YOU MAYBE, NOT ME

"Every man, in his own opinion, forms an exception to the ordinary rules of morality."

William Hazlitt (1778-1830) British essayist.

The excuses we allow ourselves for being exceptions to rules we don't wish to follow.

Make no mistake about it, they are rules nevertheless.

ANY COLOR AS LONG AS IT'S BLACK

"Hell, there are no rules here, we are trying to accomplish something."

Thomas Alva Edison

Late 19th/early 20th century American inventor

We often exempt ourselves from rules we make for others (just ask my boys).

I wonder if Mr. Edison saw the irony in his statement?

RULES RULES

"The wise know that foolish legislation is a rope of sand, which perishes in the twisting."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

19th century U.S. poet, essayist and lecturer

Rules are necessary, the good ones at least.

Be careful which rules you make and even more so those you attempt to enforce.

Creative Structure

"There ain't no rules around here, we're trying to accomplish something."

Thomas Alva Edison

Late 19th/early 20th century American inventor

Free thinkers love quotes such as this coming from people noted for their successes.

However even Mr. Edison would not suggest this for everything, all times.

The trick is to adapt structure (rules) in which creativity can flourish.

No small task.

How Thick Is Your Employee Handbook?

"The more corrupt the state, the more laws."

Publius Cornelius Tacitus

1st century Roman historian

In business too?

I suspect so.

At the very least the more personal behavior is governed by rules, the less individual creativity can be expected and that can't be good for business.

Anarchist or Entrepreneur?

"Any fool can make a rule and every fool will mind it."

Henry David Thoreau

19th century American naturalist/philosopher

True, but without rules we have anarchy.

The trick is to find balance between the need for structure and the benefit that comes from entrepreneurial thinking and behavior.

How do you do that?

(A great discussion on this comes from Clayton Christensen's "The Innovator's Dilemma".)

Ethical Management: Negotiable?

"The difference between "Leaders" and "Managers": Managers do things right; Leaders do the right things."

Peter Drucker
Suggested by Sharyl Pyrdol
Carrington Garrett

For me this ties to the last post about rules and ethics although Drucker could have been thinking of something other than ethical behavior when he talked about the "right things". What is and is not "right" depends on management's philosophy.

What do you think Ken Lay was thinking when he said:

"I have faith in the market when we get the rules right."

Or maybe he meant "the right rules".

(Thanks Sharyl)

Ethical Management: Rules, Ethics or Both?

"Live one day at a time emphasizing ethics rather than rules."

Wayne Dyer
Author

This reminds me of things relating to the spirit of the law versus letter of the law. "I followed the rules" is not the same as being able to say "I did what was right."

We don't hear much about ethics in business until we come across cases where a lack of ethics can no longer be ignored. Is it enough that business follow established rules or should management and employees be encouraged to apply some ethics test to all they do?