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Five values that should be at the heart of your businessBy Tom Eggert
In fact, work by the Institute for Global Ethics suggests that these values show up in virtually every culture. This may come as a surprise to those out there who argue you can't promote values, because whose values would you promote? Though we live in a diverse world - and it's getting more so - there are values that unite us, if we only look. Let's take the universal values one by one. Honesty Honesty is the foundation of our relationships. If we cannot trust someone to be honest with us, we cannot build a professional relationship, let alone consider building a personal one. We need to be able to believe in those around us. We need to believe in what they are saying. At its core, honesty is a universally admired, and desired, value. Responsibility Responsibility is the follow-through part of honesty. If someone tells us that he or she will do something, responsibility ensures that it gets done. Responsibility allows for the division of labor, because we "hold up our end" and count on others to hold up theirs. As a parent, I find myself talking to my sons more about the importance of taking, or accepting responsibility, than almost any other topic. The fact that I find other parents, regardless of where they are from, having these same conversations with their children, tells me this too is a universal value. Respect Respect is evident in how we treat each other. How we treat each other face to face AND how we treat each other when the other is not looking. Respect involves finding something to value in every person. It may start with finding the good (as we individually define "good") in someone else, but should expand to a broader definition of "good," as we learn more about that other person. While we may have real questions about the prevalence of honesty and responsibility in our community today, I think there is no question that respect is a value that needs special attention. Fairness Fairness addresses our commitment to each other. It involves feelings of justice and even-handedness. The concept of fairness shows up in our commitment as a society to those less fortunate than us. It shows up in our legal system, our tax system and our electoral system. Fairness describes not only how we want to be treated, but how we expect others to be treated. Compassion Compassion is a universally held value because of the belief that there is nothing fundamentally different between each of us and someone less fortunate than us. Compassion often arises out of the details of an event. The more details, the more real the event becomes, and the more compassionate we feel. When the tsunami struck Sri Lanka, India and other countries, there was a tremendous outpouring of compassion, not only from this country, but from all countries. Compassion is other focused as opposed to being "me" focused, which describes much of what we do. In that way, compassion recognizes and arises from the feelings of connection between ourselves, and others. These five values are found in virtually all cultures around the world. They lie at the heart of who we are and what we value. They also should lie at the heart of your business. How are they reflected there? teggert@bus.wisc.edu madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
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