Making choices today in business

I just got a copy of Truett Cathy’s book Wealth is it Worth it?

The forward was written by Ken Blanchard and the introduction by Dave Ramsey.

Shortly after getting the book I ran across Damon Horowitz TED Talks presentation on YouTube on “moral operating system.”

Horowitz does a live crowd source and asks the audience to raise their hands if they use iPhone or an Android.  After he does this then he asks them when trying to evaluate a situation using kantian ethics or Consequentialism.  Almost no hands go up in the audience.

What Horowitz extrapolates from this is we have stronger opinions about our handheld devices than the moral framework we should use.

On the back of Truett Cathy’s book is a quote from Warren Buffett that he said to Cathy, “I can’t remember exactly what I paid for the last Chick-fil-A I had or the last shirt I bought. But the one thing I do remember is how I got treated. You forget the price, but nobody forgets how they’re treated.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG3vB2Cu_jM]

Why am I writing about this on this blog?  I believe this is the key to being successful in business. You need to have a moral compass in life. By having ethics and values that you understand will help you build your brand and the trust of people.

Chick-fil-A took off in 1982 in sales.  This is when the executive team established the corporate purpose:

To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-fil-A.

If you don’t have a personal mission statement for you and your company this is the time to form one. It will help you guide the rest of your life.