November 28th, 2007
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Every entrepreneur should have a business mentorsomeone whos been through everything that theyre going through and can share their wisdom. Whether he knows it or not, my business mentor is none other than former Enron Executive Ken Lay. For many, he might not make the most obvious choice of a mentor, with his track record of lying, cheating, and stealing his way to success, but that is precisely why this choice is so appealing to me.
As his first duty as my business mentor, Ken (Mr. Lay to the rest of you) can grow my social network. This guy knows everybodylikely because hes paid most of them off at one point or another. He can introduce me to people who will come in handy when I need to get out of felony conspiracy charges. This is just one of the many valuable aspects of our business mentoring relationship.
I can trust Ken to be my business mentor, because he knows that if he makes one false move the government will be on him like white on rice. Much like the old saying that the safest time to fly is the day after a crash, I feel like the safest day to have Ken as my business mentor is right after a huge financial scandal that covers the television, newspaper and radio waves for years, and gets used as water cooler fodder even now.
Furthermore, hell be my business mentor for freeunlike many online services that try to charge for business mentoring services, Ken just got away with the biggest scandal in business history. Thus, he doesnt really need my money, because we all know that he has a few million stashed in a bank somewhere overseas. I get a free business mentor, and he gets to pretend that hes still somebody specialits a true symbiotic relationship.
But, one of the most important reasons that I choose Ken as my business mentor: hes already made every mistake in the book, so I can utilize his expertise in steering me away from potential business disasterslike billion-dollar financial scandals, or particularly creative bookkeeping practices. Also, as my business mentorshould the need arise, Ken can point me in the direction of a good lawyer to get me out of any particularly sticky situations.
Since Ken doesnt have anything better to do right now than be my business mentor, I cant see any reason why hed decline the request. After all, its not like hell ever be hired at another company worth a hill of beans, so be may as well use his spare time to promote entrepreneurship in the global community. By being my business mentor, Ken can pay off his debt to society, one lie at a time, all the while keeping me from heading to prison.
So, its easy to see why Ken Lay makes the best business mentor everI dont even see any other choices. So, over the course of our business mentoring relationship, Ill expect him to help me with some creative math, then help me to tuck that creative math away where no pesky FBI agents can find it. Like I saida true symbiotic relationship.
Ben Jordan an Austin, TX based x-Fortune 500 Marketing Consultant, now a rogue direct response internet marketer. His true love is helping small business owners, not become a 90% statistic that will fail historically. To receive for FREE “The Science of Getting Rich” e-book, please visit http://www.mymillionairementor.com
To Blame or Not To BlameA man can fall many times, but he isnt a failure until he begins to blame somebody else. (John Burroughs)Fire her, she set me up! John yelled quite loudly. He was incredibly angry and for good reason. However, he was really angry at the wrong person. What he was really saying was […]
Written by info on November 28th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Youre buying coffee. One label says this roasted mountain-fresh Colombian coffee is ideal for all coffee makers. But is it ideal for the coffee beans maker, the farmer? Your choice is empowering. When you choose fair trade, you get more than coffee; you get the opportunity to enrich someones life.
What Is Fair Trade?
Fair trade is an international alternative trading system designed to empower disadvantaged farmers, artisans, and labourers. The movement began 50 years ago when international aid organizations worked to help farmers and labourers in Africa break free from oppressive trading practices. These inequitable trading practices still exist today.
Farmers and artisans in developing countries rely on intermediaries for market information and trade. These middlemen usually pay less than market price and keep the producers trapped in a cycle of poverty. Small-scale farmers cant afford to produce the crop. They cant afford the overhead or their financings interest rates. They abandon their farms, or, in the case of some cocoa producers, they employ unpaid workers, often children.
Through fair trade, farmers and artisans deal directly with members of fair trade organizations, bypassing the middleman and receiving a fair and sustainable wage for their work. According to the Fair Trade Federation, the goal of a member organization is to benefit the artisans they work with, not maximize profits. By reducing the number of middlemen and minimizing overhead costs, FTOs (fair trade organizations) return up to 40 percent of the retail price of an item to the producer. Producers receive a fair wage for their product, children are not exploited, and long-term relationships are encouraged to provide continuity in trading. Fair trade considers the enduring well-being of the person behind the product.
Who Decides Whats Fair?
In Canada, the Fair Trade Certified logo is managed by TransFair Canada, a nonprofit organization that belongs to the international Fairtrade Labeling Organization (FLO). Use of the logo comes with very strict rules and terms, to which all members are bound by contract.
The Canadian Fair Trade Certified logo is applied to product-specific items only, meaning that the product, not the company, is certified as fair trade. On the other hand, the Fair Trade Federation logo identifies the company as a certified member. Two of the largest members in the US are Ten Thousand Villages and SERRV International.
