One has to make sure that one’s commitment to corporate excellence is based on a foundation of work ethics. Ethics are not merely rules based on laws. Such an understanding would be primitive. Ethics are instead based on goodness. Goodness is not bound by one’s definitions but is, like intelligence, free-flowing. It has its own intrinsic wisdom.
Ethics are the movement of order. An action born out of order is goodness. Goodness in action is ethics. An ethical process is order in motion and is therefore immensely crucial in the corporate world. One of the important aspects of altruism is a high degree of integrity. From a spiritual perspective, integrity means integrating the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual aspects of one’s being.
Abusing the body is unethical. Harmful habits such as excessive drinking, overeating or consuming junk food damage the body and, in turn, affect the mind. When one drinks alcohol, one harms not only the body but also the clarity of the mind. Once the mind is disturbed, perception too becomes distorted. Therefore, caring for the body involves right food, right habits and right posture.
Talking of emotional health, enthusiasm brings aliveness, and that inner vitality gives one the strength to do the right thing. Emotion is nothing but energy in motion. The quality of life depends on the quality of our emotions. If we are emotionally weak, our life becomes weak. If our emotions are dull, our life too becomes dull. All of us seek energy. Where do we find it? The body has energy, feelings have energy and the intellect has energy. Tapping this energy constructively is the need of the hour if one wishes to become a fully integrated person.
If one wants to use the body effectively, one needs to drop habits that waste energy. Then the body will remain charged. To conserve energy, it is crucial to handle one’s emotions properly. A mother’s love for her child brings the energy of giving and contributing. Life becomes pleasant when such pure energy is tapped into. One’s love for serving the organisation and contributing to it should always remain at the forefront.
Next is intellectual health, which means being part of the solution rather than a victim of the problem. The ability to make right decisions and solve problems effectively is a fundamental aspect of intellectual health. Spiritual health involves operating from the right values. This requires self-discipline. Values should guide our needs, and our needs should guide our actions.
Connect with people through communication. Communication happens not only through words but also through the feelings that flow through those words. There are four levels of communication. Words are one level, while the feelings generated by those words form another. If there is a disconnect between words and feelings, then something is missing. The next level is intent, and the final level is communication without ego.
Operating as a team rather than as individuals should be a corporate value; hence, it is part of corporate ethics. One has to learn to move beyond self-love and develop love for the organisation and the team. Self-love is the mother of many conflicts. When one becomes attached to one’s point of view or dogma, conflict with others arises. Through self-love, consciousness becomes constricted to the self and, therefore, comes into conflict with others. Such conflict creates disorder within the organisation and leads to the disintegration of the team.
One’s love should be for the whole team. Such love is inclusive, not exclusive. True love includes the self but does not become imprisoned by it.
