October 11, 2017
Sometimes in life, especially at work, one needs to take a pause, to travel the distance. It may mean letting go of the small temptation of the low hanging fruit to eventually get the prize catch. This is what sets a straight jacketed entrepreneur apart from his ‘loose ethics’ mates.

‘Ethics’ in businesses have gained a lot of importance, almost as much the lack of it has. Ethics is the propeller for any successful entrepreneurship activity. Any venture, new or otherwise is like a rudderless boat, which goes haywire in the face of crisis. Without the correct ethics, one just fails to see the lighthouse.

While the concept of ethics has witnessed a change from the earlier days, the ground reality remains. Ethics are the broad guidelines of what is acceptable in society, in the business sense, the acceptable ways of conducting business. Any entrepreneur worth his mettle cannot go far without the strong base of ethics to back him up, or rather catch him, were he to succumb to the unkind winds of business cycles. As Mr Parag Shah, the chief mentor of MIDAS says, ‘ Ethics are a brilliant long term investment”- they are what carry you through when the going gets rough.

So what are Ethics? This seemingly complicated concept is in fact easy to understand, if followed to the letter. Ethics which are the cornerstone of any winning initiative rest on the strong pillars of respect, honour, customer focus, passion for work, integrity and persistence. Of course these are not sacrosanct. These building blocks could differ from one organization to another, in different measures and grades. But the broad framework, may it be a global entrepreneurship initiative or a family managed business, remains the same. Here’s how they work.

Respect:
Respect yourself and respect the people you work with. While respecting oneself is the backbone of ethics, giving others their worth by displaying equal measures of respect is of prime importance. One needs to build a team which respects each others’ differences with the same gumption as their similarities.

Honour:
Let’s face it. Who doesn’t love to have a badge of honour? Or better still, flaunt it? Honouring team members who have contributed to your success, is what a good entrepreneur should do. While it’s easy to chide a team member for a faux pas, it is more meaningful to give him a pat on the back when he deserves it. Privately or publicly, he deserves the accolade. That’s what an honour is all about.

Customer Focus:
While customer focus is always is the mantra of a good business, some companies are getting it all wrong. A sound entrepreneur is one who gives the customer what he needs. There is no point in producing a product that customer never wanted, but since it’s on the production line anyway, to give an aspiration aura to it. It is only ethical to satisfy customer needs, and to do it in the best way possible.

Passion for Work and Persistence:
Without passion, there is no drive. All entrepreneurs know it, even before they knew they were “entrepreneurs”. Relentless passion and persistence is what brings fruits to labour, without the tumult. Any new initiative stems from the passion of doing something different, going on the path less trodden and the grit to follow through. Ask any entrepreneur, he has been there and done it. Not the pay check but the excitement drives them to deliver.

Integrity:
How is your spine? Erect or bent over? An entrepreneur should not only have righteous integrity but of the customer, how you fight like a valiant gladiator even when the going is rough, it’s what keeps any business, size not withstanding stand erect when adversity comes knocking. You got Integrity with the business, you almost got it all.

This quick round up of ethics will be analysed in detail in the Midas. All waiting in the wings entrepreneurs, are your ethics on the right side? Lets discover more!