Various Ethics Approaches

I recently read my March 2007 issue of Harvard Business Review, specifically an article titled “The Ethical Mind: A Conversation with Psychologist Howard Gardner.”

Gardner spoke of four different “minds.” They were/are:
- the Disciplined mind, gained “through applying ourselves in a disciplined way”;
- the Synthesizing mind, “which can survey a wide range of sources, decide what is important and worth paying attention to, and weave this information together in a coherent fashion for oneself and others”;
- the Creating mind, which “casts about for new ideas and practices, innovates, takes chances, discovers”, and lastly;
- the Respectful mind, “the kind of open mind that tries to understand and form relationships with other human beings.”

He seems to suggest that an Ethical mind “broadens respect for others into something more abstract … [such that a person may ask] … ‘What kind of a person, worker, and citizen do I want to be?’”

The article focused on ethics in business, and what might lead some business leaders to display poor ethics.

Gardner notes that businesspeople are more prone to poor ethical judgments because business is not a profession. In the professions – medical, legal, accounting, etc. – peer review plays a role. In business, while peer review may exist in a certain sense, it does not exist formally.

He also notes that movement away from a strict ethical code can be “catching”, or contagious. If certain behaviour is the norm in a particular company, despite the ethics, one may be swayed to join in.


We at Parmasters use specific hiring techniques to first identify candidates whose values and beliefs align with the values and beliefs embodied by Parmasters. While not specifically noted in a mission or vision statement, we as a company value ethical behaviour very highly.


This HBR article also reminded me of an ethics course from my MBA days. Part of the course focused on the many different ethical approaches or perspectives. I found this web page that lays them out quite succinctly.

Utilitarian Approach – The ethical course of action provides the greatest good for the greatest number.

Rights Approach – The ethical course of action does not infringe on anyone’s rights. This quickly leads to a debate regarding which, if any, rights are innate.

Fairness/Justice Approach – The ethical course of action treats all people fairly and equally.

Common-Good Approach – This approach focuses on the common good shared by all individuals in society.

Virtue Approach – This approach focuses on what type of person we want to be, how shall we pursue various virtues and make them part of ourselves?

Parmasters Media Release

Parmasters offers golfing franchise opportunities in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec

Attention: Business/Financial Editor, City Editor, Lifestyle Editor, News Editor, Sports EditorTORONTO, ONTARIO, MEDIA RELEASE--(CCNMatthews - May 24, 2007) - Over the next 10 years in the US, aging Baby Boomers alone will drive a 12 per cent increase in the 20 billion dollar golf industry. In response to this trend, Parmasters offers a franchising opportunity that mixes business with pleasure.

Tom Matzen, an international speaker and author, and founder of Entrepreneur Coach Inc., together with Scott Hazledine, a Class A PGA member, recognized the growth in golf and formed Parmasters in 1999.

According to the National Golf Foundation, an average of 2 million new golfers enter the sport each year but as many golfers drop off. The three actions required to reverse this trend are: facilitate finding playing partners; promote couples/family golf; teach, teach, teach. Parmasters Golf Training Centers address each of these concerns and more.

Typically, a Parmasters Golf Training Center is 12,000 to 15,000 square-feet, offering a climate-controlled, indoor golfers haven and an affordable alternative to traditional teaching methods that guarantees a 25 per cent reduction in handicap.

Certified golf coaches develop each part of the swing from impact backwards, teaching the fundamentals using Accelerated Learning Techniques, and the proven sports technology Straight-Line Golf.

"In the fluency bays, the ball gets automatically teed out of the floor, so when you are taking Straight-Line Golf lessons you are not bending over to tee the ball up allowing you to focus on your grip and swing tempo" says André Ferris, of Parmasters Canada.

Eighty-eight franchises have been awarded. The first location, a 25,000 sq. ft. center in Memphis Tennessee opened in June 2006, and the first international center in Guangzhou, China in April, 2007. The opening of 12 additional golf training centers and 20 Links Golf Cafes are planned by April, 2008.

