Umair Huque is saying that companies need to be good before they try to be great, He’s suggesting that companies form their DNA by having a higher purpose and by making ethical reasoning part of their everyday business practices.
Among the five point list, having employees engaged in their talents as suggested by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman in their book, First, Break All the Rules. Really scoping out what employees do well and then have them do only that – what a concept!
A culture of meaning and what he calls ‘ethical accelerators’ are two more points and we, at Ethical Impact L3C couldn’t agree more. 90% of our work is trying to get company leadership to understand that motivation is tacit (underneath our conscious mind) and fueled by the energy of emotion. People do good work because they care and because they know it’s expected and they are supported in doing what they think needs to be done. This requires a lost of trust from management. If you don’t trust your employees then this doesn’t make sense to yu land you should stop reading right now.
If you don’t do any of the others mentioned here, then you can’t do the last one – manage from facts. Data is just as good as the methods of gathering it, and if people are wary of the ‘shoot the messenger’ syndrome, then the data you get is what you want to see – NOT what is really happening. You may think you are managing from facts, but the facts you are using aren’t real. They will only be real if people care and if they have the power and authority to get it and still keep their jobs.
Ethical Impact L3C is committed to helping companies reach these goals, that’s why the Forever Green™ certification starts at working with small companies of 1-5 people. Get it into your companies DNA and you will have an easier time of it as you grow. If you plan to go public, then meeting the SECs criteria will be a piece of cake!
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