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Few of you would choose to do things you are not proud of – personally or in the business environment. However, recent years have seen a period of collective corporate madness, which seems to have started in the mid 1980s and appears to be ending now.

In an economic squeeze, businesses naturally focus on driving revenue and reducing costs. But there’s plenty of evidence to demonstrate a strong link between high performance and a positive working environment.

What, you might think, does ‘Zero Tolerance’ – policing that allows no crime or anti-social behaviour to be overlooked – have to do with my business? There are a number of ways in which the principle can be helpful when you’re managing change. As your company develops, you will face a moment when you choose between what you’ve done before and what you might achieve in the future. The easy route is to ‘stay the same’ – but in fact no business ever stays the same, and if you don’t make positive changes at the right moment, the prognosis for your business won’t be good.

Most business leaders make a pretty good job of measuring results for bosses, bankers and shareholders. It’s easy to measure quantities – of money, production, sales calls, numbers of time the phone rings – and because it’s easier, businesses tend to default to measuring and managing only the straightforward, quantifiable things. However, much that you strive to achieve in business is just not that easy to measure.

You may not think of your business as a ‘brand’ – indeed, you may be thinking it’s not the right term for a serious business which is going places. However, there’s a lot to be said for leadership which develops its own ‘brand.’ It sets your business apart from the competition and gives it a particular personality, independent of its founder. It may help create an asset to sell one day, empower others and help them grow, and give you the pride and satisfaction of having created an entity with a life all its own.

In an economic squeeze, businesses naturally focus on driving revenue and reducing costs. But there’s plenty of evidence to demonstrate a strong link between high performance and a positive working environment. According to a major study published in 2001, not only is there a link between employee attitudes and profitability – improvements in employee satisfaction ‘cause a demonstrable, measurable improvement in financial performance’.

Businesses grow up with a certain ‘culture’ – it seems simply to develop, often without intention. In our social lives we recognise unwritten rules – like inappropriate language, for example. In our business lives there are also unwritten rules, which seem to ‘morph’ into the company’s culture, and assume a life of their own. Culture often just evolves.

What is it that makes some people natural leaders, and some not – and is it possible to learn how to lead? Leadership means guiding your life and activities toward achieving your vision, in the process finding personal fulfilment and meaning. It means transforming your vision and purpose into reality.

How do you “re-moralise” a whole industry? It sometimes seems the failure of the global banking system is so huge that it will be practically impossible to fix.

Somehow running a business, or a team within a business of more than about 30 people, can appear to be extremely complex. Of course we have the option to make it complex, but the secret of success is to keep it simple.