In Canada, 27 franchises have been awarded, with further opportunities in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec.

A Full Day

It’s been a long day, and becoming a bit of a late night. I have an early workout tomorrow morning, so must head to bed to read and sleep soon.

Today started along the same lines as tomorrow will, with a good workout. And then I quickly segued into the usual long string of investor meetings. I also visited a local “travel” clinic to get my immunizations for a pending trip to Mexico (the Franchise Owners’ Conference).

I practiced this evening, golf that is. Straight-Line Golf™ truly is “the simplest, most accurate way to hit a golf ball.”

We’re also in the middle of packaging up quarterly statements for the shareholders. It’s not a lot of work, but it is one of those Important but Non-urgent tasks. It often seems that I have plenty of Important AND Urgent tasks to occupy my day.

I’ve added a tour news feed to this blog. You’ll find it at the top of the column to the right. It also exists at the bottom of this page, but I suspect very few ever scroll to the bottom. The feed is quite handy. Simply click on the tour of interest and the latest news is presented. Enjoy!

Well, off to read and rest up for another full day tomorrow.

Great Lakes Tour

I took the weekend off. Well, by that I mean, I didn’t do very much office or business work. The pleasant weather inspired me to tackle some “backyard” projects. I did some work around the pool, a small reinforcement project on the deck, and also bolstered some of the weather protection around a side shed. While it was quite gratifying to finally cross those to-do items off of my list – they had been on the list for quite some time – I also left myself a little behind on business work.

I’ve spent much of this evening catching up. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll work.

It was with great interest that I read Mark Bryson’s column in The Record way back on May 3. (Yes, I’m a little behind on some of my blogging too!) The article title read “Great Lakes Tour hits pay dirt with amateur series.”

It’s great to hear that the Great Lakes Tour is doing well. These smaller tours, both amateur and professional, offer the up-and-comers a stepping stone while also providing many others with a rare opportunity to compete against some of the best local talent.

According to Bryson, the Great Lakes Tour offers two professional series – “the 10-event Ben Hogan series and the five-event Platinum series” – along with the new amateur series.

Bryson also notes that “the tour started in 2001 with 150 members and $60,000 in purses” while last season it boasted $500,000 in total purses.

I plan to add links to many of these amateur and junior professional tours to my blog sidebar. We all know it’s fun watching Tiger, Ernie, Vijay and Mike tearing it up on the PGA, but why not consider either watching or competing in a local event?

Count Yogi

I stumbled across Count Yogi when a Google Alert came my way. Have you ever heard of the Count?

By some accounts, he was an early Moe Norman. Early, but not all that early. The Count played most of his golf in the early- to mid-20th century, not long before our local Mr. Norman began turning heads.

The Google Alert pointed to this site and a brief article on the Count. This article listed some of the Count’s many exploits. Here’s the list, borrowed from the aforementioned article:


- Shot 26-29 for a 55 at Bunker Hill Golf Course, a regulation course, winning the 1934 Chicago golf championship. Included two back-to-back holes-in-one (187 and 347 yards) while playing with Al Espinosa and Terry McGovern
- Also has shot scores of 55, 57, 58 and 59 in 18-hole rounds.
- Shot a 59 in winning the best ball title at Greenview Country Club, Chicago.
- Shot seven birdies in a row for a world tournament record (held for eighteen years) in the 1941 Chicago Open at Elmhurst Country Club.
- Averaged 67 per round for 203 rounds of 18-hole golf in 1940, playing either right handed or left handed.
- Played a 550-yard hole in two strokes in Corpus Christi, Texas, driving 453 yards and sinking the next shot with a wedge.
- Shot par or under for 267 of 273 successive shows
- Drives of 453, 450, 435 and 425 yards.
- Fifty-five holes-in-one; nine of them on par-4 holes, two in succession (187 and 347 yards); one 416-yard hole-in-one
- Fourteen putts for eighteen holes (score 29-29=58) on par-72 Wilson Golf Course, Griffith Park, Los Angeles, former scene of Los Angeles Open, 1951.
- 645-yard par-6 hole in 3; 59 on par-74 course, 1933.
- Eight birdies and two eagles in succession in a 58 at Paw Paw Lakes Links, Michigan, 1939.
- Played eighteen holes in fifty-seven minutes and 69 shots; fastest round (not cycling, but walking), mid-City Golf Course, Chicago, 1948.
- 31-32=63 course record at Bel Air Country Club, Los Angeles, 1948.
- 34-31=65 par-73 to win Metro Goldwyn Mayer's annual Open, 1949.
- 31-36=67 at Western Avenue Golf Course (Los Angeles) to win Universal International event, while in Hindu suit, 1949.


