Musashi's Dokkodo (The Way of Walking Alone)

Businessman:
Once upon a time business was conducted with a handshake. Even
today, when it seems that lawyers crawl out of the woodwork every
time that anything goes awry and contracts can run thousands of
pages to hedge against every conceivable eventuality, there are a
few brave companies that do things the old fashioned way. Take
McDonald’s, for example. Did you know that they do not have a
formal contract with their meat suppliers? Think about that, one of
the most critical elements of their supply chain, one that nearly
brought their competitor Jack-in-the-Box to its knees over food-
poisoning concerns, and there’s no formal written agreement.
Instead, they trust each other to work collaboratively toward
outcomes of mutual benefit.
Francesca DeBiase, vice president of strategic sourcing at
McDonald’s, is quoted as saying, “Many of our strategic suppliers
have been working with McDonald’s for years, even decades… Over
the years our actions and behaviors have shown our suppliers that
we conduct business with a high level of integrity. This allows us to
operate with a handshake agreement.
[36]
”
Integrity, ethics, honor… not words we always associate with
business, but ones that we absolutely need to hold in high regard in
order to stay in business over the long run. As mentioned previously,
enterprises are comprised of individuals. No matter what ethics
program is put in place, it’s the character of each and every
employee—or lack thereof—that counts. Clearly we must preserve

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our own honor, but we must also take into account the integrity and
reputations of those we enter into business with. Actions of our
suppliers, employees, and even our customers can all rub off on us
by way of association, so it pays to work with only those folks we
believe we can trust with a handshake deal, ones who say what they
mean and mean what they say at all times, even when a formal
contract is required.
Before entering into a business relationship with anyone we must do
our due diligence. Thankfully with ubiquitous social media it’s not
that difficult to look into anyone’s online presence and determine if
we like what we see. For example, the first time I met a consultant
from one of our advisory firms she said, “I take it you’re Lawrence
Kane the author, not Lawrence Kane the Zodiac Killer suspect.” Until
that day I had no idea that I shared a first and last name with a
suspected mass murderer, though thankfully the middle initial is
different, we’re not the same age, and I look nothing like him.
Nevertheless, this incident made me realize that it’s useful to Google
your name from time to time and see what pops up. And, it’s
beneficial to do background checks on those we interact with
regularly too.
One of the biggest risks of ethics escapes comes from our
employees. After all, we hired them so we’re responsible and
accountable for what they do. One of the potential safeguards to use
is in vetting candidates is the behavioral interview. Operating under
the assumption that past behaviors can predict future behaviors, we
ask a series of open-ended questions designed to draw out how
folks acted on previous jobs, asking things like, “Tell me about a time
when…” In this fashion we obtain insight into how folks think,
communicate, and act. Typically these interviews are conducted by a
panel, two or three individuals whose combined perspective yields
deep insight into the prospective employee’s knowledge, skills,
abilities, and cultural fit for the organization. Combined with a
thorough background and reference check we can set ourselves up
for success in acquiring talent that will benefit our company,
representing us in a professional and ethical manner.

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Virtually every business uses suppliers, it’s imperative because we
simply cannot do everything ourselves, but it’s also an opportunity
for escapes. For example, subcontractors who illicitly dump toxic
wastes, exploit underage workers, use conflict minerals, create
hazardous working conditions, or engage in other unethical
behaviors not only do the wrong things but also taint our image by
association. This can have a huge impact on our business.
The “poster child” for ethics escapes was arguably Foxconn, an
electronics supplier that made products for Apple, which was
accused of creating working conditions so horrific in their Chinese
factories that workers started committing suicide on the job by
jumping to their deaths.
[37]
This adverse publicity quickly had
Foxconn and its customers scrambling to do damage control to avoid
losing business as a result. We must establish clear expectations for
open and ethical business practices to anyone who supports our
operations, carefully vet our supply chain, contract only with
companies we feel we could do business with on a handshake, and
put robust governance in place to make sure that everyone follows
through with their commitments.
As Musashi writes, we must preserve our honor. But, we must also
safeguard our business interests by vetting those we work with and
doing our best to assure that they are trustworthy too.

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