The 10 Commandments of Business are the ten most historic commandments of life and business.
All of us have tendencies, leadership and life tendencies, that are either coping with our imperfections or overcharging our strengths. The beauty of the ten commandments is by defining what is true and productive they are correctives to our tendencies.
Beyond that, they build on each other. Winning one commandment influences the power to win subsequent commands. These are not isolated commands. No command is an island. In fact, each command builds on the other.
For example, if you only have one God, one final source of authority and trust, you don’t have to force things in business or in life. Any time you start forcing things, things get distorted.
It’s well known in sports, any time you grip a bat, a club, a racket too hard, ironically you start losing control instead of gaining control.
Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal – these aren’t just actions, they are forced actions – actions where someone is attempting to force something.
Each has an obvious basic meaning. But as Jesus made clear with murder and adultery, the most common issues are not the ones you may initially focus on.
You murder with your words. You commit adultery with your mind.
The eighth command says, “You shall not steal.”
So, what is involved in stealing beyond a back-alley mugging?
And how might you be losing control by trying to force your financial success or solvency?
Laws five through seven could be defined as the laws of HR.
Similarly, laws eight to ten could be defined as the laws of business ethics.
Ethics are often seen as a necessary restriction to maintain a stable society. And while that is true, ethics are also the foundational structure of business.
As with murder and adultery, what is the more complete understanding of what it means to steal, and why does that matter to you or your company?
The following are six principles defined by the command not to steal.
- Internally, stealing is fundamentally an issue of trust.
The only reason stealing purports to have value is if you lack confidence or trust in yourself or in the God you say you serve. If I trust God or if I trust the process, I don’t need to manipulate the outcome.
As already indicated, none of these laws are isolated. No matter how much we protest otherwise, the extreme complexity of business and the inconsistency and instability of the global economy can shake anyone’s confidence. When our confidence is shaken, integrity is one of the first things to take a hit.
As we will see in future principles, forcing results through manipulation is an instinctive reaction.
- Externally, stealing is fundamentally an issue of honesty
What starts internally finds its way externally.
Honesty requires internal strength. Core instability destabilizes that center.
What results is a vast variety of dishonest pursuits.
The laws surrounding this one area are pervasive. Our ability to figure ways to dishonestly pursue gain is constantly tracking ahead of our ability to legislate against it.
- Stealing is an attempt to force fiscal success or solvency.
Forcing results through manipulation is the hidden desperation of someone outside of their competency or ability to control. Deceptive practices are ubiquitous, but they are even more prevalent where people are more desperate.
Sometimes it is easier to see things at the extreme. High crime areas tend to be connected to low-income districts. However, the same principles are prevalent when otherwise successful executives under pressure attempt to force success.
- Stealing is more than forcefully taking what isn’t mine.
On the positive side, necessity is the mother of invention. On the negative side, desperateness is the mother of deception.
The more complex the interaction or uninformed the customer the greater the chance for dishonesty. The more extreme the power imbalance the greater the chance for unjust business practices.
Withholding pay or payment because the power is on your side is a type of taking what isn’t yours.
- Legitimate income has greater long-term returns.
The discipline of creating income creates a stronger and wiser return on investment. Stealing, on the other hand, undermines strength and is the opposite of exercise.
- Stealing creates a culture of self-interest
Stealing is the belief I have the right to take what is yours and make it mine. Selfish business practices are attempts to control and therefore make a god of what I control. The more selfishness becomes rampant, the more it undermines the effectiveness of the business.