Good faith, as a term, often refers to contract law. In contract law, good faith means to deal fairly and honestly with parties associated in a contract. Good faith in business is very much dealing with everyone you do business with fairly and honestly. However, the essence of business in good faith doesn’t fall simply on contract; business in good faith is a concept that shouldn’t be overlooked. 

Create Real and Meaningful Value

The essence of business in good faith means providing real value to your customers. It’s important to engage in business in a way that changes the person, changes the environment in which that person works, and changes all those who come in contact with the business person through their daily business activities.

Creating real value through your daily business interactions is of the utmost importance for good faith. If you aren’t sure how to create or improve your value, speak to your customers. Capture information by studying how those you interact with on a daily basis react to your business interactions. Further, consistently trying to improve satisfaction is a sure way to increase your value. 

Good Faith Business Activities

The real question remains: How can you tell the best possible story of what you do everyday in business? Further, why is it a good faith activity? 

You need to think about how you are creating real and meaningful value in your business. Think about how businesses are changing the world by the work they are doing, and then consider how your business compares. 

The expectation is not to create a narrative telling of how you engaged in high-minded acts of self-sacrifice; creating meaningful value doesn’t come from sympathy. The question of business ethics is to create a story of transformation through the seemingly simple acts of your good faith business activities. Because at the end of the day, running a business in good faith is just good business.