If two parties are on opposite sides of a contract and they want to reach a win-win resolution, that means that they must observe the Golden Rule during negotiations. Specifically, both parties must treat each other fairly and be completely honest. They also need to communicate openly and not withhold relevant information. There should be full disclosure of any facts relevant to the transaction.

Respect is one of the most important elements of treating people well. Both parties must respect each other’s time, needs, finances, family situation, and any other circumstance that may affect the negotiations. As part of showing respect, each party should treat the other party professionally and conduct themselves professionally. There should never be anger or raised voices.

Both parties should be committed to a resolution that will be agreeable to both of them. Neither party should ever look for ways to take advantage of the other party. Before the negotiations start, they should both agree to a method of resolving an impasse on an important issue. To avoid the expense and delay of litigation, they should agree to have the issue decided by a mediator. They should also agree to abide by the mediator’s decision.

Both parties should greet other with courtesy, and they should be on time for meetings. They should also abide by any time limits set for the meetings, but agree to schedule a follow-up meeting if they still have issues to resolve. They should keep confident any information that either party wants to keep confident. Once they reach an agreement, they should reduce the agreement with complete accuracy.

At the end of the meeting, they should shake hands and thank the other person for their time and courtesy. The Golden Rule is so simple. It is also appropriate in any situation, even in business.

About the author

Jo Ann Joy, Esq., MBA, CEO
Copyright 2006 Indigo Business Solutions. All rights reserved.
The future of your business starts here.

You may contact Jo Ann by phone at (602) 663-7007, by fax at (602) 324-7582, by email at joannjoy@Indigo Business Solutions.net, and by mail at 2313 East Ocotillo Road, Phoenix, AZ 85016

Jo Ann Joy is the CEO and owner of Indigo Business Solutions, a legal and business consulting firm. Indigo Business Solutions is a “one stop shop” for small businesses. We differ from other business consulting firms, because we offer comprehensive legal and business counseling. We can offer most of the professional services that a business requires. We work with our clients to develop strategies that create value and competitive advantage.

Jo Ann has a law degree, an MBA, and a degree in Economics, but she is not a traditional attorney. Rather, she is a strategic business attorney who works closely with clients to create and implement strategies that will greatly improve their performance and chance of success. Her background includes commercial and real estate law, accounting, financial planning, mortgages, marketing, product development, banking, and business strategies. She ran a successful business for 10 years, and she has written and given presentations on many different legal and business subjects.

Tags: business ethics, courtesy, full disclosure, Golden Rule, negotiating, professionalism, Respectbusiness ethics, courtesy, full disclosure, Golden Rule, negotiating, professionalism, Respect

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We always seem to be hearing in the news that a government contract has been awarded to a company, which has not fulfilled its responsibilities. As a matter of fact this is so commonplace that one should be asking why does this keep occurring? Well, there are a number of reasons why this is the case.

Sometimes politicians persuade bureaucratic agencies to lean towards a certain government contractor and the bureaucrats know that they must comply otherwise they could lose their job and or their agency will not receive the funding it needs for next year’s budget. Those companies, which pander to podium pushing politicians through lobbying and fund raising for their campaigns tend to get the best contracts. We all know this is true.

Another common reason is that the government is known to be after the lowest price. Therefore many companies underbid the contracts just to get the work and then cannot afford to do the job correctly. Likewise many companies refuse to bid on government contracts because the government is so slow to pay and if you are a smaller company the cash flow could kill your business.

It is interesting that the government at all levels promotes small businesses and yet at the same time strings them out on accounts receivable sometimes for as much as 120 days or more. This seems quite un-reputable and unfortunate, but it is the truth. Some might say the government does not deserve the very best companies in the marketplace and that is upsetting considering the taxpayer is footing the bill. Please consider all this in 2006.

Tags: business ethics, Government, Worst Contractorsbusiness ethics, Government, Worst Contractors

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If you didn’t know better, you’d think today’s business world was one big Monopoly game.

