by Karolyn Hart

I had the privilege a number of years ago of joining Rotary International.  Growing up in my community I only knew that the Rotary people were responsible for creating the Ganatchio Trail along the riverfront in Windsor and they also built a bunch of the parks that I played in.  Unfortunately, due to a number of reasons I couldn’t continue with my involvement in Rotary but I took away with me some valuable tools.

One of the tools I learned from my involvement with Rotary was “The Four Way Test”. It was written by a Chicago lawyer (Herb J. Taylor) in 1932 to help resuscitate a dying company.   He knew he needed something that would provide his staff with a tool that essentially be a short measuring stick of ethics as they made their decisions.

The Four-Way Test
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will be build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

At the time that he created the test it had never been used in the real-world.  In fact a fellow lawyer told Herb: “If I followed the Test explicitly, I would starve to death. Where business is concerned, I think The Four-Way Test is absolutely impractical.”

The truth is that living by such a demanding test is not easy.  If you live explicitly by these rules it means you agree to act with integrity in every action. It means owning your mistakes when you make them (and we all do).  It means living fully concerned about how your actions will impact those around you (even the people you don’t like!).

What’s interesting about Herb is that he intentionally left a successful job to join the failing company and make it a success.  He used the test in everything including  their advertising.  With the test in hand he effectively went to work removing all words such as “better”, “best”, “greatest” or “finest” and replaced with factual descriptions. He also removed all negative comments about their competitors from their advertising.

In every area of the business they used the test and what happened? The company that owed $400,000 more than its total assets distributed more than $1 million in dividends to stockholders and its  net worth climbed to more than $2 million.

In so many areas this simple test can transform whatever it is that you are facing.  In my experience, when it is followed, it also greatly reduces the amount of “drama” that you have to deal with.  Of course, you will still have to respond to issues that are caused by other people’s lack of integrity and ethics but even in dealing with those issues it provides you a path in which to follow.

I know that many people have used this test and experienced success.  If you haven’t, I encourage you to try and then share your results here!

Filed under: *Karolyn Hart, Life