When thinking of the phrase “higher ground”, what comes to mind?
In Japan, I’m sure it conjures up communities outrunning tsunamis and traversing up hills, trees and stairways to safety; or maybe, higher ground is a photographer seeking a better vantage point for that perfect perspective.
For me, “higher ground” is not only a Stevie Wonder song that gave me a great tempo to my work outs, but it’s also encouraging words from my mother when dealing with ethical situations. I remember her always saying take the higher ground; show them you’re better than they are…. And it was that advice that has laid the foundation for the way David and I do business.
In our day to day business, we come across epic situations where we have the opportunity to choose a positive bright trail or be tempted by a narrow shady alleyway. For example, a terminated employee chose to pilfer and plagiarize our design concepts and proposals on her exit and take them with her to a competing company. She, in this case, chose the narrow shady alleyway while the venue recognized the proposal from an earlier event we had designed and chose the bright trail by informing us of the design theft.
This ex-employee had the opportunity to create her own wedding and be her own designer but chose to take the lower ground and ride the coattails of others. If this scenario had happened with a photographer and his image, there would be a greater likelihood of being prosecuted. I think the difference here is that thieves think they can get away with the plagiarism of design concepts as the probability of them being caught is much less, or maybe they don’t think of it as theft. I’m confident our ex-employee did know it as theft.
There is an overabundance of examples of morality gone badly, but there are limits to the reactions available. The simplest is to plead to their honorable side, and if that doesn’t work, shame them by sharing the info with others. The positive twist to this circumstance… Design Works won the bid.
Ethics are the grounds for many destroyed partnerships as well as many successful relationships. Ethics can make your business bloom or wither…. Make your choice.
My motto as coined by Stevie Wonder reminds us all to “Keep on trying, till we reach the highest ground.”
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