The start-up s preoccupation with meeting product and financial goals and with its own growth can lead to blindness about anything other than personal gain. Ethical entrepreneurs find ways to engage the team in community service and to emphasize the continuing importance of the team s family relationships. The ethical entrepreneur takes stock occasionally. Just as the entrepreneur must keep an eye on the start-up s cash flow and produce a balance sheet periodically, so he or she must also take stock of the company s commitment to its ethics and other values. The ethical entrepreneur renews the commitment to ethical behavior.
Companies change as they grow.
Ethical values and the commitment to ethical behavior must be recast and re-communicated periodically, preparing the company and its employees to deal with the ethical dilemmas currently faced. The rewards of being an ethical start-up are many. Personal and team satisfaction is the most prominent. Workers who feel free to act ethically and to deal with others ethically feel better about themselves. Greater personal satisfaction translates into higher productivity and to lower turnover.