Turns out there’s a company marketing golf lessons under the banner Count Yogi Golf. Interesting. You can find their site here. I’m not sure where they’re located. Their area code is 805, but I have not looked it up.

A web search revealed little else. The same articles and sites popped up several times, but I found very little else on Count Yogi.

If any readers have any Count related information, I’d welcome more input. He seems like an interesting figure.

Blogging Rut

I’m in a bit of a blogging rut. There are several reasons. No excuses. (I’m rather adamant about not making excuses. I don’t really believe in excuses I suppose.) But yes, there are reasons.

I’ve been very busy. I’m busy mostly with work and business-related activities, but I’m also coaching a ball hockey team (my eldest son) and I volunteer with a few agencies. I’ve also been helping a neighbour that’s struggling through a difficult time.

The busy-ness also puts me behind on my reading. I tend to sacrifice a few of the important but less urgent activities when I get swamped. Reading is one of those. Working out is another. Working on my golf game would also fall into that category.

We teach Straight-Line Golf™, and we guarantee a 25% improvement in your game, or your money back. Iron clad, so to speak.

So, when I’m out golfing at a local club, people expect me to be able to play fairly well. And indeed, I expect the same of myself.

The fact remains though, that I have not yet taken our golf training. That will happen, partially at least, in June, in Mexico. I will become fully certified to teach Straight-Line Golf later this year, as we get closer to opening our doors.

So, for now, I’m doing my best to learn on my own. It’s not easy. I mean, I’m sure it’s easy to pick up if you take our lesson program. I mean, we guarantee results. The franchisor has figured out how to teach the swing and ensure the student achieves success. So, it will be easy for me to pick up once I get some training. But, on my own, it’s a challenge to learn.

And so, I must practice. And I must keep up with my reading. And I must keep up with the many other important but non-urgent tasks that tend to fall by the wayside during very busy times. And this all explains why I’m in a blogging rut. It’s these important but non-urgent tasks that inspire blog entries.

Franchise Owners' Conference

I’ve just returned from a ball hockey practice. Both the coaches and the players were a little tired and slow, so the practice wasn’t as intense as some we run. I think maybe we’re all adjusting to the heat. It’s only early may, but the arenas are starting to get warm.

Unfortunately one of our guys was sick after practice. And we really didn’t run all that hard. We’re obviously hoping it’s something that passes quickly. He’s a great player, and a great young teen. His team will need him tomorrow night.

I was reminded on Wednesday that I must get some immunizations taken care of before late June. Our annual Franchise Owners' Conference takes place in Mexico the week of June 18. I’ll make some calls tomorrow.

The conference agenda is packed. Sessions start at 6:30am and run into the evening for the first few days. The Friday is a free day. I hope to golf, or perhaps snorkel. There’s a wrap-up session on the last day, the Saturday, followed by a round of golf, of course.

I’ll also, finally, take our Straight-Line Golf™ lessons from the man himself, our Chief Golf Professional and Co-Founder, Scott Hazledine. Scott developed Straight-Line Golf after an accident left him with a back that didn’t function very well. I can’t wait to learn the “simplest, most accurate way to hit a golf ball” from the man that developed the simplified swing. Lessons will take place late in the day on the Wednesday and Thursday.

