This entry is part 14 of 17 in the series Conscious Business Ethics One of the ways I funded myself through my university education was being a dance instructor specifically teaching the American Social and Country Western styles. Having to maintain control over classes sometimes as large as 60 people (often more interested in flirting than […]
The Trap of Zero-Sum Thinking
This entry is part 13 of 17 in the series Conscious Business Ethics When I was a senior in high school, one of several extracurricular activities I enjoyed was drama, not that I was a particularly good actor. Still, I enjoyed the theater and not only acted, but also did technical work and directing. For us, […]
Losing with Honor
This entry is part 12 of 17 in the series Conscious Business Ethics In the latter part of 480 BC, two important battles, which likely shaped the path of Western civilization, were fought simultaneously, one on land and one on sea. They are known as the Battle of Themopylae and the Battle of Artemisium, respectively. We […]
Human Relationships, Not Numbers
This entry is part 11 of 17 in the series Conscious Business Ethics Mother Teresa spent her life laboring for the poor and seeking to alleviate not only the poor’s lack of bread, but also the lack of love she often found there. To many, her task seemed so insurmountable that some would ask why […]
The Great Liege Lord: Greed
This entry is part 10 of 17 in the series Conscious Business Ethics In the Middle Ages, feudalistic monarchies controlled Europe, especially the lands held by England and France. In this oft romanticized time period, society was very hierarchical. The lands were divided up into massive estates controlled by a lord. Under him, vassals worked the […]
Money: A Means, Not an End
This entry is part 9 of 17 in the series Conscious Business Ethics As was recently mentioned, money is amoral. It is only one of a number of tools we have when building a successful organization or enterprise—not the only one. The problem occurs when we start to confuse the tool (the means) with the goals […]
Amorality of Money
This entry is part 8 of 17 in the series Conscious Business Ethics Moving on with our ongoing series on Conscious Business Ethics, we now move into the Money section of the Manifesto. Money is an interesting thing. Originally developed to allow for time-shifting and product-shifting in a barter-based trading society, it’s now become so much […]
Partnerships of Trust
This entry is part 7 of 17 in the series Conscious Business Ethics Perhaps one of the more potentially controversial statements in the Conscious Business Ethics Manifesto is this: I have no need to do business with the dishonest. So, it may need a little more explanation. Simply put, I want to do business with […]
Misdirection and Deception
This entry is part 6 of 17 in the series Conscious Business Ethics The three of us were sitting outdoors at a cafe in a small European town. The evening was falling, and we were attempting to fight back the haze of jet lag with an evening meal (which, in retrospect, may not have been the […]
The Handshake
This entry is part 5 of 17 in the series Conscious Business Ethics The handshake has a very long history in western civilization. However, even more than a greeting, the handshake has come to represent something even more important; it’s how we seal deals. Or, at least that’s how it used to be. In my lifetime, […]
