This Pair of Tests Will Judge the Virtue of Your Decisions

The following is adapted from Discernment.

“Am I making the right decision for my business?”

If you’re asking this question, it might be because you doubt that a choice you’re making aligns with your personal values. Your values are the things you truly believe in, like honesty and respect — the principles you’re willing to fight for and even lose money on.

What you value drives what you do, and what you do determines your opportunities. When you catch yourself doing something that’s not in alignment with your values, you stop and do something different or suffer the guilt and regret that follows.

How can you tell if a decision aligns with your values? That’s what these two tests, the Poster Test and the Pain Test, will help you determine.

Why You Should Care About Virtue

First, let’s talk about why you should care about virtue. The virtue of your decisions impacts three parties: yourself, your employees, and your customers.

Every time you break your own values, you hurt yourself. The hypocrisy damages your confidence and integrity, and it makes you ask, “Who am I, really?” Successful people know who they are; they do what they say, and say what they do.

Your employees also suffer when you make decisions that violate your values. It damages the trust they have for you — if my boss will break their word in this way, how do I know they won’t break their word with me? The hypocrisy also confuses their expectations. They might have thought you expected honesty from them, but if they see you acting dishonestly, maybe they don’t have to follow that standard, either.

Lastly, unvirtuous decisions hurt your customers. If your business treats your customers unfairly, not only will they not receive the service they need and deserve, but your reputation will also be tarnished.

Everyone involved in your business benefits from virtuous decisions, so here are two ways to ensure you’re living up to your values.

The Poster Test

The Poster Test means you’re willing to put your values on your wall — literally. If you live your life by rules you’re willing to put on a poster for everyone to see, it’s going to be hard for you not to do the right things.

On the other hand, if you follow rules you won’t post or post rules you don’t follow, you won’t be adhering to a moral code or making virtuous decisions. Instead, you’ll likely choose the option that suits you best in the moment, but you’ll wind up hurting yourself, your business, and the people around you in the long run.

For example, if your employees see a placard on the wall that reads “we value employees” but then you cut their benefits with no explanation, their trust in you will shatter. You might reap immediate financial benefits from that decision, but you’ll suffer the long-term effects of lower employee confidence.

Think carefully about the values that matter to you. If they’re important, be willing to publicly commit to and follow them, even when it’s not the easy choice.

The Pain Test

The second way to gauge the virtue of your decisions is with the Pain Test.

Like I said, making virtuous decisions means not always choosing the easy option, and the Pain Test celebrates that fact.

Values have value — actual cash value — and they can be expensive. If your decisions are costing you money, it’s a great (if unpleasant) sign that they’re virtuous. They pass the Pain Test.

I’ve lost more money than I care to contemplate because I wouldn’t massage the facts to get out of paying a bill. I’ve walked away from opportunities and left money on the table. It hurt, but I never agonized over the decisions because they aligned with my values. If something is against my values, I don’t do it.

Commit to Living Your Values

“Am I making the right decision for my business?”

The next time you ask this question, my advice is to start with your values, not profits.

Here’s the thing: being true to your values, while costly in the short run, will end up generating more profits, financial and personal, than you’d gain by sacrificing your integrity.

If you apply the Poster Test and the Pain Test to each of your business decisions, you can feel certain that you’re making virtuous choices. In turn, consistent values will boost the confidence of your employees, your customers, and the confidence you have in yourself, all of which benefit your company — and its bottom line — in the long run.

For more advice on running a business, you can find Discernment on Amazon.

Jeff Dudan is a seasoned business builder, Undercover Boss, and former college football player. He went to Florida to paint in the wake of Hurricane Andrew and two years later launched AdvantaClean, a national restoration franchise that had 240 locations in 37 states when Jeff exited the company in 2019. He’s since joined up with his brother, Mike, to start Dudan Partners, a catalyst for enterprise growth in the franchise industry. Jeff recently retired from coaching his kids’ sports teams — thirty combined seasons in the past twelve years — and is a top Forbes contributor.