I read a great article on LinkedIn the other day that really got me thinking about ethics and how some people make these dilemmas so difficult when really it’s very simple – would you tell your kids?

I know that not everyone has kids but it shouldn’t be hard to adapt this question to your individual circumstances. “Would I tell my sister’s kids?” “Will I tell my kids when they get a little older?” “Would I have told my kids when they were in sixth grade?” 

I don’t have kids but I can certainly image that if I did, and I had an “ethical dilemma”, I would easily know that answer to this question even though the kids would be imaginary.

I agree with the author Barry Schwartz , Professor of Psychology at Swarthmore College,  that if we adopted this family of questions as our ethical touchstone, we could throw most of the ethics texts, casebooks, and guidelines away. We would do the right thing more often, and with less effort.

Unfortunately, in the financial services industry we hear a lot of stories about goings on that sometimes make you shake your head.  

Lately, the issue has been insider trading. Goldman Sachs. SAC Capital Partners. Both were accused of several instances of insider trading. Sometimes, insider trading is blatant and clear cut. You find out at a board meeting that your firm is going to be bought for 30% per share above market value, so you call a deep-pocketed friend who buys ten million shares. It’s a no-brainer that this counts as insider trading. Our confidence in our corporate leaders seems to take a hit almost weekly.

Even though culprits rarely go to prison, firms have paid hundreds of millions to settle accusations in the last few years. 

If you wouldn’t tell your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews or best friend’s kids, then don’t do it – it really is that simple!