Read the Pledge

I pledge allegiance, in my heart and soul, to the concepts of honesty, integrity, and quality in business. I recognize that the cornerstone of success is treating all stakeholders fairly, with compassion, and with a commitment to service. Working from abundance, I recognize that even my competitors can become important allies. I will not tolerate crooked practices in my business, from co-workers, direct or indirect reports, supervisors, managers, suppliers, or anyone else—and if I encounter such practices, I will refuse to go along with them and report them to appropriate authorities within and outside the company. I pledge to support the “triple bottom line” of environmental, social, and financial responsibility. And I pledge to participate in a serious effort to focus the business community on these principles, by sharing this message with at least 100 other business leaders.

Please use this link to go directly to the pledge-signing page

Privacy Note: We will not sell or give away the list of pledge-signers, for any reason. We will use the information only to follow up with you about how you’re doing with the pledge. If you specifically agree to be a public spokesperson, we may occasionally put you in touch with members of the media—but you would be contacting them (at their request), not the other way around.

I want to test the idea that 25,000 people, each committed to spreading these ideas, will be enough of a lever (or “tipping point”) to change the whole way society thinks about business. If 25,000 people each reach 100 others, 2-1/2 million people will be energized to create a business climate that…

  • Values all stakeholders (employees, customers, neighbors, even competitors)
  • Treats people with respect
  • Acts out of integrity and compassion
  • Understands honesty, integrity, and quality are actually good for the future of their business

Need ideas on how to reach 100 people or more? Click here for 12 easy ways you can do this.

Speaking personally, my ultimate goal will be a corporate culture that not only is built on strong ethics and refuses crooked practices, but addresses the negative consequences of thinking only about the single bottom line of short-term profit: losing jobs to overseas outsourcing companies…trade and supplier agreements that almost demand unfair labor practices, homogenization of cultures, and environmental irresponsibility-and the interconnected problems of natural resource over-exploitation, business support of repressive governments, and the arms race. The pledge movement is a first step.

These are the basic concepts. I explore them in more detail in my latest book, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson). You may or may not choose to read the book. It explains many of these concepts and provides numerous examples of how business owners are succeeding with these principles. The reason I wrote the book is to spread these ideas, and the book explains them much better than I can do on a web page. It’s an easy read. See for yourself; the first 30 pages are available as a free download.
Please use this link to sign the business ethics pledge and (if you choose) order the book. You will be taken to a short questionnaire, where you’ll tell us how you plan to pass along the ideas in the book, and what commitment you will make. Once you fill in and submit the questionnaire you’ll be forwarded to an order form. Once we receive your questionnaire, you’ll also receive a resource guide listing books, magazines, and websites to help you learn more about ethical business, and assist in organizing to create this change-and a downloadable copy of the pledge in PDF format, suitable for hanging on the wall.
Therefore, you also agree to receive and respond to up to three follow-up questionnaires over the next eight to twelve months.
Thank you so much. Together, we will change the world.