Raising the Bar

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Romans 12:2

On Thursday, I had the privilege of participating in a guest lecture series at the Gardner-Webb University School of Business on the topic of “Business Ethics”. One of the other presenters made what I thought was a very insightful point. “Business Ethics” is an unnecessary phrase in the English language because it insinuates that there are different levels of ethics based upon the situation that you are in. Should our business ethics be any different than our personal ethics? Of course not! As Christian business leaders living out our faith on a daily basis in the workplace we have a great opportunity to raise the moral and ethical bar back up where it belongs.

I believe that there are three principals that should be followed to help create a highly ethical work environment:

1. Define what you stand for before the marketplace does it for you – The time to decide whether a particular decision is ethical or not, is not when you are face-to-face with the decision. At the Bellota Group (www.bellotagroup.com/values.php) we established our Statement of Purpose and Core Ideology at the start of our company and use them as our ethical compass for making all decisions. They are posted in our office lobby, on our website and are a part of the presentations we make to potential investors. In this way, we hopefully do not allow the circumstances of a particular situation to cause us to rationalize a decision that doesn’t align with our fundamental morals and ethics.
2. Renew your mind…but make sure you trust the sources – In Romans 12:2 Paul instructs us not to conform to secular definitions of right and wrong but be transformed by the renewing of our minds through the sound counsel found in the Word of God. The Bible is as relevant on Monday as it is on Sunday and should be our primary source when faced with an ethical dilemma. Additionally, there are outstanding books available for Christian business people looking to achieve marketplace success without selling their soul (Loving Monday by Beckett, Life @ Work by Maxwell, etc.).
3. Utilize a trusted group of advisors to hold you accountable – It is a great idea to have Christian advisors outside of your work place that can give you insight, hold you accountable and cheer you on. I am a member of the C12 Group (www.c12group.com), a national organization of Christian CEO’s and business owners looking to build Great Businesses for a Greater Purpose. Once a month I have the opportunity to meet with other Christian business leaders who are facing similar issues in a variety of different industries. I draw a tremendous amount of strength from my Christian board of advisors and it is through these interactions that I am continually challenged to raise the bar at the Bellota Group.

There are plenty of stories on the front pages of our newspapers of ethics failures by business leaders that have systematically caused the fall of major corporations. “A call to lead involves great responsibilities.” John Beckett states in his book Loving Monday “Good intentions must be backed up with unrelenting vigilance. Leaders must walk the talk, and must take care that others they seek to lead do so as well.” As Christian business men and women we must walk the talk and as we do we have the opportunity to help raise the ethical bar in our workplace back up where it belongs.