Lots of corporate leaders - those inclined to be the battleship or cannon when they sit down in front of the big board - run their businesses with a cutthroat attitude and play with the company’s earnings like it’s, well, Monopoly money. This take-every-Chance-Card approach can sometimes produce short-term success, but it doesn’t guarantee against having to mortgage your Park Place and Boardwalk properties. Or going directly to jail, for that matter.

In recent years, there’ve been more than a few high profile business leaders trading in their pinstripe suits for pinstripe prison uniforms, leaving the corporate landscape littered with bankrupt companies. Enron, Tyco, Adelphia, Worldcomthe list of fiscally-irresponsible meltdowns goes on and on, recounted ad nauseum in news stories and films such as Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and The Corporation.

But the terrain isn’t entirely filled with the busted and broke. There’s still plenty of green out therethe kind that demonstrates that money, growth and social responsibility can all flourish together. Take John Mackey, for example.

Mackey runs the moolah-rich Whole Foods Market. WFM is a nation-wide chain of grocery stores that sells healthy, organic products, everything from pesticide-free lettuce to steroid-free steak. And it makes bank doing it. WFM is a $3.7 billion corporation. That’s right, billion. Whole Foods is doing so well, in fact, that it made $188 million in profits over the last two years, according to the business magazine Fast Company. By comparison, Safeway lost $1 billion in the same year.

WFM even measures up against retail giants like Wal-Mart. Over a recent four-year period, Whole Foods beat out Wal-Mart in both overall and comparable-store sales growth, according to Fast Company. It manages to do so without buying from sweatshops or low-balling its employees on salaries or benefits.

At WFM, both full-time and part-time employees are eligible for stock options. Employees can also compare salaries as part of Mackey’s “no secrets” management style, which requires each store to carry salary books open to all employees.

In Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work,” Whole Foods ranked 15th, thanks to its skyrocketing stock price, which has tripled in the last three years. WFM also has been listed on the “100 Best Corporate Citizens” by Business Ethics magazine.

And if that isn’t enough, Whole Foods is now the biggest corporate user of wind power in the country, thanks to a newly announced plan to buy 458,000 megawatt-hours of wind energy credits from Renewable Choice Energy Inc.

WFM’s success is attributed to Mackey, a CEO who flies commercial and prefers to go economy when he ponies up at the car rental counter. He is also a CEO who loves Star Trek and the egalitarian ideas set forth by the United Federation of Planets. What’s not to love?

Mackey isn’t alone as an enlightened CEO. Take Bob Kierlin, founder of Fastenal, an industrial supplier of tools and fasteners. Kierlin was legendary for paying himself less than most CEOs, and for preferring budget motelsand sharing rooms when traveling on business. Though now retired, the legacy of Kierlin’s modest corporate lifestyle continues on at Fastenal under CEO Willard Oberton.

Enlightened management styles are fast catching on in the business world. Since the bottom line does not in fact seem to be adversely affected by generosity of spirit and cash. Anita Roddick of The Body Shop champions human rights around the world, Paul Hawken, of Smith & Hawken, champions environmental causes. These business icons, as well as others, see public service as an indispensable part of their business model.

The question, as most of them see it, is a sense of leadership, and achieving the right moral tone for the company. In the words of Harman International founder Sidney Harman, “The senior executive has no higher responsibility than the setting of the example and the regular exercise of his convictions.”

In becoming an enlightened CEO, you can be sure you won’t land in jail, or if you do, you’re just visiting. And your bottom line won’t be hurting, either.

Copyright 2006 Find Your Prosperity.com

For more stories, visit http://www.FindYourProsperity.com

Noel Brinkerhoff is founder of http://www.FindYourProsperity.com He has been a professional writer for over 10 years, specializing in journalism and screenwriting.

Tags: business ethics, CEO, enlightened, enron, monopoly, Star Trek, Wal Mart, Whole Foodsbusiness ethics, CEO, enlightened, enron, monopoly, Star Trek, Wal Mart, Whole Foods

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