WEDNESDAY, July 30, 2008 — Maldin Mills was a shining example of one business doing the right thing.

After a devastating fire, CEO Aaron Feuerstein committed to keeping the business going in Lawrence, a small Massachusetts town. He retained his workers. Paid payroll — full salaries, no less — from his fire insurance. At a time when many of its competitors were marching for the border, Maldin Mills was taking the high road.

Six years later, the company was bankrupt. So, was the "ethical" decision, once lauded by presidents and pundits, good after all?

"Ethical behavior is difficult to make compulsory in the workplace .... And it's even harder to do the right thing," said Chris William, who used the much-publicized case to launch his June 24 address to the Committee of 100.

William should know. As executive producer and moderator of PBS' well-regarded "Carolina Business Review," he's enjoyed plenty of airtime to analyze business and what he calls "the corporate conscience."

The topic has become one of his prime interests. The Buffalo, N.Y., native cofounded an organization of nearly 150 CEOs to discuss issues related to corporate sustainability and he's become a lauded speaker and regular panelist on topics related to business ethics.

So, what can you do when every popular measure of success can be found on the bottom line? And, besides, can anyone even talk about ethics when people disagree about the fundamental nature of right and wrong.

Shared Values

Referring to CEOs as "Chief Ethics Officers," William dismisses the second argument quickly, suggesting that everyone shares a core set of values that can be applied to business. Honesty. Respect. Responsibility. Fairness. And, most of all, compassion.

As a banker, William wants to see empirical evidence and hard results. On the other hand, he said, "not everything in life needs to be defended or explained, and I think ethics falls into this category. It doesn't have to be defended or explained; you just know it. It's inherent to us. It's in our DNA."

Exactly how these values are applied to business decisions can be a little tricky at times. But it clearly includes "transparency" — such as reporting financial earnings accurately and admitting when a company does something wrong.

William insists that applying these shared values is the most important thing in business. Since all companies have access to the same resources, the difference between success and failure rests in the character of the people who run it.

In some ways, good behavior seems to be losing ground. Giving examples from recent studies, William suggested younger people don't act as ethically as their older counterparts, and it becomes easier to compromise standards when companies raise more money from cozy relationships with investment bankers than directly from the public at large.

Still, there's hope for the future. "It's not as grim as it sounds," William concluded. "I am encouraged by the majority of business men and women — a lot of them right here in this room, and certainly in this county and this region — who do follow a moral compass."

And that, he believes, is essential to earn back the public trust.

Some Quick Takes

Here are a few other notes from the presentation:

*  Though there's a lot of national concern about oil prices, William expects
    the price to come down as the nation finds alternative energy sources
    and speculation cools. Maybe not to levels we enjoyed years ago, but
    less than what we're seeing now. The "oil bubble" is not all bad for the
    economy, he said. Higher prices drive innovation, and eventually the
    bubble will pop.

*  Corporate boards defend escalating CEO salaries, saying they need to pay
    top dollar to get top talent. As for the leaders, themselves, they
    rationalize the enormous payments because of the risk they're taking.
    But William believes public concern is reaching a pivotal point, where
    something will happen to reverse the trend. "I expect to see some type
    of change," he said. "But it may be slow coming."

*  When asked how to get values back to the center of public life, William
    offered a short and pragmatic prescription: It's the family; spend more
    time with your children.