Great principles are those that have produced successful companies over the years.  Former Vistage speaker Mac McNair highlights ten basic principles to utilize when faced with making ethical decisions:

1. A proper respect for the authority in your company. Authority goes three ways: up, down and lateral. “Unfortunately, we tend to work it only in one dimension,” says McNair. “Recognizing who the authority is in any situation and applying this principle in ethical decisions is more effective in the long haul.”
2. Singleness of purpose. Have a corporate purpose statement against which you can measure a particular alternative. “By definition, a business provides a product or service to someone, so include that in your corporate statement,” says McNair. “Profit is important, but it isn’t the main purpose of the business. The five recipients of any purpose statement are employees, management, customers, investors and community.”
3. Effective communication in word and deed. “Have good job descriptions for your people. Most conflict comes because people don’t understand each other, and they don’t understand each other because they don’t understand what the job is,” says McNair. Put things in writing.
4. Proper work, rest and recreation for your people. People need vacations and downtime to be with their families and recharge their energy and enthusiasm. “These times of rest should be clearly defined by the employer,” explains McNair.



5. Respect for elders. A study in Fortune magazine shows that the ancient concept of counsel with elders is highly effective. “One of the problems of business today,” laments McNair, “is downsizing by laying off all the ‘elders’.”
6. Respect for human life, dignity and rights. The personnel policies and procedures you have in place should address this issue. “Apply the ‘Golden Rule’ as the fundamental criterion for hiring and firing,” says McNair. “Satisfy customers’ needs with the best possible products and services and protect the health and safety of employees.”
7. Stability of the sexes and the family. “That is tough today because the definition of the family is so fluid,” McNair points out. “Every individual has the fundamental priority and responsibility for a strong family life. Offer equal opportunity for men and women and respect the dignity of each individual, single or married.”
8. Proper allocation of resources. “This has to do with effective asset management and organizational economy,” says McNair. “Pay your bills on time according to vendor agreements. Some of the aging we allow to happen today is questionable.”
9. Honesty and integrity in business dealings. Produce truthful company reports and have full disclosure in business dealings. “Honor commitments and show respect for others’ time by being on time yourself,” he says.
10. Maintain the right of ownership of property. “Manage company resources and assets toward promoting and protecting the free enterprise system, self-regulation and voluntary compliance,” he concludes.

The world has stripped the pause out of our lives. Managers today must stop and take the time to get clear on where their businesses are going and where they want them to go. That means asking the question: what does winning or excellence look like? It’s not just the financial metrics of winning, though that’s really important too, but other components of success as well, including adaptability and sustainability.

It’s never been clearer that the world of work has changed even in the last several years:

• Communications—you can instantly connect anytime, anywhere with anyone via cell phone, email, Skype, Twitter, PDAs, social media, and blogs; keeping connected to friends, family, and important for your purposes—existing and potential customers.
• Information—we’re always just a couple of clicks away from getting answers to almost any question, which is especially important for your customers.
• Speed and size—distance has been eliminated as a boundary around the globe. Faster and smaller is the new way of life. A 10-second hiccup in connectivity can seem like an eternity.
• Technology—is there anything that hasn’t been tremendously impacted by advances in technology, and who knows what’s just around the corner even next year?
• Competition for customers—today, more than 1 million different products on average are available in a supermarket.
• Leveled playing field—The ability to share information around the world instantaneously, coupled with the ability to access it easily, means it’s less complicated than ever to start a business.
• Generations and diversity—there are four generations of people at work for the first time ever in the U.S., meaning differences in needs, wants, values, and desires is enormous.

These changes set the context for how a business—in order to be great—must be agile and flexible in a world that’s changing faster than anyone ever imagined. 

There are lots of “thought bubbles” that get in the way—limiting beliefs that drive our behaviors and keeps us running, sometimes in the wrong direction, because we’ve got this value around speed that trumps other considerations that are important in today’s market. The pace that we tend to operate makes it particularly easy to come up with simple statements that aren’t necessarily based in reality, and certainly don’t make for great leadership.