Written by: Paul A Cicchini, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
A headhunter who hired me for a school job once called me a ‘unicorn’. Recalling it years later, I not only agree with her assessment, but actually revel in that description.
While the characterization is flattering, I must admit it’s a small subset of folks that are not only business owners but academics as well. I own and run my own publishing company (One Knight Publishing), and I am also a practicing school psychologist. Pretty hard to hunt down someone with that diverse combination of experiences. You may insert your own joke about Liam Neeson in “Taken” and having a “very particular set of skills” here, but it’s really helped me over the years. If you happen to have an “Odd Coupling” of experiences yourself, never underestimate what an advantage it might be.
Before I became a psychologist, I was a different kind of ‘behavior scientist’. My first career was in business-to-business sales, using my knowledge of human thinking and behavior to be a more successful salesperson. In upcoming articles, we will discuss how to use psychological constructs such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to be a more effective, successful marketer. For now, though, let’s focus on one of my favorite subjects, morality in business.
A lot has been said lately about “Dark Psychology” and the use of manipulation/coercion techniques to gain an advantage in the corporate world. Shockingly, there are myriad books out there extoling the advantages of these methods, and I urge you to beware. If you have extensive knowledge in human attitudes and behaviors, it’s a slippery ethical slope. It’s tough trying to convince customers of the value of your services without exploiting them. As long as we’re on the subject of persuasion, my ultimate goal here is to make a compelling argument that ethical behavior in business is not only the most admirable policy but the most successful one in the long run.
Back to wearing my behavioral scientist white hat for a moment: my specialty in the field of Education is Social Emotional Learning and Character Development. I write books, curriculum, stories, even comic books that teach kids the value of character traits such as Empathy, Honesty, Diversity, Relationship Building, and Responsible Decision Making. It would be audaciously insincere of me to preach that to my students and not practice it in my own business dealings. Although I surely don’t want to be branded as a hypocrite, the main reason I have ethical business practices is because I had two pretty good role models in my life. My dad owned a beverage distributorship, and my father-in-law owned a snack food distributorship. We used to joke that between the two businesses you could have a heck of a party. Dad was one of the most popular guys I knew. Everyone liked Chick, not just because he was affable, but because he was kind. He cared about the welfare of his partner, his customers, and their families. Pop-Pop Gene, my father-in-law, was successful because his word was his bond. You didn’t need a contract with him because if he made a promise to you, he made sure he delivered on it. He expected the same from you. Both men were deeply religious, but their business practices showed that they had an abiding faith in their fellow man as well.
My ‘dads’ worked in a different time than we do, and I don’t recommend that you work without contracts, but fairness in business is not a lost value of a bygone era. Let’s face it: television and movies are rife with characters, both fictional and reality stars that rose to the top by being ruthless. J.R. Ewing; Gordon Gecko; Lucious Lyon. Modern media tries to make us admire the anti-hero. As tempting as it is, they are not worthy of our praise, and certainly not worth emulating. Before you crown me “Captain Obvious,” it’s also clear that many people still haven’t gotten the message. It seems like almost every year, we have people like Bernie Madoff, Jeffrey Weinstein, Elizabeth Holmes, and Jordan Belfort bursting onto the scene with their success but ending up with handcuffs where their Rolex watches once were.
So, my advice to you is to adhere to the following business ethics commandments not just because they will keep you out of trouble, but because they will lead to ultimate success.
Should your company reduce its carbon footprint? Of course. Engage in fair trade? Surely. Have anti-discrimination policies? Yep, it’s the law; but considered these virtuous practices as well:
1. Be empathetic; to both your customers and your employees. Workers are more likely to stay with a company if they feel like their employer understands their problems. That works for customer loyalty as well. If you understand your customers’ problems, then you can more effectively communicate how you can help them.
2. Be transparent. Obviously, you should never practice deceptive accounting, but also by clearly communicating to your customers your costs, processes, and policies you will be rewarded with repeat business. Say what you want about Amazon, but I love the fact that I know when my purchase has been picked from the warehouse shelf and when the delivery guy is eight stops away from my house.
3. Be inclusive. I’m not talking about diversity. Nearly everyone knows that discriminatory practices will get you in trouble. I’m talking about including your whole company in the formation of policies. Actively solicit the input from your employees. Everyone. As a corporate manager, one of my favorite books was, “Make It So: Leadership Lessons from Star Trek: The Next Generation” by Wes Roberts and Bill Ross. Yep, I used to be really into that show, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard impressed me as the quintessential leader and the ‘greatest boss’ because he never made unilateral decisions--he valued input from his crew.
4. Be charitable. Corporate giving doesn’t have to be expensive. It doesn’t even have to be monetary. Volunteer. Clean up the neighborhood. Visit your local school and read to the students. Yes, I actually got dressed up as The Cat-In-the-Hat for several years of Read Across America Week so don’t tell me it’s beneath your corporate image to have a little fun with kids. You should do it for purely altruistic reasons, but I can tell you it will create indirect benefits for your business in ways that you never even imagined. You never know. By mentoring our youth, you may be inspiring the next generation of brilliant talent to come and work for you.
5. Be accountable. Typically, in business that means the ol’ “Under-promise and over-deliver,” as well as owning your mistakes. What this really means in this case is to be accountable in your relationships. While honesty is the best business policy, who you associate with matters almost as much. My dad used to tell me, “Right or wrong, you’ll be judged by the company you keep.” At the time, he was talking about my high school friends, but I remembered that advice when it was time for my business dealings. Don’t be afraid to walk away from a major, lucrative deal because your potential customer has a reputation for bad service, tax evasion, social media manipulation, or sexual harassment. Be accountable for doing your homework on your partners and your employees. Social media can be a double-edge sword in that matter.
Follow these principles and you will reap far more benefits than the lazy, dishonest way: a strong, thriving business; a healthy bottom line; a business that you can be proud of; and perhaps best of all a good night’s sleep knowing that you are a pretty good role model. I can tell you from personal experience: the youth of the world are watching you.
Paul A Cicchini, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Sir Paul Cicchini M.Ed., Ed.S., NCSP is a nationally certified school psychologist. He specializes in character education and is the only school psychologist on the East Coast to be certified in the new field of Social Emotional Learning (SEL)/Character Ed (Rutgers Univ. 2016). He is the owner of One Knight Publishing, LLC
Sir Paul aspires to be a well-rounded Renaissance man. His list of personal accomplishments includes cable television host (Cars Weekly Video Magazine-Philadelphia), AP credentialed sports journalist, humorist, adjunct professor, martial artist, fencer, semi-pro football player, high school football coach, collegiate football scout. His title of "Sir" comes from his rank of Knights Commander with the Templar Knights SMOTJ.
His second novel, YOUNG CYRANO, is the fictionalized account of the teenage life of Cyrano de Bergerac. It received a rating from the respected Readers’ Favorite website (click a link to read their five-star review). Paul’s most recent novel, THE ESSENTIALZ is about a team of teenage superheroes that undergo the same challenges as modern teens.
