Impartiality
Vaanikam Seyvaarkku Vaanikam Penip / Piravum Thamapol Seyin
Classical English couplet — “As thriving trader is the trader known,Who guards another's interests as his own”
What it says in plain words
“Good business means caring for other people's goods as your own. Deal honestly with what others trust you to handle.”
The classical Tamil reading
பிறர் பொருளையும் தம் பொருள் போல் போற்றிச் செய்தால், அதுவே வாணிகம் செய்வோர்க்கு உரிய நல்ல வாணிக முறையாகும்.
An expanded Tamil interpretation
பிறர் பொருளாக இருப்பினும் அதனைத் தன் பொருளைப் போலவே கருதி நேர்மையுடன் வாணிகம் செய்தலே வணிக நெறியெனப்படும்
The ethical and philosophical heart
Business often involves handling goods or money that belong to others. These deserve the same care you give your own belongings. The key is to care equally for what others own. This means keeping their goods safe and dealing honestly.
In personal life, work and society
- Personal
- Keep a friend's borrowed bicycle as safe as your own.
- Workplace
- Pack a customer's order as carefully as you would pack your own belongings.
- Family
- Take care of your sister's laptop when she lends it to you.
- Society
- Use shared library books carefully so others can enjoy them too.
How to apply this today
- Decision-making
- Choose storage that keeps customers' goods as safe as your own.
- Integrity
- Return a customer's extra payment instead of keeping it.
- Communication
- Tell a customer honestly if their goods were damaged in your care.
- Leadership
- Teach your team to handle customers' belongings with the same care as their own.
- Governance
- Care for public money as carefully as you would your own savings.
For leaders and teams
Show your team that other people's belongings deserve equal care. Follow that rule yourself whenever someone trusts you with something.
Something to sit with
“What could you care for more thoughtfully that belongs to someone else?”