Obvious right? Of course you’d do the right thing. No one comes into work saying, “Today, I’m going to do the WRONG thing!”.  No one intends to the wrong thing. So why am I saying this? Why am I ranking it number 1?

Without this, all the other lessons on the list are not important. Because without this, it’s like building a tower on a bad foundation. You might not see the issues today, or tomorrow. But eventually, it will catch up with you. Because if you concede on certain issues now, you’ll keep conceding. You might not get found out, so you’ll think it’s ok to do. But at some point, you’ll have crossed the line without even realizing you did. So the key is to recognize when you’re getting too close to the line…. So here are the rationalizations I have heard when you get too close to the line.

1. “There are no rules against it”. OK, but if you know in your gut that it’s wrong, you don’t do it. Policies and rules can only go so far (that’s why there’s the spirit of the law vs the letter of the law). You’re expected to use your judgment.
2. “Lots of other people are doing it too”. – this didn’t work when you tried to use it with your parents as to why you were a) drinking, b) staying out late, c) making out….whatever. It doesn’t work now.
3. “I didn’t think it was that big a deal” – certain rules have no gray: it’s black or white. Things like the Employee Code of Conduct. You might get a slap on the wrist…but you also might get escorted out the building. Why take the chance?

So those are the excuses. Then there are the situations that can make it difficult to do the right thing. These are the hardest. Like when your boss wants you to gloss over certain points in your presentation because it will kill the project. Or when your client wants you to do something you shouldn’t. Or your boss’s expense report is too much, so he wants you to sign off so that he doesn’t have to have his boss see it.

Here’s some suggested responses:

“I’m sorry. I am just not comfortable with doing that.” Usually with a level look in the other person’s eyes does the trick.

“I’m sorry, but our rules and policies won’t let us do that. If I do, I’ll be in violation.”

“No, we shouldn’t do that. Let me be the one to call Joe and explain why.”: sometimes some conversations are outside your people’s weight class.

And if they keep pushing, just say…”I can see we don’t agree. Should we take to <insert here> boss, human resources, compliance and get their thoughts?”

It will be uncomfortable. But stand your ground on what you think is right. Worse case, if it comes to a head, you have solid ground to stand on. You did what you thought was the right thing. Not what your boss told you, not what the rules said or didn’t say, not what your friend told you. What you thought was the right thing.

BTW, there will be times in your career when you think you know better. When you think a rule or policy is stupid. Don’t interpret doing the right thing as NOT following what you think is a stupid rule. Before you do anything, see if there is something you don’t know about the rule that makes it important. And if you still think it’s dumb, go and work with the people who created the rule to change it. But don’t ever think your opinion is more important than the policies or rules defined in the company. They are there for a reason.