Entrepreneur

The Ethics Coach on Verbal Agreements, Ghostwriting and More

Digging into the nuances of verbal agreements, the scary side of ghosting and working for the competition.
Source: Shutterstock
Do you have an ethical dilemma?
Write to The Ethics Coach at ethics@entrepreneur.com.

Q: When you close a deal verbally, shake on it and confirm the conversation by e-mail, are both parties legally, morally and/or ethically bound to it? What is one's word worth?

A: The worth of a person's word is revealed over time. Reneging on a promise drives the value of reputation down.

Though a handshake can leave both

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur3 min read
Making the Midlife Leap
Sometimes, building the life you want requires a big risk. That’s what Keri Gardner realized when she cashed in $100,000 of her retirement savings to buy a franchise. It was November 2020, and she had just been laid off from her executive role at a h
Entrepreneur5 min readCorporate Finance
How to Build the Next Huge Thing
Want to start, fund, and sell a major company? Spencer Rascoff has some advice on that—because he’s seen it from all sides. As a founder, he first cofounded the travel-booking site Hotwire, which he sold to Expedia. He then cofounded Zillow, which he
Entrepreneur2 min read
The Loss That Changed My Company
When I was 17, I founded a company to save police officers’ lives. We distribute and manufacture body armor and other protective equipment. And yet, I will admit: For the first eight years, this work felt abstract—like watching war unfold on the nigh

Related Books & Audiobooks