Response to: "Self-Evident Truths""The true future of America lies in the employees, not in the financial wheeler dealers who are buying and selling corporations as if they are chattel. Too many financial people got to the top and don't view their businesses as living breathing things. They view them instead as financial portfolios, and so they managed them very inhumanely. As a consequence, they were looking for short term profitability, not long term viability... " -Harley Teerlink (Former Harley Davidson CEO)Th ...view middle of the document...
Socrates stated, "Truth is absolute, not an opinion."Truth is constant, being honest with yourself and those around you. It's void of opinion. Truth is not perception and you can't rationally justify a lie. If people are taught to make decisions on their principles and values when they are younger, they don't have to make that decision when pressured to be dishonest.The biggest problem with the corporate world is that people are constantly trying to justify unethical situations, with the fact it is not illegal. The fact is: If someone has to check to see if something is illegal, then that person is rationalizing the situation to make it seem ethical.Truth is not a convenience, it's not what gets you an executive office or aristocratic tittles of VP or CEO, and it's only what is right. You can't be honest in your business dealings if you are dishonest in your personal life. Those dishonest dealings will ultimately trickle into your business dealings.Leaders need to be humane, ethical, and honest. Richard F. Teerlink, CEO of Harley Davidson stated, "As I see it, leaders have three responsibilities. One is to ensure that you define the reality, and the other two are to be a servant and to say thank-you."
