Harvey Mackay: Be conscious of your conscience

I have always been a fan of comics, or what I call the funny pages. Recently, I was looking at the "Family Circus," by Bil and Jeff Keane. The littlest boy has a cupboard open and is looking at various boxes of food when his older brother sees him and says, "Conscience is like Mommy tellin' you not to do somethin', but she isn't there."

Or as I like to say, act like your mother is watching. All the time.

Conscience is that little voice inside that tells us what we already know is right or wrong. Unfortunately for some, when it is talking, they aren't listening. And that's when the trouble begins. Whether in our personal or business life, it's important to heed that little voice.

Investor's Business Daily identified 10 traits for getting ahead in business and turning your dreams into reality. They included many things you would expect: a positive attitude, a definitive goal, a courageous spirit. No. 10 on the list was a clear conscience.

Like the "Family Circus" cartoon, these traits hearken to the lessons of childhood. Don't forget the rules you learned in kindergarten. Play nice. Be dependable. Tell the truth. If you can't get to the top by being true to yourself and straight with everyone around you, your success will be hollow — and probably short-lived.

Consider these lessons from two highly principled leaders.

Once, when President Harry Truman was asked what principles guided his career, he said that he let his conscience be his guide. He elaborated: "What more can a man do? Do the best you can. Sometimes you come out successfully, sometimes you don't. You have to have luck and ability and be ready to meet the situation as it comes. All this happened to me. I never thought I would go to the United States Senate, but then, I never thought I would go to the White House either."

Do you detect a theme here? Most of them relate to having a clear conscience.

Make no mistake: Customers are watching how businesses perform through an ethical lens. Trying to mend a bad reputation is a lot harder than maintaining a good one.

You don't have to make national headlines for your true colors to be exposed. Doing business with the shopkeeper in this following anecdote might be a challenge.

An eager-beaver salesperson was trying to have a country storekeeper carry his product, and finally tried to bribe the fellow with a bottle of Champagne.

"Oh, my conscience wouldn't let me take a gift," the storekeeper protested.

"In that case," replied the man, "I'll take two."

Mackay's Moral: Putting profit before principle is always bad business.