Ethics and Values

Below is a comprehensive set of guidelines that all members of the J.D. Fox Exec staff must know and support. Clients and potential clients are welcome to read these to get a sense of how we approach our work.

J.D. Fox Exec Code of Ethics

  • Earn every penny you bill for by performing your duties with the same diligence and attention to detail as you would apply to your own business.
  • Make expectations clear at all times. If your client thought a service was included in a contract or project when it was not, it's your fault. You wrote the contract or project plan, and you are the expert in this industry. Never shirk your responsibility to tell a client up-front what is not included, even if you fear it will lose you the sale. If you think it will, then you should review whether your offer is honestly providing the value it should.
  • Maintain your skills. Subscribe to industry publications, study and take certification courses, and purchase equipment and software to improve your understanding and capabilities in managing business systems.
  • Maintain integrity. Explain things to your client with the same detail and candor as you would to a colleague from whom you are asking help. If you make a mistake, admit it and explain to the client how you will fix it and prevent it from happening again. However, be measured in your response to an apparent mistake; admitting too quickly to something that turns out not to have been a mistake on your part, and then trying to take it back, can damage your relationship with your client unnecessarily and thereby hurt both you and your client.
  • Be objective in your recommendations. If you have outside business or financial interests that would be affected by major decisions your client might make in which you have influence, you must address this by withdrawing from your contract with your client, if possible to do so properly under the terms of your contract, or giving up your conflicting outside financial interests.
  • Do not denigrate other business systems management professionals. It does not make you look any better; it only proves that you can criticize. It can also insult the client, as it was this same client's decision to hire the other professional to do the work you now disparage. If you have a problem with how another professional did things, simply explain to the client why you would do things differently, and keep in mind that there may have been factors no longer present when past decisions were made that you are now unaware of.
  • Be courteous and respectful at all times to every member of your client's organization, from the boss to the lowest-level employee. If you do not know how to control your temper, or how not to mock someone who may be unskilled, then find another occupation.
  • Return calls promptly and arrive on-time to all appointments, mentally and physically ready for duty, and with all equipment and other items required.
  • Conduct your personal life in a manner that will not interfere with your ability to provide the level of service your clients expect. Maintain your physical fitness to minimize sick days. Do not put yourself in situations or make bad personal choices that cause such hardship that you cannot fulfill your obligations as business systems management professional.