Rotary Minute - The Four Way Test
Allen gave us a history of the Rotary Four Way test which was created in 1932 the brainchild of Herbert J. Taylor, who became RI President in 1954-55. Allen read a letter from Herbert Taylor, about how he was assigned the task of saving the Club Aluminum Company which made cookware. The competitors of this company were more financially sound, but Herbert decided that the Character and Dependability and service of their personnel would help them be better and more competitive. Herbert Taylor felt that they needed to a short code of ethics to find out whether or not their proposed actions were right or wrong. Four short questions were developed. 1. Is it the truth, 2. is it fair to all concerned, 3 Will it build good will and better friendships, 4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned. Mr. Taylor almost threw it out after the first week of it being on his desk, when he realized how many untruthful statements appeared in the company literature. He asked four men of different religious backgrounds to review the four-way test, they found that these 4 questions not only coincided with their beliefs, but they felt that if they were used in business, they would be beneficial. The company went on to use the test to apply to advertising statements that could not be proven. The use of the test allowed them to improve their company & regain the confidence in their product and were rewarded with good dividends and earnings. Thank you, Allen, for this bit of Rotary history on the origin & use of the four-way test.