The Fair Trade Federation and FLO monitor their producers and members. They ensure that the playing field of trade is level and fair. For the consumer, these logos assure that the goods are produced in environmentally responsible conditions and that the cultures and communities of the worker are respected and sustained.
Is It Working?
Yes. According to the Fair Trade Federation, sales for Ten Thousand Villages in the US and Canada between 1985 and 1998 increased by nearly $15 million, creating over 12,000 full-time jobs for artisans and farmers.
As more consumers use their purchasing power for social justice, large corporations consider the fair trade alternative. Currently, there are 117 Canadian fair trade licensees, and 44 source countries are registered with the FLO. Todays fair trade products include crafts, coffee, tea, chocolate, soaps, cosmetics, sugar, and fruit. Coming soon are wines, nuts, oils, and more.
A consumer in Canada buys fair trade and a child in Colombia goes to school.
Thats a strong cup of coffee.
Catherine Jones has focused her writing and editing career on health and safety. She is a regular contributor to alive magazine. Visit http://www.alive.com for related articles.
To Blame or Not To BlameA man can fall many times, but he isnt a failure until he begins to blame somebody else. (John Burroughs)Fire her, she set me up! John yelled quite loudly. He was incredibly angry and for good reason. However, he was really angry at the wrong person. What he was really saying was […]
Written by info on November 28th, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on ethics.
Everyone in business will eventually face a real crisis of conscience at some point or points in his or her career. Before you face that critical choice, I believe most people would say it is easy to think that they will act ethically, no matter what the personal cost. However, what will you really do when you are faced with the personal cost of losing the job you love (or desperately need) and placing your familys welfare and your own self worth in jeopardy?
How confident are you that you will act ethically? How valuable are your ethics to you? Does your salary buy blind loyalty? What is your price to keep quiet or look the other way? These are all questions you must ask yourself when faced with an ethical dilemma in your business.
Is your personal respect and integrity negotiable? It is probably safe to say that all or certainly most of us have encountered situations where there was a bending of the rules; the special person, client or coworker who gets special consideration; the dishonest deal; the telling of a blatant untruth; and so on. Do you have an ethical compass in good working order to guide you in resolving these ethical dilemmas?
There are numerous examples I could give to illustrate an ethical dilemma. I chose one that occurred in my local community where a magazine publisher skipped town without publishing a promised issue of her magazine, but had her staff out selling advertisement with the staffs knowledge that the issue they were selling advertising for would not be published. What would you do if, as an employee, you were asked to sell advertising for a publication that you knew would never be published? Would you still sell the advertising? If yes, that says something about the value of ethics to you. What would you do if you, as someone else inside or outside the organization, knew that someone was doing just that? If you do not speak up and tell someone, this says something about your price to keep quiet.
What will you do the next time you are faced with an ethical dilemma? Perhaps the following selected quotations about ethics in business and society can provide some guidance or at least some food for thought.
+ We will not lie, steal or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does.” (from the U.S. Air Force Academy code of conduct)
+ Honor is better than honors.” (President Abraham Lincoln)
+ “A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” (Max Lucado)
+ “It has become dramatically clear that the foundation of corporate integrity is personal integrity.” (DiPiazza, Sam, CEO of PriceWaterhouseCoopers)
+ “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.” (Dwight D. Eisenhower)
+ “To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.”
(Abraham Lincoln)
+ To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage. (Confucius)
+ If ethics are poor at the top, that behavior is copied down through the organization. (Robert Noyce, inventor of the silicon chip)
In my opinion, American businesses and business people are at a crossroads in their governance and risk management processes. I also believe that the best of the best, the truly world class companies of the future will have business ethics and personal integrity as their top goal. I believe this because if ethics and integrity are second, then ethics and integrity will be subject to compromise and sacrifice where and when a choice must be made. My challenge to every business person, and especially business owners and leaders, is to ask yourself How valuable are your ethics or what is your price to compromise your ethics?
If you are interested in learning more about the importance of addressing ethical dilemmas with a solid proactive ethical approach, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his website at http://www.businesscoach4u.com or email Glenn at
jgecoach@aol.com
How Valuable Are Your Ethics or What is Your Price to Compromise Your Ethics?
By: J. Glenn Ebersole, Jr., Chief Executive of J. G. Ebersole Associates and The Renaissance Group
Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, Glenns Guiding Lines Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach and has published more than 225 articles on business.
To Blame or Not To BlameA man can fall many times, but he isnt a failure until he begins to blame somebody else. (John Burroughs)Fire her, she set me up! John yelled quite loudly. He was incredibly angry and for good reason. However, he was really angry at the wrong person. What he was really saying was […]
Written by info on November 28th, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on ethics.