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The statement “nice guys finish last” is in my view never accurate

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The statement “nice guys finish last” is in my view never accurate. We may be tempted to say that it is sometime true; however, that’s probably because what we qualify as “nice”, is not, or, because the race we think is finished, is still ongoing.

In terms of business, “nice” can be substituted with ethical or moral. The question then becomes, do ethical businesses finish last? Those of us who focus on short term gain may say yes. That is because unethical businesses cut corners, mislead stakeholders, and seem to make some short-term gain in a form of profits. However, it is only a matter of time before their unethical choices are exposed. The example of ENRON is a pertinent one.

On the other hand, ethical businesses understand that being ethical is more profitable in the long term. Once a company is branded as being ethical, the chances of being successful are great. Stakeholders will most likely be loyal to such business. Although an ethical company may spend more in the short term to be sociably responsible, the long-term gains of such investment are priceless.

The bottom line is that the time is always right to do the right thing. The only difference is that there are those who focus on profit therefore compromising ethics, and those who focus on ethics therefore guaranteed to be profitable in the long term.