Who Can Sign the Pledge?
Here is the pledge:
I pledge allegiance, in my heart and soul, to the concepts of honesty,
integrity, and quality in business. I recognize that the cornerstone of
success is treating all stakeholders fairly, with compassion, and with
a commitment to service. Working from abundance, I recognize that even
my competitors can become important allies. I will not tolerate crooked
practices in my business, from co-workers, direct or indirect reports,
supervisors, managers, suppliers, or anyone else—and if I encounter
such practices, I will refuse to go along with them and report them to
appropriate authorities within and outside the company. I pledge to
support the "triple bottom line" of environmental, social, and
financial responsibility. And I pledge to participate in a serious
effort to focus the business community on these principles, by sharing
this message with at least 100 other business leaders.
Please
use this link to go directly to the pledge-signing page
Privacy
Note: We will not sell or give away the list of pledge-signers, for any
reason. We will use the information only to follow up with you about
how you're doing with the pledge. If you specifically agree to be a
public spokesperson, we may occasionally put you in touch with members
of the media—but you would be contacting them (at their request), not
the other way around.
I want to test the idea that 25,000
people, each committed to spreading these ideas, will be enough of a
lever (or "tipping point") to change the whole way society thinks about business. If 25,000
people each reach 100 others, 2-1/2 million people will be energized to
create a business climate that...
values all stakeholders (employees, customers, neighbors, even competitors)
Treats people with respect
Acts out of integrity and compassion
Understands honesty, integrity, and quality are actually good for the future of their business
Need ideas on how to reach 100 people or more? Click here for 12 easy ways you can do this.
Speaking personally, my ultimate goal will be a corporate culture that not only is built on strong ethics and refuses crooked practices, but addresses the negative consequences of thinking only about the single bottom line of short-term profit: losing jobs to overseas outsourcing companies...trade and supplier agreements that almost demand unfair labor practices, homogenization of cultures, and environmental irresponsibility-and the interconnected problems of natural resource over-exploitation, business support of repressive governments, and the arms race. The pledge movement is a first step.
These are the basic concepts. I explore them in more detail in my latest book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First.
You may or may not choose to read the book. It explains many of these
concepts and provides numerous examples of how business owners are
succeeding with these principles. If you'd like a copy, I'm reducing
the price of the book as a way of saying thank you for spreading the
message. But if you're not a reader, you can still endorse the
principles, and get friends, colleagues, and others involved with the
campaign. Of course, I'm hoping that you will spend less than $10 and
buy the book (at the discounted price for pledge-signers). Because the
reason I wrote the book is to spread these ideas, and the book explains
them much better than I can do on a web page. It's an easy read. See for yourself; the first 30 pages are available as a free download.
As
a self-publisher who is not independently wealthy, I wish I could
afford to simply give out copies of the book. I would welcome funding to
make copies available to those who need them. Without such a subsidy, I
do need to cover my costs. But I can thank you for your support
of the pledge by providing the book at a deep discount in return for a
commitment to read the book and spread these ideas around. And I'd like
you to participate!
Please use this link to sign the pledge and (if you choose) order the book for just $9.95
(it's usually $17.50 for the paperback or $16.50 for the e-book). You
will be taken to a short questionnaire, where you'll tell us how you
plan to pass along the ideas in the book, and what commitment you will
make. Once you fill in and submit the questionnaire you'll be forwarded
to an order form where you can order individual paperback copies at
$9.95 plus standard shipping/handling charges of $3.50 for Media Mail,
$5.50 for priority mail, or $10 for Global Priority Mail—or electronic
copies with no shipping charge. Once we receive your questionnaire,
you'll also receive a resource guide listing books, magazines, and
websites to help you learn more about ethical business, and assist in
organizing to create this change—and a downloadable copy of the pledge
in PDF format, suitable for hanging on the wall.
If the book
doesn't meet your standards, you may return it in salable condition,
within 90 days, for a refund—and you'll be excused from the 25,000
influencer campaign. But if you find the ideas in the book valid and
worthwhile, as we're sure you will, we'll expect you to follow through
on the commitment you made—and we'll follow up with you to see how
you're doing.
Therefore, you also agree to receive and respond to up to three follow-up questionnaires over the next eight to twelve months.
Thank you so much. Together, we will change the world.
Sincerely,
Shel Horowitz
Author, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First
