Leadership

Virtuous Business Leaders

By Dominic Willett ⋅ ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

In writing a new book about the correlations between eastern philosophy and business strategy, I am using a book called Hagakure as one of my sources. The Hagakure is known as the book of the samurai and was a book of standards and virtues of one of the most respected warrior classes in our history.

The following appears in that book:

The heart of a virtuous person has settled down and he does not rush about things. A person of little merit is not at peace but walks about making trouble and is conflict with all.

We have a fascination with conflict hence the ratings for most of the reality TV shows. We even seem to afford more attention to presidential candidates that are in constant conflict over those that offer a quiet dignified personality.

The one place where this has not tainted our views is the business world. I find that in spite of our love affair with conflict that we still hold business people of dignity and virtue in high regard. This is a testament to the fact that we hold business success as a necessary component to the overall social good.

As with the eastern philosophies, conflict has costs attached to it while peace and virtue carries reward. As it is true in life, it is in business.

Do you run a business in a virtuous manner? As a leader do you avoid conflict and embrace dignity? While it may not be popular in television or politics, it is always a driving force in business success.

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Written by Dominic Willett - Speaker, Author, Consultant - Visit Website
Posted on businessatwar.com

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