My Personal Global Code of Conduct
Olena Derzhayeva
Personal “Global Code of Conduct”
My father taught me to believe in two fundamental types of values: self-respect and respect of the others. Both are needed to live in the society, yet, self-respect prevails. It prevails not because we are so selfish, but because the respect of the others can be earned and lost many times, while self-respect is something we keep inside us forever. Thus, once compromised, it always stays damaged. If I may use another metaphor, I’d say that loosing respect of the others is similar to losing a battle, but losing self-respect equals to losing a war.
I have a long 11 years of managerial experience as Executive Manager of LLC “Interopt –Service”, a Ukrainian exporter of agricultural products in Europe that has been known for delivering outstanding results while operating ethically. That is something I am proud of. I consider that a company’s commitment to solid ethical principles is one of the main prerequisites for its financial success and respect in the business world. However, maintaining company’s ethical culture requires continuous search for the right decisions in a variety of situations. I had to make rather painful choices many times in my business career. The ultimate goal of any business is profit, that proverbial “bottom line”. At times, standing the competition and pursuing business survival, I was very close to losing not only respect of the others, but also self-respect. Years of experience, however, brought deeper understanding of the ways to succeed without necessarily betraying my own core values. I learned to conduct a self-assessment test, based on simple “yes”, “no” and “if yes/no, then…” answers:
1. Is this action good for business? If yes, proceed to question 2.
2. Is this action in compliance with the company’s policy? If yes, proceed to question 3.
3. After this action is done, will I feel good? If yes, proceed with the action.
For me, the number one and two are needed, but not
Personal “Global Code of Conduct”
My father taught me to believe in two fundamental types of values: self-respect and respect of the others. Both are needed to live in the society, yet, self-respect prevails. It prevails not because we are so selfish, but because the respect of the others can be earned and lost many times, while self-respect is something we keep inside us forever. Thus, once compromised, it always stays damaged. If I may use another metaphor, I’d say that loosing respect of the others is similar to losing a battle, but losing self-respect equals to losing a war.
I have a long 11 years of managerial experience as Executive Manager of LLC “Interopt –Service”, a Ukrainian exporter of agricultural products in Europe that has been known for delivering outstanding results while operating ethically. That is something I am proud of. I consider that a company’s commitment to solid ethical principles is one of the main prerequisites for its financial success and respect in the business world. However, maintaining company’s ethical culture requires continuous search for the right decisions in a variety of situations. I had to make rather painful choices many times in my business career. The ultimate goal of any business is profit, that proverbial “bottom line”. At times, standing the competition and pursuing business survival, I was very close to losing not only respect of the others, but also self-respect. Years of experience, however, brought deeper understanding of the ways to succeed without necessarily betraying my own core values. I learned to conduct a self-assessment test, based on simple “yes”, “no” and “if yes/no, then…” answers:
1. Is this action good for business? If yes, proceed to question 2.
2. Is this action in compliance with the company’s policy? If yes, proceed to question 3.
3. After this action is done, will I feel good? If yes, proceed with the action.
For me, the number one and two are needed, but not