I’m on to the second half of the book now; of course that book is “Ben Franklin’s 12 Rules of Management.” Today I will review how Franklin would suggest approaching any moral dilemma.

Franklin prompted people to create their own unique set of values that all their actions could be guided by. He came up with “The Art of Virtue” a publication he wrote following five steps to create your values and follow them.

Step 1: Identify and clarify your values – What is important to how you live and how you want to live?
Step 2: Turn your values into behavioral goals - What can you do to turn your values into measurable goals?
Step 3: Set up a monitoring and feedback system – What type of system can you set up to track your progress toward your goals?
Step 4: Be prepared for failure – Not every grand vision is realistic, but it’s existence is enough to improve a project.
Step 5: Be prepared for criticism – To directly quote the book here “It’s anybody who even attempts the process of character perfection who will be ridiculed.”

Check back on Saturday to learn about Ben Franklin’s virtues and the man who challenged them. (Or better yet, subscribe to our RSS feed and get it automatically!)