Rotarians' four-way test a model for life principles

Every week a million people around the world ask about things they think, say, and do in their personal, business and family lives:

1) Is it the truth?

2) Is it fair to all concerned?

3) Will it build good will and better friendships?

4) Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

These four statements constitute The Four-Way Test of Rotary International. Rotarians repeat it at their weekly club meetings.

It's one thing to give voice to these four principles; it's quite another to live them out in daily life, but I see Rotarians doing it on a regular basis and that's a big reason why I'm a member. In these days of Ponzi schemes and get-profits-any-way-you-can operations, I'm glad to know I can trust these people who wear the Rotary pin.

As Paul Engleman tells the story in The Rotarian magazine, The Four-Way Test was the brainchild of Herbert J. Taylor, a Chicago businessman who turned a failing Club Aluminum Products Company into a major cookware success in the 1930s.

A deeply religious man, Taylor first wrote The Test for his company in 1932 in the belief that these ethical principles are good basis for a successful business.

The Four-Way Test is based on what we often refer to as "The Golden Rule," a prominent principle in many major religions and philosophies. Closely identified with Jesus, "The Golden Rule" is also found in one form or another in the Levitical law and the writings of Muhammad, Confucius, Buddha, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, among others.

In formulating The Test, Taylor consulted with four of his managers - a Roman Catholic, a Christian Scientist, an Orthodox Jew, and a Presbyterian - to be sure it was consistent with their religious beliefs.

The country was in the depths of the Great Depression when Taylor came up with his somewhat revolutionary idea. People had developed a deep distrust of banks and corporations. Taylor, however, was convinced that principled management can work and can restore public confidence in business. The success of Club Aluminum is evidence that he was right.

Taylor had been a member of Rotary since the 1920s. After being a leader on the local and district levels, he served as International president during the organization's 50th year of existence.

Rotary adopted The Test in 1943. Along with the club motto of "Service above Self," The Test is a foundation block for the lives of 1.2 million Rotarians in over 32,000 clubs in more than 200 countries located in five continents and Australia.

In many ways the cultural climate is the same today as it was then: a deep recession, distrust of financial and big business institutions, and a nation struggling to find a way out of a major crisis. A broad adoption of the principles of The Four-Way Test in both business and government certainly wouldn't hurt our efforts at recovery today.