From Academy Leadership Affiliate Tom Watson
There are times when it takes moral and ethical courage to go counter to the apparently popular business practice of the day. The late 1980’s and early 1990’s were the “go-go” years of business growth in Asia. Many contracts and business agreements were facilitated by drinking and partying into the wee hours of the morning. The popular understanding was that one could not secure new business deals within certain Asian countries without significant alcohol consumption. This was not necessarily the case.
A very good friend of mine, an American on a three year business assignment in Asia, had religious convictions that prohibited him from drinking alcohol. Everyone’s assumption was that the growth of his business would suffer. In fact, the opposite was true. Bill made it known to his Asian colleagues and business associates that he would not take alcohol because of his deeply felt religious beliefs. Whenever Bill was offered something late at night he always insisted on only having ginger-ale. People gave him a hard time at the start but soon realized that he meant what he said. Bill’s commitment to a core set of values, as evidenced in this case by never drinking alcohol, was respected by all who knew him and did business with him. In fact, his business thrived in no small part due to his moral compass.
