Author Seeks "The Right 25,000 People" to Prevent the Next Enron

As the business world watches the trial of Enron CEO Kenneth Lay, an entrepreneur has begun a movement to take the wind out of future Enron-style abuses before they happen. Shel Horowitz, marketing consultant and author of Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, wants to find 25,000 people who will tell the world that...

  • Businesses that run ethically, and understand marketing based on real human relationships, will be MORE profitable
  • Profitability can be achieved regardless of market share
  • Competitors, as well as customers, can become a business's "unpaid sales force"
  • "If 25,000 influencers each convey this message to at least 100 people, that's two-and-a half million people. My theory is that will be enough to ripple through the culture and make the next Enron socially unacceptable" said Horowitz, 47, the author of six books and owner of his own company since 1981. Horowitz has set up a "take the pledge" web page at www.principledprofits.com; please visit and sign the following statement:

    I pledge allegiance, in my heart and soul, to the concepts of honesty, integrity, and quality in business. I recognize that the cornerstone of success is treating all stakeholders fairly, with compassion, and with a commitment to service. Working from abundance, I recognize that even my competitors can become important allies. I will not tolerate crooked practices in my business, from co-workers, direct or indirect reports, supervisors, managers, suppliers, or anyone else—and if I encounter such practices, I will refuse to go along with them and report them to appropriate authorities within and outside the company. I pledge to support the "triple bottom line" of environmental, social, and financial responsibility. And I pledge to participate in a serious effort to focus the business community on these principles, by sharing this message with at least 100 other business leaders.

    Principled Profit has won accolades from over 70 entrepreneurs, authors and marketing experts, among them Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup), Jay Conrad Levinson (Guerrilla Marketing), Anne Holland (Marketing Sherpa), former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert B, Reich, and populist crusader Jim Hightower. It also received Honorable Mention in the DIY Awards, was a semifinalist in the Independent Publisher IPPY Awards, and was praised by the judge in the Writer's Digest Competition as a potential "breakthrough book."