I was reading a great article on The Entrepreneurial Mind about business growth and the issues that tag along (”Issues Entrepreneurs Face as Their Businesses Grow“), and began to think about all of the ethical complications a growing business may similarly face.

While it may seem obvious that ethical issues might start to crop up (or increase in frequency) with growth, I’m often surprised by how many businesses get caught off guard anyway. I’ve personally fallen victim in the past, having been blindsided by issues regarding key personnel that I missed during the initial vetting process. In my case, I tend to be a very idealistic and trusting person and typically think that anyone who wants to work with me has the same motives. I haven’t lost that mindset, but I’ve learned to ask more pointed questions and to spend a greater amount of time and effort clearing the people that I bring on board.

I have been with a few companies, some as an entrepreneur and some as an employee, that have grown over the years and correspondingly experienced significant ethical issues, and all seemed completely taken off guard by the new complications growth created. Can such complications be adequately planned for, or are they simply something to deal with as they come up? In expecting ethical issues to arise and dealing with them proactively, do you set an inappropriate tone?

TAGS: Entrepreneurship | Growth | Ethics | Business Strategy

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 21st, 2006 at 8:30 pm and is filed under Business Ethics, Business Strategy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.