Reasons Matter

Erosion can be subtle. The ground on which we stand can shift in nearly imperceptible increments until one day what was is no longer, and we end up moving backwards.

When was “do the right thing because it is the right thing to do” upstaged by “do the right thing because it leads to competitive advantage?” What does this reframing say about where we are as individual leaders and as organizations, industries, or a society?

What happens when there is no competitive advantage to doing the right thing? What then?

Providing products and services that improve lives, that make positive contributions to the world, that help solve problems not create them, while treating all involved with care and respect, is not the right thing to do just because it can lead to competitive advantage. It is the right thing to do simply because it is the right thing to do. Too much focus on secondary or tertiary reasons can erode the ethical foundation on which the entire argument rests. Let’s continue to remind ourselves of this as the various debates unfold.