From time to time someone asks the question about whether making cash payments to someone is unethical? Some hold the perspective that the only reason to pay cash is to help somebody avoid taxes.

In my businesses, occasionally someone has wanted to pay in currency rather than by check. In these instances I make the appropriate entries in my bookkeeping system so that it becomes part of my taxable income. Then, when required, I expect to receive a 1099 IRS reporting form at the end of the year.

Any person engaged in sales encounters prospects who simply disappear. I understand that a lot of folks don’t like to say no or don’t want to engage after they decide not to accept your proposal. However, this wastes time unnecessarily and lacks basic courtesy.

We will all leave a legacy. The question is what type of legacy will we leave behind? Often it is one event we don't realize makes as big a difference as it does that becomes the legacy others remember. I will use examples from politicians because they are known to most people. However, I use them for example only and not to make any political statement.

How you give notice when you end a business relationship as an employee or a supplier is an important step in maintaining your integrity. We need to honor the time and method of giving notice.

If during a job interview a prospective employee tells me that their former employer requires a two-week notice but they can start on Monday because they don’t feel they have to provide that notice, that’s a red flag for me.  I take it as a good reason not to hire this person because they have demonstrated to me they are not a person of integrity. When I extend a job offer to someone, I always stress that I fully support giving appropriate notice. If the employer wishes to release the person immediately, that’s great.  However, it is always the employer’s choice and not the employee’s.

One aspect of our work that we often overlook is praying for our employer. We review the example from scripture where the prophet Jeremiah wrote to the Jewish people in exile to “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." (Jeremiah 29:7, NIV)
 
This is a reality easily overlooked. If your company or business does not prosper, you do not prosper. For example, if the company has a cash-flow problem and is losing money, they will not be in a position to give raises.  
That’s why it is important that you pray for the business you work for and its leaders.  Consider the following ways you could pray:

·      Ask the Lord to help the business provide quality service so customers will come back and tell others about your company.

·      Pray that your employer would be ethical and honest in all business transactions.