[TEXT: Young African Leaders Initiative Online Training Series]
[TEXT: Dante Disparte] Hi. I'm Dante Disparte,
[TEXT: Founder & Chairman, Risk Cooperative, Washington, DC] and like many of you watching, I'm an entrepreneur.
I'm the founder of a company called Risk Cooperative
that helps organizations around the world
manage risk, readiness, and resilience.
I'm honored to share my experiences and views
on the link between ethical leadership, business, and decision-making.
[TEXT: Fundamentals of Responsible Leadership for Entrepreneurs:] Welcome to Fundamentals of Responsible Leadership for Entrepreneurs.
[TEXT: Avoiding Pitfalls and Managing Your Business Ethically] This lesson is entitled Avoiding Pitfalls and Managing Your Business Ethically.
[TEXT: Learning Objectives: Avoiding Pitfalls and Managing Your Business Ethically] In this lesson, we'll review how entrepreneurs
[TEXT: How entrepreneurs can ethically guide their businesses.] can ethically guide their businesses to better manage risk.
[TEXT: How entrepreneurs can make values-based decisions.] We'll look at how you can make values-based decisions
that will serve your business, customers, partners, and investors,
[TEXT: Best practices to avoid ethical pitfalls.] and we'll talk about best practices that will help avoid pitfalls
that can result in devastating consequences
for your business, employees, and community.
In so many ways, entrepreneurs, more so than any other business leaders,
have the best opportunity
to shape their projects, organizations, and businesses
according to their value systems.
This is where many of the largest
and supposedly most trusted organizations in the world,
including in the public sector, have often failed.
For far too long, managing risk has been seen as a function
of controlling losses and adherence to compliance standards,
but as organizations fall prey to complex and tangible risks,
from unwanted disclosure due to rampant cyber threats,
to breaches of conduct driven by misguided and poorly conceived incentive systems,
[TEXT: Effective Risk Management] smart entrepreneurs are realizing that effective risk management
[TEXT: - ethical leadership - values-based decisions] involves promoting ethical leadership and values-based decision-making.
A key lesson along your entrepreneurial journey
that highlights the power
of ingraining ethical leadership and conduct in your business
[TEXT: Values matter most when least convenient] is the fact that values matter most when they are least convenient.
This is an area that has been particularly difficult
for large organizations and even governments around the world,
as what happens behind closed doors
is often shown to be inconsistent with what happens in public.
Entrepreneurs and early-stage business leaders
may have the best opportunity in the world
to hardwire corporate value systems into their businesses and projects.
In an entrepreneurial environment riddled with uncertainty and variability,
value systems are the only constant.
For value systems to be more than empty slogans,
they must withstand the trial by fire of tough calls,
guiding behavior and decision-making when it is least convenient.
[TEXT: Value Systems - fair play] Your values should be based on the principles of fair play,
[TEXT: - rule of law respecting the rule of law,
TEXT: - human rights - social responsibility] human rights, and social responsibility.
You must operate according to your values every day.
Incorporate them into your interactions
with customers, suppliers, partners, and investors.
And you must articulate them clearly and repeatedly to your employees.
And your employees must demonstrate that they know your values
and can be trusted to adhere to them.
At the same time, they should also know what behaviors will not be tolerated.
Our value systems are the sum of our conduct,
especially during situations of stress or compromise
that might force us to get off our path.
The journey of an entrepreneur, and certainly my own,
has many forks in the road,
but if we hold to our value systems and ethical leadership,
we will always find the right way, even in the toughest times.
As you develop and grow your business,
it's critical that you create responsible business practices
that go hand-in-hand with ethical leadership.
[TEXT: Responsible Business Practices] These include complying
[TEXT: - comply with laws] with domestic and international business laws and regulations,
[TEXT: - avoid corrupt practices] avoiding corrupt practices,
TEXT: - having professional and transparent accounting systems] having professional and transparent accounting systems,
[TEXT: - screen staff and partners] screening staff and potential partners
to ensure they are and will continue to behave in an ethical manner,
[TEXT: - adhere to fair labor standards - avoid human trafficking] adhering to fair labor standards, avoiding human trafficking.
The success of your business depends on everyone involved in your enterprise,
and listening and responding to them is critical to your survival.
[TEXT: Responsible Business Practices - embrace diversity] Finally, embrace diversity and inclusion in all aspects of your business.
All too often, as the doors close on the boardrooms and halls of power
of the most consequential organizations in the world,
there are too few women, minorities, and other voices represented
in those rooms, along your supply chain, and in your customer base.
As we were building Risk Cooperative into the organization it is today,
somehow the question of ensuring
not only a diverse but inclusive environment
was much easier to do at the design level of our company
than after the fact.
Diversity and inclusion remain one of the most elusive areas of opportunity
for most organizations in the world,
and entrepreneurs have a unique chance
to shape the future by making it more participatory.
[TEXT: Ethical leadership improves outcomes] Know that ethical leadership can improve outcomes for entrepreneurs,
and in the greater picture, for society.
Remember that profit and purpose are not in competition
and that you, as an entrepreneur, can seek your financial stability
at exactly the same time you make a positive impact on the world.
This triple bottom line
[TEXT: Balance economic, social, environmental priorities] of balancing economic, social, and environmental priorities
is critically important.
Again, responsible business conduct
and your personal and organizational value systems
matter most when least convenient.
These values are not the nice words you might write on your business plan.
They're the behaviors and choices you make
when you're facing difficulty, adversity, or moral compromise.
The ethical leader follows their internal North Star,
and this sets their organizations, projects, and people
on a path to prosperity.
In a world running on only a few of its cylinders,
the opportunities in the hands of entrepreneurs
to improve outcomes on diversity and inclusion
not only will improve their organizations
by drawing in more talent and better views
from the broader array of community members,
it will also set an example that has long-lasting implications
and impacts on business and society.
Remember, being a successful entrepreneur means being an ethical leader.
[TEXT: Test Your Knowledge yali.state.gov YALI Network] After you have reviewed all of the lessons in this course at yali.state.gov,
[TEXT: Produced by the U.S. Department of State] you can test your knowledge and earn a YALI Network certificate.