This article was written for the first issue of "ISACtimes".
Hello everyone. Welcome to the first issue of “Isactimes”, our new monthly news letter that will keep everyone up-to-date on the happenings in Ideas. This is the fore-word.
Several years ago I came across a book whose title was so catchy that I bought the book without even looking between the covers. The book was tittled “There is no such thing as ‘Business’ Ethics” by John Maxwell. I was a different person then and instinctively felt that the author would be arguing for the principle that ‘everything is fair in business’ in these times of cutthroat competition. Maximum profit should the only goal of any business. The means did not matter as long as one did not do anything stupid enough to get caught in a legal tangle. Well, I was surprised to find myself wrong. What John Maxwell means is that there is one universal principle that applies to everything in life –personal or professional. There is no need to make several rules. That golden rule according the author is “treat others like how you want yourself to be treated”. There is isn’t separate entity as business ethics.
All of us take several decisions everyday that directly or indirectly affect the way we as a company do business. The decisions can be as complex as figuring out who is assigned to a particular project, to something as simple as how punctual one needs to be for client meetings. I believe all business decisions can be based on that golden rule as long as we are aware of ALL the stakeholders (affected parties) and then apply the rule.
Take for example the decision on who works in what project. Stakeholders here are the the customer, employee and Ideas as a company. A customer centric approach would be to use the best performing resource of our company. A member centric approach would be to assign the resource to the project of her expertise or where she has the most to gain or learn. Company centric approach would be to strike the best financial deal. The RIGHT decision is one where you strike the right balance between the customer, member and company interests. That would mean ensuring that your best employee is not punished for his efficiency with more work, the client company that trusted you is not standed with an inexperienced team and neither Ideas nor you are shortchanged financially.
Taking decisions in the best interest of all stakeholders, i.e. clients, members and vendors is the best way to retain customers, motivate members and maximize profits.
Several years ago I came across a book whose title was so catchy that I bought the book without even looking between the covers. The book was tittled “There is no such thing as ‘Business’ Ethics” by John Maxwell. I was a different person then and instinctively felt that the author would be arguing for the principle that ‘everything is fair in business’ in these times of cutthroat competition. Maximum profit should the only goal of any business. The means did not matter as long as one did not do anything stupid enough to get caught in a legal tangle. Well, I was surprised to find myself wrong. What John Maxwell means is that there is one universal principle that applies to everything in life –personal or professional. There is no need to make several rules. That golden rule according the author is “treat others like how you want yourself to be treated”. There is isn’t separate entity as business ethics.
All of us take several decisions everyday that directly or indirectly affect the way we as a company do business. The decisions can be as complex as figuring out who is assigned to a particular project, to something as simple as how punctual one needs to be for client meetings. I believe all business decisions can be based on that golden rule as long as we are aware of ALL the stakeholders (affected parties) and then apply the rule.
Take for example the decision on who works in what project. Stakeholders here are the the customer, employee and Ideas as a company. A customer centric approach would be to use the best performing resource of our company. A member centric approach would be to assign the resource to the project of her expertise or where she has the most to gain or learn. Company centric approach would be to strike the best financial deal. The RIGHT decision is one where you strike the right balance between the customer, member and company interests. That would mean ensuring that your best employee is not punished for his efficiency with more work, the client company that trusted you is not standed with an inexperienced team and neither Ideas nor you are shortchanged financially.
Taking decisions in the best interest of all stakeholders, i.e. clients, members and vendors is the best way to retain customers, motivate members and maximize profits.
Sudhir Patavardhan, Founder and VP Technology, ISACGlobal
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