The 10 Point Ethics Checklist

Michael Fortin recent recently posted this blog post: "The 10-Point Ethics Checklist" … it was submitted by a student of his Darrin Clement and since it is consistent with what I have been teaching for the past 17 years, I thought I would share it with you here.

I personally believe that it firmly supports the role of Ethics in a person's long term business success. Read my post on The Speed of Trust - Personal Ethics for a more detailed description of the power of Ethics and trust in the business equation. Business typically calculates results as Strategy x Execution, but there is a Trust Multiplier that is an important factor in long term success:

(Strategy x Execution) x Trust = Results

Here is Darrin's 10-Point Ethics Checklist, I hope you enjoy it!

1. The Golden Rule: Would I want people to do this to me?
2. The Fairness Test: Who might be affected and how? Is this fair to everyone?
3. The ‘What if everybody did this?’ Test: Would I want everyone to do this? Would I want to live in that kind of world?
4. The Truth Test: Does this action represent the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
5. The Parents Test: How would my parents feel if they found out about this? What advice would they give me?
6. The Children Test: Would I be willing to explain everything about this to my kids and expect them to act in the same way?
7. The Religion Test: Does this go against my religion?
8. The Conscience Test: Does this go against my conscience? Will I feel guilty?
9. The Consequences Test: Are there possible consequences of this action that would be bad? Would I regret doing this?
10. The Front Page Test: How would I feel if my action were reported on the front page of my hometown paper?

That is a wonderful list Darrin shared.

By: Greg Watson