Reading Time: 3 minutes

I was recently given recognition for good ethics by a worldwide civic club, called Rotary Club International. Someone reported me as being a good example of good ethics in my community and the judges agreed.

I was among a hand full of really wonderful people who were honored at a luncheon. I got a cool prize and an opportunity to give some remarks.

Ethics are not a scarce commodity in Boise

Among the honored guests were several realtors and business owners. Oddly enough there was another contractor in the group. Perhaps our industry is not as screwed up ethically as I had imagined.

• “Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, “What’s in it for me?”― Brian Tracy

I told a story about how I was able to overcome adversity and turn a horrible situation into a happy ending by being persistent and not wavering in my conviction to do the right thing. Interestingly, I could not solve the problem on my own, it took another ethical person to chime in to make my results real.

My belief is that by sharing stories of amazing results that the bar gets raised. Owners of businesses are not always clear ethical thinkers.

Good ethics, like common sense are not a part of the welcome to the world package you get at birth. Sadly, the boss often squashes the employee’s opportunity to shine.

What if when confronted with an ethical dilemma the boss would gather his core employees and say…“That is an interesting problem, what would you guys do in a situation like this?” This is what I call leading by example.

“Service before self”

Holy cow, what if more people lived this way? What kind of world would be living in? This type of behavior is contagious, I’ll bet the success of the Rotary Club is that there is strength in numbers and a sense of one-upmanship.

Ethical self-test

On the very day of the recognition luncheon, I was tested big time. I missed the opportunity to test the Rotarians but I want you to test yourselves.

The set up

A mean person lives in my neighborhood in fact she is evil. I avoid her like the plague. She seems to repeatedly be able to get under my skin. You know the type, every neighborhood has one.

Like any enthusiastic entrepreneur I was up very early, letting the dog out I heard a familiar sound of a bunch of smoke detectors going off. As I bolted around the neighborhood half-dressed it became painfully obvious that it was coming from her house. I pounded on the door, no answer.

What would you do?

1. Pretend like you don’t hear it and go on about your day?…None of the other neighbors called it in
2. Call 911 and report the potential problem.

I know what I did. It was time for the fire guys to wake up anyway.

It’s complicated, I get it

I’m no saint, I’m just an ordinary guy that is trying to keep my moral compass trained on a compassionate heading? Sometimes it seems overwhelmingly complicated and too confusing to be human.

I’ve set up a pay it forward page on my site to let folks know what moves me to be a participating part of the human race in my community. Read about it here.

---

Your comments are welcome. To ask questions or get more information about remodeling, click here to email me directly, or call 208-947-7261

If you or someone you know is considering remodeling or just wants to speak to a trustworthy remodeling contractor please contact me, you’ll be glad you did.