Denver business consultant Laurence Valant's new book of corporate commandments preaches the Golden Rule of business: Do unto investors as you would have investors do unto you.
Valant and business partner Gayle Hustad have written "Stop Breaking These Rules! 100 Hard-Hitting Truths for Business Integrity and Performance" (Clearview Communications Publishing Inc., $18.95, 118 pages, available at www.valantco.com).
"The reason companies exist at all is to grow the investments people have made," said Valant, whose Castle Rock firm, Valant & Company, has offered business consulting and analysis nationwide since 1988. "And to do that, management must be responsible and behave with integrity. They must understand they are stewards of the investors."
They wrote the book hoping to foster the creation of stronger checks and balances, and to address mismanagement and poor leadership. They wanted to create a guideline of business ethics, in light of what Valant calls "overwhelmingly greedy" trends.
"There are so many people that have forgotten the basic principles of how to live your life," he said. "'Stop Breaking These Rules' is an admonition of common sense. If you behave with integrity and tell the truth, good things will happen to you and the people around you."
He wrote his first book, "Make Plan! With Effective Execution," in 2006 with Andy Bowen, president of Clearview Communications in Tampa.
Valant said "Stop Breaking These Rules!" is aimed toward board directors and investors who can affect the behavior of upper management, not the bigwigs themselves. |
