30 Business Ethics Quotes to Inspire Integrity in the Workplace

30 Business Ethics Quotes to Boost Your Leadership and Culture

Harvard Business Review outlines how leaders shape ethical behavior by modeling it themselves, a theme echoed in many of these quotes. Their expert contributors emphasize that trust and integrity start at the top. These handpicked quotes spark reflection, build resilience, and reinforce ethical leadership across your team.

1. A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. – Henry Ford

2. Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do. – Potter Stewart

3. If ethics are poor at the top, that behavior is copied down through the organization. – Robert Noyce

4. Play fair, be prepared for others to play dirty, and don’t let them drag you into the mud. – Richard Branson

5. If you don’t have integrity, you have nothing. You can’t buy it. You can have all the money in the world, but if you are not a moral and ethical person, you really have nothing. – Henry Kravis

6. If you build that foundation, both the moral and the ethical foundation, as well as the business foundation, and the experience foundation, then the building won’t crumble. – Henry Kravis

7. There’s no such thing as business ethics; there’s just ethics. And ethics makes no concessions for the real or imagined necessities of making a profit. – Michael Josephson

8. Living up to your commitments is part of business ethics. My word is my bond. – Isadore Sharp

9. The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other human beings. – Albert Schweitzer

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10. Ethics must begin at the top of an organization. It is a leadership issue and the chief executive must set the example. – Edward Hennessy

11. To see what is right and not do it is a lack of courage. – Confucius

12. Integrity is the foundation of trust in business, and trust is the currency of every deal. – Unknown

13. Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. – C.S. Lewis

14. Ethics are not a burden, but the compass guiding a business toward sustainable success. – Unknown

15. Being ethical is not just about following the law. It’s an expression of our integrity; it’s about being able to look in the mirror and proudly say, ‘I lived by my values. – Lynne Doughtie

16. Ethical decisions ensure that everyone’s best interests are protected. When in doubt, don’t. – Harvey Mackay

17. Integrity has no need of rules. – Albert Camus

18. Ethics is the activity of man directed to secure the inner perfection of his own personality. – Albert Schweitzer

19. Corporate integrity, ethics, and accountability are the pillars of a successful business. – Adi Godrej

20. What you do has far greater impact than what you say. – Stephen Covey

21. Profitability without values is like fuel without an engine. – Tony Hsieh

22. A business is successful when it contributes to society without compromising its moral compass. – Unknown

23. It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable. – Molière

24. In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. – Warren Buffett

25. A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world. – Albert Camus

26. The ethical man knows it is wrong to cheat on his wife. The moral man actually wouldn’t. – D.L. Moody

27. You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. – Malcolm S. Forbes

28. Good ethics is good business. – Anita Roddick

29. It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett

30. Responsibility is doing what you are supposed to do, when you’re supposed to do it, whether you feel like it or not. – Unknown

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Conclusion

Ethics guide how we lead, hire, sell, and grow. These quotes aren’t just reflections,  they’re reminders. Whether you’re building a company culture or setting personal leadership values, let integrity be your compass. So, let them serve as encouragement that guides you towards decisions that not only benefit your organizations but also contribute positively to society.