The Unexpected Lessons of Mentorship: A Humorous Take on Ethics in Business
In the realm of professional growth, we often encounter ethical dilemmas that stretch our moral compass. Recently, I found myself reminiscing about a rather amusing experience from my early career, one that posed an unexpected question about ethics in business.
While volunteering as a mentor for a high school Junior Achievement (JA) team, a group of 2nd and 3rd year associates and I embarked on an intriguing project. Our goal was to guide students in establishing and operating a small business over a few months. The concept was straightforward: the team decided to sell fruit baskets, sourcing bulk fruit and assembling these baskets for delivery in our local area.
However, we quickly discovered that JA’s rules presented a notable hurdle—the business could not incur any debt. On the surface, this guideline was commendable, aimed at safeguarding the students from financial pitfalls. In practice, however, it became a significant obstacle. How could we purchase fruit without upfront funds? And if we needed payments to get started, how could we do so without creating liabilities?
The answer, albeit quirky, was to have customers prepay for their fruit baskets. While this strategy was effective for generating initial capital, it also led us to a rather humorous ethical conundrum. As part of our responsibilities, we were tasked with creating weekly financial reports for submission to the JA office. The challenge? Our actual financials—reflecting cash collected and deferred revenue—would not align with JA’s stipulation against liabilities and would likely cause a stir if presented honestly.
In a stroke of irony, we found ourselves maintaining two sets of financial records: one for our internal use, reflecting the true nature of our income and expenses, and another “official” record for JA review—one that adhered to their strict guidelines. Surprisingly, the students we were mentoring became complicit in this amusing duplicity, obliviously participating in our little “financial charade.”
Weeks passed, and during a casual conversation, we realized, “Wow, we’re keeping two sets of books!” Instead of feeling compelled to change course, we decided to ride it out, especially since the project was nearing its conclusion.
This experience, while rooted in humor, left me with a valuable takeaway about the complexities of ethics in business. It serves as a reminder that the road to learning can sometimes take unexpected turns—turns that, while entertaining in retrospect, also prompt us to reflect on our professional
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