And so now we tackle another tough issue – ethics. I think this chapter hits the nail on the head from the beginning – ethical problems usually aren’t planned in advance. They happen as a result of shifting focus or responsibility.

I have ran into ethics problems with consultants before. I think I have already gone into it, but the company I used to work for wanted to contract another company to do some Flash design work for us. When I started asking questions about certain web programming languages, I got some nervous answers. I should have spoke up then, but the CEO was there and he didn’t like others piping in at the wrong time. Needless to say, I don’t think anyone there knew Flash, and the rough draft we got showed us that they were probably trying to learn as they went.

Ethics seems to be an even stickier situation in consulting. You basically have to take on so many aspects of the company that you are hired by. But what if that business participates in some slightly unethical practices? Where do you draw the line between them and you? I guess it would have to depend on the situation, but I would definitely not work for someone that would drag me into their risky business or shady reputation.

One of the interesting things on the list of things to do to remain ethical is to say no as much as we say yes. This seems to be very important, but very hard to accept in today’s world. Everyone’s heard of the “yes” man – but not the “no” man. Many times the CEO only wants yes people (not just men, hopefully). So, it takes guts to say no – but the longer you let it go, the harder it is to say.