Homes Juegos Carreras Real Estate Investing | How Some Businesses Use Networking Events And Violate Business Ethics And Values – Business Ethics
homes Once again, I experienced why ethics is so critical for today’s small business owners and why many small business owners just don’t get it.
The other day I was invited to a networking event from someone whom I had just met at another networking event. He said that there would be some time for us to get to know each other better, information presented about his company and there would be opportunity to meet some potential prospects. I asked two very direct questions that I advise all my entrepreneurial and small business clients to ask:
- Would those in attendance be in my target market of small business owners of $1 million to $10 million in sales?
- Is this a multi-level marketing event?
I was told emphatically Yes and No. So I agreed to come because I believe in power networking: Attending as many networking events that are in or potentially in your target market.
juegos carreras After registering for the event at the front door, I then was given a tour of the facility with the emphasis on the people within each office and their accomplishments. My ethic’s detector antennae(EAD) began to tingle. Then I was introduced to a variety of associates who began asking me personal questions. Now my EAD is in full vibration. From a sales process, these individuals had not established any relationship, but presumed that my relationship with the person who invited me immediately extended to them. There really wasn’t any opportunity to meet any potential ideal prospects because each guest was being held in conversation by anywhere from one to three associates nor was there any time to meet with the individual who invited me because he was circling the room meeting all the other guests. Now the words, multi-level marketing and cult began circling in my head.
Given that my time is quite valuable, I asked one of the associates as tactfully as possible if this was informational or a recruitment meeting. Again, I was told it was informational, absolutely not a recruitment meeting and to please keep an open mind because everything would be shortly explained.
Guests were then directed to a small room with stacking chairs (minimum padding) and spent the next almost 2 hours listening to their successful marketing director all the reasons to buy into this multi-level marketing business. Since I was in the back of the room and was not raised to be a rude individual, I stayed. However, I was not a happy camper because I was definitely lied to by the person who invited me because 2 of the 3 points on the last Power Point slide specifically involved recruitment.
What really bothered me was that the majority of people (mostly young people under the age of 30) in the room were actively listening to this sales pitch which was identified numerous times by the marketing director as not a sales pitch. After all, if you joined them part time you could make over $20,000 annually by just working with 4 families in a month. Of course, the marketing director did not say that you need 4 new families each month to sustain that income. As the old adage goes If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
So what does this have to do with ethical values in business? Absolutely everything! Ethics first and foremost are about being honest. When I asked the associates what they did, the only response was We help people. Any further questions were slickly evaded by having a new associate enter the conversation.
Second ethics is a referral mechanism or criteria. Since I network a lot, I also believe in referrals. Ethics is about knowing individuals and what type of values that guide them. Since I was intentionally mislead, I can no longer refer this individual or his organization and when asked will honestly share my perception that this is not a reputable firm no matter what some nationally known business guru said.
real estate investing A successful business is obviously one who seeks and achieves economic growth. Milton Friedman’s famous assertion that “A business’s only responsibility is to its shareholders” is often quoted as the ethical foundation of capitalism. In seeking to act responsibly to anyone other than the stockholders of the business, owners and managers are actually behaving unethically. But does this argument really hold much water?
If a successful business is one which seeks and achieves (sustainable) economic growth, how does it do this? It is likely to be working with suppliers who understand its needs and works innovatively to provide it with the best product or service. It is likely to provide value-rich products or services for its customers. It will be complying with legislation and working in all ways to act justly. In short, it will be taking into account multiple stakeholders to achieve the best possible return for each.
This much broader view of responsibilities – Stakeholder Theory – has been around for quite some time and owes much to the work of R. Edward Freeman. In his words, “For any business to be successful it has to create value for customers, suppliers, employees, communities and financiers (shareholders, banks, the people with the money).”
The interests of all the stakeholders must be considered and best integrated in a broad-fronted quest for value creation. In finding the common ground of these stakeholders – rather than seeking only to mitigate against conflict and searching for trade-offs – businesses are better able to create value for all.
Small business owners have limited time and need to leverage every moment to build their business. Networking is one such activity. Yet, when other small business owners take advantage of their colleagues through the demonstration of unethical business core values, then everyone loses.
I am sure that this national firm will continue to grow because many individuals want that magic pill for success. However, I believe that by being a lot more ethical, this firm and some of the other similar firms could grow with greater speed and not earn the negative unethical reputation as a cult based multi-level marketing firm You can be published without charge. You can to republish this article in your website or blog. Please provide links Active.