Why Ethics Should Be First

As I watched the mid-term election returns on Tuesday night, I was struck by a discussion regarding a poll conducted by Fox News in September.  In that poll, voters ranked the economy as their top issue followed by trustworthiness of candidates as their second issue. 

Now I definitely agree with the importance of targeting our efforts on improving the economy, but to me, seeing a candidate’s integrity viewed as a secondary issue was unexpected, yet probably quite predictable.  Clearly, it can be debated that just because trustworthiness is ranked as a number two issue does not mean it is unimportant.  

But what happens when we view the voter poll in the context of a corporate environment?  Should the financial and operational performance of a company be placed ahead of its employees conducting themselves in a trustworthy fashion?  My answer to that is, “No”, because in a corporate world, I see trustworthiness as a cornerstone of integrity which leads directly to upholding proper ethics.  And without proper ethics, the performance of a company is likely doomed, evidenced by the perils of WorldCom and Enron.

For many years, I oversaw the corporate trade compliance functions of a major U.S. retailer, where maintaining an ethical approach to solving importing and exporting compliance issues was essential.  Indeed, I was tested at times, especially on those rare occasions when imported merchandise arrived in our possession without being subject to the proper government clearances.  

In one instance, we received a shipment of handbags from a supplier in Italy for which we learned upon opening that each bag contained a small patch of decorative python skin.  This may sound harmless, but python is an endangered species and requires documentary submission to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before entering into the United States.  Complicating the matter was that the shipment had not been declared with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

We certainly could have remained silent because the shipment was in our possession, but we did not.  We chose the ethical approach and disclosed the shipment to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and although we paid a minor penalty, we gained the respect of the government for conducting our business properly and revealing the error.  Such a matter did not have the magnitude and significance of those of WorldCom and Enron, but regardless of the company and the issues, ethics should come first. 

Should we have remained silent?  Absolutely not!  When operating a corporate trade compliance program it is mandatory that you perform with the highest levels of integrity, which means disclosing your errors, even if it may result in a small penalty.  In the case of the handbags, we purposefully delayed distributing the merchandise to our stores until the matter was resolved.  Did it result in lost sales?  Yes, it did, but in the end, we elected the right option that demonstrated we were a trustworthy company.

Just like the Fox News poll voters, I want to see solid and progressive improvement in the economy.  But I first want to know that our candidates are trustworthy, as this will hopefully lay the foundation for sound, ethical decisions that will result in a positive performance.