Will cost you big time

Some sales people would approach me with a very tempting offer. They would, on top of every material I order, provide me with a little “commission.”

I had partners and I ran the company. It was standard practice in the industry that a small “commission” would be huge in terms of the quantity of orders placed on a yearly basis.

It was tempting, but by the grace of God, I refused because I wanted to sleep peacefully at night and would not have to explain why I needed to do so in front of The Ilocana who had labored with me through the even harder years before that.

You might think that at this point I am being self-righteous and condemn those who may be involved in similar practices. I can assure you I am not. The reason being is practical.

So let me tell you another story. There were occasions when I would be invited to the supplier’s company functions and later in the night, the same inebriated sales agent, having too much of a good time and alcohol in his system would proudly boast about how much money my competitors were making out of his “commissions” and how greedy some of them have become in wanting to have more.

Then he started cussing and cursing the same people he had tempted. I never let that observation and impression leave me. Until today I can still visualize that evening when that conversation took place. And believe me, he was just one of the many who would gossip about their client’s inappropriate behavior. I was certain I did not want to have any of that.

“Every person has a price” as the popular saying would go. Well, I guess it may be true, but money alone earned through unethical means is just way too cheap for me.

Today many business companies have strict ethical standards and strict governance initiatives. That is a good thing. But the reality is that dishonest gains through unethical behavior are still happening in many business organizations.

Here is my 5 cents worth of unsolicited advice. Do not seek dishonest gains. Many people I have met do. Dishonest gains through unethical practices do not make the person smarter and other people dumber, it merely reflects the fact that the person has taken advantage of situations wherein too much trust was given more than what the person deserves.

Organizations that continue to allow, ignore, encourage and turn a blind eye, will produce leaders who go with the flow and build a terrible company culture devoid of trust and integrity. This would definitely bother vendors, suppliers, regulators and even customers.

The company will experience a nasty set of internal consequences that are akin to tumors. And word gets out in the marketplace. The tumor becomes malignant and towards the end, the very same proponents of dishonest gains get to be victimized by the very practice they propagate; leads to the deterioration of organizational health and competitiveness.

It will be difficult to identify the malignant spaces. True profitability will not be identified as accounting practices could easily be window-dressed and the truth swept under the rug for purposes of expediency.

This in turn may lead to a misguided attempt to arrest the real dysfunctions caused by the guilty parties.

There are three signs that such things are indeed happening:

1. Poor employee performance.

2. High employee turnover. Those who cannot stomach the practice leave first.

3. Prevalent employee fraud and malfeasance.

The cost of each is staggering. Meanwhile, people in the organization are watching and observing. They are talking about this and the vibrant conversations usually happen in their pantries, coffee shops and cafeterias.

They go home and they talk about their observations with their family members and close friends and the word spreads. Not only this, there will be great internal strife among leaders to gain the biggest advantage for themselves and not for their organizations.

Things are just so complicated when honesty, truthfulness and integrity are sacrificed. So when the need to be honest is met with a response of, “But it’s not that simple…” Tell them it is… if you are willing to stand on what is right and do what is right.

It’s got to be done. Dishonest gains are losses. And they will cost you big time!

(Bring your leaders to the Shangri-La Hotel Makati and experience two inspiring days of leadership training with Francis Kong in his highly acclaimed and updated Level Up Leadership this March 15-16. For registration or inquiries contact April at +63928 559 1798)