6Ethics
Ethos – the characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as manifested in its beliefs and aspirations …
relating to one's character…
As a CEO or a founder of a company, it's often upon you to create a code of conduct for the company – this becomes a foundational compass, the North Star and guiding light for the business. Call it an ethical manifesto, such a code helps any team member in making the right choices or doing the right thing – one of the often sprinkled vagaries of modern-day mission statements.
BUILDING A START-UP WITH A SENSE OF MEANING
Ethical codes of conduct are not the first thing on the mind when we optimize for speed and hypergrowth. Let us raise the round of financing, launch the product, get to the first million in revenues – we can work on the ethical codes sometime later, in the future, as we progress. A case in point is Uber, a company that grew faster than any other, yet was beset with ethical conundrums, legal challenges, sexual harassments on its way to becoming a $50 billion juggernaut. It had declared war on, and made an enemy of a taxi-driver. Its goal was to not just to usher in transportation but to destroy the yellow cab. On the path to its initial public offering (IPO) riches, some of its top executives chose to look away and consistently ignore any codes of conduct. The CEO was fired and board members resigned. After the new CEO was ushered in, he went on a year-long apology tour.
In a study focused on increasing the ...
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