Mark Pastin

Ethics consultants are not hired when everything is hunky dory. They're different, and often more severe, than other corporate crises. An ethics crisis is about who you are as an organization and not just about specific actions that have gone wrong. But you can limit their damage.

I was recently asked about the biggest ethical mistakes CEOs make. In 35 years as an ethics consultant, I have seen some doozies. After all, you only hire an ethics consultant if you face an ethical dilemma. And once an ethical mistake occurs, it is extremely hard to set things right with the public and media, who already may believe that companies routinely engage in unethical conduct. The truth is that most of these mistakes are entirely avoidable—if you are on the lookout for them. Here are the top 5 ethical mistakes I've seen made by CEOs.

There are several proven strategies to help CEOs influence potential partners, clients, board members or executives of companies you may be looking to acquire. Applying these suggestions will help you secure agreement from the other party ethically without resorting to more manipulative approaches.