Not long ago, more than 43,000 executives and business owners were asked to list the most important virtues they look for in a key staff member. Their #1 answer might surprise you.
The executive respondents to a recent survey were asked, “What separates an exceptional employee from an average one? What virtues would they seek and encourage in employees and in themselves to help their companies succeed?”
The most common answer they gave was ethics.
In that same study, more than 80 percent of executives said they believed managers tend to choose profits over what’s right when forced to decide between the two. Clearly, our national character crisis extends to corporate America.
The good news is, more and more business leaders are discovering what the Bible plainly teaches—that being “good” is good for business.
The fifth Psalm says that an upright person will be blessed and surrounded with favor. Psalm 84:11 echoes that promise when it says, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”
A Growing Appreciation of Ethics
In corporate boardrooms across America, there’s a growing appreciation of that truth. They’re discovering that “business ethics” doesn’t have to be an oxymoron.
“Ethics” means different things to different people, but, as the survey I mentioned clearly indicates, executives consistently mention honesty and conscience as vital virtues that enable a company to succeed over the long haul.
The same is true for you as an individual.
Management expert Tom Peters has said, “High ethical standards are the cornerstone of free enterprise. The consequences of unethical actions are lost customer trust and lost sales.” More and more, a code of ethics such as the one you’ll find in the Bible is being recognized as a key to business success.
Once again, the psalmist is way ahead of the management gurus: “The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time; and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied (Ps. 37:18).
Remaining Above Reproach
The apostle Paul once wrote that his aim was to be “honest and absolutely above suspicion, not only in the sight of God but also in the sight of men” (2 Cor. 8:21 AMP). What Paul is describing remains a success formula that will bring results in any area of endeavor.
A recently-published book about success in business made this statement: “The best and the brightest realize that putting ethical behavior first almost always results in better business.” Ethics is rapidly becoming a buzzword that many talk about, but few understand.
If you want to be a valued and sought-after commodity in the marketplace, be a person of integrity.
Copyright © Mac Hammond Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Mac and Lynne Hammond are senior pastors of Living Word in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, which they started in 1980. Many outreaches and ministries have launched from Living Word since that time, including Maranatha Christian Academy, a Pre-K through grade 12 school with nearly 900 in attendance, and Living Free Recovery Services, a licensed outpatient treatment program.
Most recently, Mac and Lynne have launched a vision to plant fifty churches across the globe in the next five years. As of August 2024, nine churches have been planted in the Dominican Republic, Ireland, Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, and Guatemala with construction underway for seven more churches in El Salvador, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Prior to becoming a pastor, Mac was a pilot. He served in the Air Force, served two tours of duty in Southeast Asia, and was honorably discharged in 1970 with the rank of Captain. Between 1970 and 1980, Mac was involved in varying capacities in the general aviation industry, including ownership of a successful air cargo business serving the Midwestern United States. A business acquisition brought the Hammonds to Minneapolis, where they ultimately founded Living Word. Currently, Mac is the host of The Winner’s Way and The Winner’s Minute broadcasts and the author of several internationally distributed books. Mac is broadly acclaimed for his ability to apply the principles of the Bible to practical situations and the challenges of daily living.