The Story of a Carpenter

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house- building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family.

He would miss his paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry  to see his good worker go and asked if he  could build just one more house as a personal favor.

The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials.  It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the  house, the contractor handed over the house key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said, “it is my parting gift to you.”

What a shock! What a Shame! If only he had known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he built none too well.

Do we find ourselves in similar situations as the carpenter?

Moving through our work hours fast paced, driven to “get the job done”, without much thought to moral values.

How do we regain our focus as individuals and organizations?

This is the challenge for the employee and the employer.

Ethics are fundamental standards of conduct by which we work as a professional.