Your Ethics Business Card

Rose was full of surprises. At first glance you wouldn't expect this woman in a wheelchair to travel where she traveled or say what she said.

So began Rose's eulogy - eloquently written and told by her business partner.

Rose was a close friend of my family. She'd been a victim of polio in her youth and she navigated her world and our globe for over six decades in this wheelchair. I never noticed this chair; it was just part of her appearance and who she was.

Here's one lesson I gleaned from that eulogy at her recent funeral. As co-owner of an ad agency one of her Fortune 500 clients wanted her to communicate the importance of ethics to all levels of employees, from factory workers to management. Rose conducted extensive research and out of volumes of information created a simple ethics quick test that would fit on a business card.

Her six points, read at her funeral, can help guide all of us - as we handle our work and play.

1. Is the action legal?
2. Does it comply with our values?
3. If you do it, will you feel bad?
4. How would it look in the newspaper?
5. If you know it's wrong, don't do it.
6. If you're not sure, ask.

Feel free to make this into your Ethics Business Card. From Rose's legacy to your every day life.

Karen, a presentation skills executive coach in Dallas, can be reached at www.karencortellreisman.com