Mistakes and failures are golden moments to learn and grow. I’ve made a couple of mistakes lately and it has forced me to slow down and really think about my values.
1. Getting greedy with price increases
Citing the yearly CPI (Consumer Price Index) increase, we increased rates to all our clients. Our product is an hourly service. A $1 increase in rate can yield large benefits. So…
This resulted in two of our clients finding more affordable solutions elsewhere. In the end we gained more than we lost, but its NEVER a good feeling losing business 🙁
2. Taking shortcuts and bending the rules
Our company is not large. Our team has a high level of camaraderie and trust. We were in a situation (due to COVID lockdown) which meant one of our divisions was going to struggle. I cant be specific but we banded together, and decided to bend a few rules to ensure everyone’s jobs were safe.
I thought I was giving everyone a choice and room to speak their mind but this was not the case. One member of the team was uncomfortable and went above my head to speak with a senior leader. That along with perhaps a slight mis-colouring of the situation led to myself being accused of taking financial advantage of employees.
I felt terrible! It was made out that I was pressuring the team to behave unethically for the sake of the company. And to be frank, in the midst of the “lets stick together” mindset, maybe it was.
Making better decisions when it comes to ethically ambiguous situations
I could approach this on an ethical level but I’m going to try this more tactically – I’m expecting to come to the same conclusion.
How to break rules
- What are the consequences if things go south? Are we talking about using the company car for a couple of personal trips? Ditching your company dress code for something more comfortable? Or a little more serious such as paying your employees under the minimum wage? Some consequences of breaking the rules are more grim than others. In those situations, don’t bother taking the risk. The reward is NOT worth it.
- Question if there is anything you can do to reduce the risk of said “risky” act? Maybe take some time to understand your client’s business before hiking up your prices.
- Make sure it doesn’t go against your values. The people you lead might be OK with seeing you break the rules in a Robin-hood type of way. But you don’t want to come across two-faced while doing it. As an accountant, it may not be right for you to take advantage of government hand outs during the pandemic. As a feminist recruiter, you have to deal with clients that only want candidates who are “young” “pretty” or “not too ethnic”. Make sure you know who you are and act accordingly.
- If other people are involved in this, make sure you know THEIR values and trust that they have your back. If you cannot get everyone’s buy-in, don’t do it. If you are not 100% sure of their intentions, just don’t do it.
- All communication must be legitimate. No exceptions. Don’t be an idiot. Anything could be used against you.
- Breaking the rules for collective gain is better than for simply personal gain. Risking something simply for a selfish reason will not age well.