1. Would you accept this from your kids? Think about how you would justify each course of action you are considering.

Now imagine that your child is offering you this same justification

(if you don’t have children, try to imagine that you do).

Would your rationale, coming from a child, sound like a valid reason for going ahead with the idea? Sometimes in the business world, excuses come down to “everyone is doing it” or “I won’t get caught.” Most parents would not accept that kind of reasoning from a child; as an adult, you can certainly find better guidelines for how to act.