To cheat or not to cheat that is the question

What do you think of these questions. Take a moment to check your answers. Working for somebody else, would you take a cheap ball point pen home for the home study? And secondly, if you had access to the petty cash box at the office would you help yourself to a few pounds/dollars?

A really fabulous TED talk discusses this point. Have a look at Dan Ariely’s talk on ‘Why we think it’s OK to cheat and steal (sometimes).’ It’s a really good point to ponder. Where would you draw your own line with respect to cheating and stealing.

It’s a topic that is of great importance when you start your own business. How are you going to conduct this business? Are you going to have a general culture of non-cheating, non-lying and non-stealing in your business, or are you going to fudge the point.

Are you going to have a business where you submit a voucher to the tax man for an expense that you incurred for your home, but could be hidden in amongst other expenses for the office? Or are you going to keep your books legitimate.

Well of course, you think to yourself, I would submit the voucher. After all everybody else is doing it, aren’t they? Cheating the tax man is a right, in fact it’s part of your survival. Of course I wouldn’t cheat my customers.  Can’t run a business like that.

It’s difficult to see the difference though. Cheating is cheating, whether it’s a remote body such as the tax man or whether it’s somebody close to you such as your customer.

The other interesting point the TED speaker makes is what happens if everybody in your group or community cheats. What happens to our mind set then? And there is evidence within the studies this scientist did that we are more inclined to cheat if somebody else in our community cheats.

What is the consequence of that in your business? If you as the bossperson cheat, especially in full view of your team, then are they also going to cheat? Well, yes according to this study. We follow the behaviour of others within our group.

Now check this final point that I want to make. There was no cheating within the test groups if some kind of moral code was signed first. And it was, in the speaker’s instance, a fake moral code. Didn’t exist. Was made up for the experiment.

What does that mean for your business? Set up a moral code for your company, adhere to it as bossperson and you will have a far more honourable, trustworthy and moral team making your business work.

Worth it? I would think so.  And it actually sounds really kind of logical, doesn’t it.

What is quite fascinating though, taking this argument one step further is the large companies found lying and cheating in recent times would pre-suppose that the bossperson was also lying and cheating. Everybody took the lead from him/her.  Oh and weren’t those the guys who got all the big bonuses???

Want to get the articles quickly and efficiently and honestly, sign up to the RSS or e-mail postings. All above board!