It is not simple. If you’re a wage slave, and you find yourself in a situation where you are asked to do unethical or dishonest things, you can quit your job. If you own your own business, and the situation arises where acting unethically or dishonestly would benefit you, you can’t quit, but you must forge ahead and remain true to “thine own self”.
Corny ending, I know . . .