Governor's October Message

I first heard this fine man speak at the Rotary Zone Institute in Costa Mesa three years ago when I attended as a guest of then District Governor, John Colville. The Zone Institute is an annual meeting of current and past officers of Rotary International designed to keep these officers informed of recent developments in the Rotary world and to inspire and educate, much as the annual international convention does for all Rotarians. I knew then that Mr. Josephson's message must be carried to the Rotarians in our District, and as your District Governor I was fortunate to have that opportunity.

Michael Josephson seeks through his writing and speaking to ".improve the ethical quality of society by changing personal and organizational decision making and behavior." He counsels those to whom he speaks to live by the "six pillars," and to teach these pillars of character to our children. The six pillars are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. Mr. Josephson cautioned us that by allowing others to depart from these pillars we create a climate in which bad decisions and actions thrive. "If we allow it, we encourage it."

Rotarians have sought to promote high ethical standards in business since the earliest days of Rotary. Paul Harris and his three friends, who began meeting in 1905 in Chicago, joined together not only for the friendship which they hoped to share, but also because they wished to do business with others who were committed to high standards of professional conduct. Rotary was one of the first business-networking organizations, and the principles upon which Rotary was founded ought to be just as important to us now as they were to those who conceived our organization.

In 1932, Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor, who later served as a president of Rotary International, drafted Rotary's 4-Way Test. He wrote this code of ethics for the employees of a company which was facing bankruptcy. His job was to bring the company back to financial good health. He asked the employees to use the test as a guide in all their business practices - production, advertising, sales, and customer relations. His employees embraced the concept, employed it as directed in their business dealings and succeeded in restoring the company's profitability and reputation. In 1943 Rotary adopted the 4-Way Test:

"Of the things we think, say or do:
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?"

When I served as president of the Wilshire Rotary Club of Los Angeles, I asked the members of our club to recite the 4-Way Test at the end of each of our meetings. I know that many Rotary clubs do this, but I wanted to be sure that the practice was meaningful. Often when we recite something repeatedly, we fail to seriously contemplate the words we utter. It takes real discipline to apply a set of moral principles to our actions and even greater discipline to conform our speech. Applying the 4-Way Test to our thoughts is a Herculean challenge. So I tried to be emphatic. I appealed to my friends saying that from the moment we part company until we meet again, in everything that we think, in everything that we say and in all that we do, we must ask ourselves these four questions. And then we recited the Test.

Well, I really don't know if what I said affected anyone in my club the way I hoped it would, but I do know this. It affected me deeply. That 4-Way Test began to creep into my daily thinking. I actually began to analyze my actions, my speech and even my thoughts using those four simple questions. Now, I wish I could say that I always meet the test, but I don't. I'm sure I fail far more times than I succeed. But I believe the process has helped me to move closer to becoming the type of person I hope to be, the type of person I believe a Rotarian ought to be.

This year I asked our exceptional District leadership team and our corps of outstanding club presidents to help us emphasize the creation of character. We should not only live it, we should teach it. I sincerely believe that aspiring to be consistently truthful and fair is what must distinguish us. Our hallmark ought to be goodwill, sincere friendship and a devotion to mutually beneficial thoughts, words and deeds. Good character must distinguish us in our businesses, in our personal lives and in our service. We can, and we must, always strive to be honest, fair, respectful and humble men and women. That is a commitment to the 4-Way Test.

Warmest regards,

Scot