Three Rules of Moral Behavior

As The American College's former Chair of Ethics and the Professions and a professor who has taught at seven universities over the years, Ronald Duska is a recognized leader in helping business executives and financial professionals learn the principles of ethical decision making. Now a lecturer and consultant in business ethics, he believes the fiduciary concept is akin to the Golden Rule of treating others as you would wish to be treated.

As a client, Duska said, he would want to know that his advisor was always thinking of "whether this would be good for me." From an advisor's viewpoint, he asserted, "there's no justification for doing something wrong." Along with the Golden Rule, he offers three simple guidelines for moral behavior:

1. Do no harm.

2. Prevent harm.

3. Do good.