Today started with breakfast and another great workout. The workout was interrupted by a call from a local banker. I had to continually apologize for being out of breath. Since I do fairly intense heavy weight workouts, I also found it very difficult to simply hold the phone up to my ear. But, it was a good meeting.

I spent the bulk of the day communicating with potential/future investors.

For now, off to catch up on some reading, and to catch the highlights of the Players Championship. I may also head to the basement to take some putting practice. Drive for show, and putt for dough!

Does Networking Pay?

It was yet another enjoyable and productive day at Parmasters Kitchener-Waterloo. As with most days, I started with a quick review of the newspaper. Then it was off to my weekly breakfast with the good Mr. Bill Waters of We-Create fame. We meet almost weekly, two entrepreneurs commiserating over the previous week’s events. (I’m joking about the “commiserating” part, of course. Mostly. ;))

The bulk of the day was spent communicating with shareholders and future shareholders. That’s the focus right now, finalizing our financing.

Earlier this evening I attended an event put on by the Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce. It’s a monthly networking event. I made several new contacts. I often debate the usefulness of attending such events. At this point, as I’m building the business, and searching for certain key suppliers, these events do allow me to meet several candidate suppliers and quickly assess their offering.

As for generating revenue, I don’t believe such networking events are a particularly effective use of my time. We may try a booth at one or two of these events and measure the success. I’m sure we could generate some traffic, and then convert that traffic into revenue. I’m just not sure the revenue will warrant the investment.

We have also volunteered to host one of these networking events early in 2008. This will allow us to showcase our amazing golf training center to all attendees, and provide lots of tours. That means a lot of traffic, and a lot of revenue. And the investment will just be a little more than a booth. So, the return should be justified. We will measure everything, of course, to determine whether or not the event was a success.

I also tidied up my office today. I find that a neat and tidy space is a productive space. While I generally keep my office quite tidy, there are times that it gets away on me. The last couple of weeks were such a time. But now, once again, a place for everything, and everything in its place.

Must Sharpen The Saw

I felt a little burnt out over the weekend. Well, actually that’s not entirely honest. I felt a lot burnt out over the weekend. There are a lot of stressors when one is building a company from the ground up.

I suppose that’s true of any task that to many/most would seem insurmountable or unattainable. There’s only a few of us that are crazy enough – we prefer the term “entrepreneurial”, or even “visionary” works well – to tackle this challenge of building a company.

I spoke about this with a close and trusted friend today. Help was offered, again. It’s been offered in the past.

I have a few tendencies that always seem to get me into trouble. I tend to try to do too much too quickly. I tend to get so busy doing that I fail to “sharpen the saw,” from a previous blog entry. I tend to offer my help to others (individuals, charities, etc.) without considering my capacity. And I tend to keep all stresses bottled up inside, dealing with them “like a man.”

And just so this entry doesn’t come off to bleak, things at Parmasters Kitchener-Waterloo are really proceeding quite well. The current focus is capitalization, and capital is flowing in nicely. We’ll start selling memberships soon. We’re making great progress. But still, many stressors remain.

While my weekend certainly wasn’t much fun, I’d like to think that I’ve learned something, or at least been reminded of something.

When the flight attendant demonstrates how to use the oxygen masks, as the flight is preparing for take-off, there’s a reason why he/she urges all those traveling with dependents to help themselves before they help their dependent. One must take care of ones self first, before one can truly care for others, or take care of business, or help others, etc.

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” -Goethe

Emergent Strategies

I thought I would add a brief example of an emergent strategy, as mentioned in a previous post. This example/story is my own creation. I’m not certain Mintzberg would endorse it.

Assume that the senior executives of company XYZ Corp. have just returned from a three-day strategy retreat. The CEO has a new task; he must hire a new VP. The job title is not relevant.

