Decency can change the culture
by Miki SaxonIn the wake of years of corporate misconduct, there’s been tons of talk about the necessity of building ethical corporate cultures. Along with the talk have come dozens of books, hundreds consultant offerings and thousands of articles detailing how to do it.Much of the advice is aimed at CEOs and the senior ranks of management and focuses primarily on building a culture that doesn’t lie, cheat or steal-obviously, a key requirement in today’s world.
But a true ethical culture goes well beyond that, valuing all employees at all levels, recognizing the need for, and developing ways to add, sustainability and environmentally positive practices, being socially responsible—all while staying profitable.
A good place to start is with plain old-fashioned decency, according to Steve Harrison’s new book, The Manager’s Book of Decencies: How Small Gestures Build Great Companies.
“I know there are leaders are out there who’ll look at this and say, ‘I don’t have time for nice, just show me the money,’ ” Mr. Harrison says. “But being decent isn’t about being nice or doing things more slowly or spending more money – it’s about treating people fairly and focusing on what will make people want to stay in a company.”
Of course, decency is best when it starts at the top, but even when it doesn’t it can still be practiced at any level, by anyone, in the company.
Many acts of decency boil down to, or are grounded in, plain old good manners and politeness, the lack of which people have been bemoaning for years. The reason given is that they’re too busy to act politely—but it’s amazing how quick the same people are to notice rudeness and disrespect when they’re on the receiving end.
Whatever you want to call it—decency, politeness, respect, manners—try it in your life and watch your world slowly change for the better.
