Business ethics celebrated by Uncommon Friends

The Uncommon Friends Foundation honored three local companies for adhering to a high standard of business ethics. From left to right are finalist (and winner) Alan Reynolds, Chairman and CEO of Wilson Miller, Inc.; Tom Hoolihan, President of Board of Directors Uncommon Friends Foundation; Arlene Roth, Executive Director of Uncommon Friends; finalist Martin Haas, President of Entech Computer Services; finalist Robert Simpson, LeeSar President and CEO. In an era where corporate scandals dominate headlines and an ebbing real estate market has unveiled a number of shady dealings, business ethics can seem like a foreign concept. Nonetheless, the Uncommon Friends Foundation held a business ethics forum last Thursday at Florida Gulf Coast University to celebrate the finalists of their second annual Business Ethics Award and hold a discussion with other local business leaders.

Finalist companies included Entech Computer Services, LeeSar, a healthcare supplier to Lee Memorial Health System, and the consulting group Wilson Miller, Inc. Charles J. Fornaciari, Uncommon Friends Chair of Ethics, led the forum with topics ranging from instilling ethics in employees to making ethical decisions.

The company leaders shared their strategies for incorporating ethics into organizations. Linda Jones, Director of Human Resources of last year's winner, Home- Banc Mortgage Corporation, stressed the importance of being able to see from the customer's perspective. Martin Haas, president of Entech Computer Services, said that his workers are all members of different committees in the company designed to reinforce ethics. Alan Reynolds, Chairman and CEO of Wilson Miller, Inc., - this year's winner of the Business Ethics Award - said that, "Sometimes our most important decisions are which clients not to work with." He said taking on clients which reflect the company's values is crucial. Reynolds also advised that when making a decision it can help to seek others not involved in the outcome for input. Robert Simpson, LeeSar's President and CEO, discusses making ethical decisions at meetings with employees. For LeeSar an "ongoing ethical decision" involves other companies trying to influence their buying process with gifts and free dinners. "We deal with that everyday of the week and the answer is always no," Simpson said. "I set the scale, you've got to lead correctly and you've got to set up the right example for your employees."

And some employees are tempted to cover up their errors. Gary Aubuchon of Aubuchon Homes said his company creates a "culture of failure," meaning workers are not punished, but instead encouraged to acknowledge their mistakes. "The fear of being thought of as wrong often causes unethical decisions," said the homebuilder and freshman Florida Representative from Cape Coral.

Julia East of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, a Business Ethics Award nominee, added that if ethics are strongly rooted in an organization, then making ethical decisions should be innate to them.

At the beginning of her career, Annette Jacobs was told she was too honest to succeed in the sales business. Today, Jacobs is the Chairman and CEO of SafeHarbor Technology Corporation and a national ethics expert. She emphasized that leaders and employees must have the courage to do what is right, even if it is not what they are told to do. Jacobs shared a past personal experience in which a superior asked her to act against anti-trust laws. She refused and the next year that same leader was fired for embezzlement.

So, if it is the supposedly ethical people that make it to the top, then why are scandals like Enron still occurring? "Power can become intoxicating," Jacobs explained. Moreover, character flaws and changes in personality over time can conflict with morals.