XYZ markets its products throughout Europe and North America, but not beyond those two geographies. During the retreat they considered an offshore foray, but decided to remain focused on North America for at least the next five years.

Over the coming months the CEO leads an effort to find the ideal candidate for the new VP role. The competition comes down to two equally excellent candidates. They each have ideal experience and other credentials within XYZ’s industry. One candidate spent six months, in the past, opening a previous offshore office, for another company, in China. The other spent six months, in the past, opening a previous offshore office, for another company, in Russia.

In the end, the CEO cannot decide which candidate to choose. The competition is a deadlock. He flips a coin, as noted in another previous post, and the candidate that hand opened the Russian office becomes the new VP.

The new VP joins the company and over the coming months comes up to speed and quickly becomes a key player and influencer in the executive team. Throughout many informal chats over lunch/coffee/etc. with other VPs, the new VP tells the story of his six months in Russia. Shortly thereafter, the executives head off for the next annual strategic retreat.

They decide to enter the Russian market.

Did that strategy emerge, or was it created?

A Capital Idea

It seems that days and weeks are flying by right now. It’s already Thursday morning!

My productivity is back up where it should be, and thankfully so. We welcomed another shareholder to the fold earlier this week. That’s always good news. Monday night was a ball hockey practice. I’m assistant coach on my oldest son’s team. My youngest isn’t playing this year. We have another practice tonight.

Wednesday evening was time well spent with 30-40 former SlipStream Data Inc. colleagues. SlipStream was acquired by RIM last summer, just as I was leaving the firm to work on our local Parmasters Golf Training Center locations. One of the former SlipStream team is now leaving RIM to pursue a degree south of the border. It had been a while since I’d seen the many SlipStream faces, and it was nice to catch up on all the news.

My days are currently dedicated to capitalizing our first Parmasters location as well as preparing to hit the ground running when it’s time. It will be “time” when sufficient capital is in place. Likely in a couple of months. Our first foray into the market will involve membership marketing and sales. It will be nice to finally start generating revenue, even in modest sums!

For now, I’m off to several investor meetings. I tend to see the inside of a lot of coffee shops and restaurants, and thus must really watch what I eat. Parmasters is all about Better Golf, More Fun, Guaranteed. Obviously good health is a key component.

Off to eat right …

Bob Parsons' 16 Rules

I’ve been extremely busy these last few days, and also not terribly productive. I believe the former will continue indefinitely, and the latter has turned for the better.

I keep many words to live by in the Memo section of my Blackberry. This one popped out at me today.

Accomplished entrepreneur, Bob Parsons, published an article called 16 Rules to Live By. Here are his 16 rules:

1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone. I believe that not much happens of any significance when we're in our comfort zone. I hear people say, "But I'm concerned about security." My response to that is simple: "Security is for cadavers."

2. Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it's attempted. Just because what you're doing does not seem to be working, doesn't mean it won't work. It just means that it might not work the way you're doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn't have an opportunity.

3. When you're ready to quit, you're closer than you think. There's an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: "The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."

4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of "undefined consequences." My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, "Well, Robert, if it doesn't work, they can't eat you."

5. Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, "As you think, so shall you be."

6. Take things a day at a time. No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don't look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.

7. Always be moving forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.

8. Be quick to decide. Remember what General George S. Patton said: "A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow."

9. Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.

10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don't know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven't examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.

11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you're doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.

12. Never let anybody push you around. In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you're doing as anyone else, provided that what you're doing is legal.

13. Never expect life to be fair. Life isn't fair. You make your own breaks. You'll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).

14. Solve your own problems. You'll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you'll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: "You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others." There's also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: "A wise man keeps his own counsel."

15. Don't take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.

16. There's always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you're really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: "We're not here for a long time; we're here for a good time."

Bob Parsons (http://www.bobparsons.com).
Copyright 2004-2006 by Bob Parsons.
All rights reserved.