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Not everything that’s legal is ethical, and not everything that’s ethical is trustworthy. Or is it? Well, it’s often subjective and\u00a0the answer just might depend on who you ask.<\/p>\n
Every January upon naming our Top Thought Leaders\u00a0in Trust<\/a>, unrelated third party companies troll our website seeking to grab our latest list and sell\u00a0plaques and other “awards” to our honorees. These unscrupulous companies even prepare\u00a0samples that include the name of our organization, giving the illusion that we have authorized these transactions. Sadly, their business practices are not considered illegal. My guess is\u00a0these companies have a team of\u00a0lawyers who keep\u00a0their employer just to the “right” of what’s legal, and therefore\u00a0also consider their actions ethical, merely because they are not violating any laws.<\/p>\n And every year, I must send out an apology note to our honorees\u00a0explaining that I have no affiliation with these companies and have not authorized them\u00a0to\u00a0solicit our thought leaders.<\/p>\n This year, we even went so far as to require registration<\/a> to receive a free issue of TRUST! Magazine containing the complete list, in an effort to protect our honorees against the intrusion of these unethical trolls. A few\u00a0days later, there they were,\u00a0registering\u00a0to obtain the list.<\/p>\n A trustworthy business approach might be for the same companies to contact us\u00a0and engage in an “above board” and transparent\u00a0business relationship. I’m sure more plaques could be sold if they gained the endorsement of the award sponsor.<\/p>\n This is a great example of the\u00a0difference between legality, ethics and trust. Sometimes what’s legal is not ethical. And what’s not ethical can certainly never fall within\u00a0the category\u00a0of trustworthy.\u00a0And that’s why ethics is only a component of trust, a much more difficult goal to attain, and where most organizations fall short. The three terms are not interchangeable. But don’t\u00a0try to explain this to lawyers or compliance professionals. After all, trust is nothing more than\u00a0a “soft” feel good word, and certainly not a business strategy. Or is it? You decide.<\/p>\n Barbara Brooks Kimmel<\/strong>\u00a0is the Executive Director of\u00a0<\/span>Trust Across America-Trust Around the World<\/a>\u00a0whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She runs the world’s\u00a0largest membership program<\/a>\u00a0for those interested in learning more, and is also the editor of the award winning\u00a0<\/span>TRUST INC.<\/a>\u00a0book series and the Executive Editor of\u00a0<\/span>TRUST! Magazine<\/a>. In 2012 Barbara was named \u201cOne of 25 Women Changing the World\u201d by Good Business International.<\/span><\/p>\n