Ethics 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know
By: John C. Maxwell

Ethical standards in business are important for every leader to know and understand. The book Ethics 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by: John C. Maxwell discusses ethics in the world today. When people make unethical choices, the reason they do because of three main pitfalls. People do what is most convenient to them, people tend to do what they must do to win, and people rationalize their choices with relativism. In this summary, Maxwell’s definition of business ethics will be framed, examples of ethical standards and guidelines, the meaning and contrast of ethical thinking and ethical behavior, and how to avoid these major pitfalls to live an ethical life. The
These include: Am I going to make rash emotional decisions? Am I going to compromise the truth? Am I going to take shortcuts? Am I going to keep my commitments? Am

I going to bow to others’ opinions? And am I going to make promises I can’t keep? If the answers to these questions are yes, it is a good guide for situations where pressure may be an excuse to bend the ethical standards. Pleasure is the second vice that people are tempted to feel gratified without thinking through their actions. Our current society, breeds the notion that pleasure is acceptable despite the consequences. The best way to not fall victim to pleasure is to delay gratification and this will help to lead a more ethical lifestyle. Power is another vice that people fall prey to when ethical issues come to rise. People generally falter during the reception of power, abuse of power, and loss of power. To deter this Harry Truman best said it, “If a man can accept a situation in a place of power with the thought that it’s only temporary, he comes out all right. But when he thinks he is the cause of power that can be his ruination.” Fourth, pride is a culprit to ethical standards being broken. Many people are taught at young age to have pride within themselves, but where is the limit to that pride? “How can people treat others, the way they want to be treated if their perception is to beat them?” (Maxwell, 67) The best remedy is