Did you know this?
How can we determine if we are making right decisions? A proven guide we can follow is something called the 4 Way Test.
Originally conceived by Herbert J. Taylor in the early 1932, it was a part of a plan to save the Club Aluminum Products distribution company from bankruptcy. He felt the first job was to set policies for the company that would reflect the high ethics and morals God would want in any business. During some time in prayer, the following 24 words came to him.
- Is it the truth?
- Is it fair to all concerned?
- Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
- Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
It was later adopted by Rotary International in the 1943 when Taylor was International President and he offered it to the organization. It remains today a central part of the permanent Rotary structure throughout the world, and is held as the standard by which all behaviour should be measured. The test has been promoted around the world and is used in myriad forms to encourage personal and business ethical practices.
As for Club Aluminum Products, after introducing the 4 Way Test to each of it’s employees and setting it as the company standard of operation, in 20 years it went from a bankrupt condition to paying its debts in full, paying its stockholders over one million dollars in dividends and a value of over two million dollars.
Brief, simple and easy to memorize, the 4 Way Test is a surefire guide for making right decisions.