The military ranked first. Lawyers ranked last. Business executives were ranked only one notch above lawyers. The question was: How much do you think __________ contribute to the well-being of our society? The choices were:
The results of the Pew Research Center survey (4006 adults, April-May 2013) were:
You may be wondering, What about the politicians? Well, since many of them are lawyers….
I don’t want to argue with the results, but let me suggest that business execs (of which I have been one) deserve this rating because of highly public self-inflicted wounds. Every day, the WSJ and other business news outlets are reporting on business executive misbehavior:
I am saddened by the constant attack on capitalism in America today. But there is an easy way to stop it—operate businesses with integrity, values, a purpose greater than profit, and for the well-being of all stakeholders (owners, customers, employees and community), not just a few at the top. In other words, get out of the headlines!
I am not sure that business executives can ever rank higher than the military or doctors or clergy. But surely by conducting our affairs in an honest and balanced way, we could move up the list. If you are a business leader, it’s up to you. No one else is going to do it.
I would love to hear your comments about this subject.
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© Copyright 2013 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
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