Readiness Charter

Introduction: The Nature of Our Commitment

The Logos Ethica framework is not a project to be managed or a program to be implemented; it is a fundamental shift in how we define and pursue success. It is our commitment to the principle that building a business on a foundation of integrity is the most effective long-term strategy. This path is not always the easiest, but it is the most resilient.

Before we can begin to discover our values or build our strategy, we, as the leaders of this organization, must ask ourselves if we are truly ready to commit to the principles that make this work possible. This charter is a moment of truth. It asks us to look critically at our business and at ourselves, and to make a conscious, deliberate choice about the kind of company we intend to be. Skipping this step is to build on an unstable foundation, risking that our efforts will crumble under the first sign of pressure.

Our Four Foundational Commitments

1. The Commitment to a Constructive Business Model

• The Principle: The central premise of Logos Ethica is that a business creates sustainable, long-term value for its entire ecosystem of stakeholders. It is a "positive-sum" model where the health of our business is interdependent with the well-being of those we touch. The framework is therefore only applicable to businesses whose core model is fundamentally constructive.

• Incompatible Activities: The framework cannot be applied to activities whose business model is predicated on a "win-lose" relationship with a critical stakeholder group—where profit is generated by systematically creating a net-negative impact on their well-being.

• Detailed List of Incompatible Activities:

• Products Causing Direct Harm: The manufacturing, marketing, and sale of tobacco products; the creation of counterfeit pharmaceuticals or safety-critical equipment.

• Financial Exploitation: Predatory lending with usurious interest rates and deceptive terms; multi-level marketing schemes where the vast majority of participants are mathematically guaranteed to lose money.

• Human Rights Violations: Any business whose operational model or supply chain relies on forced labor, slave labor, human trafficking, or exploitative child labor as defined by ILO conventions.

• Illicit and Destructive Trade: The manufacturing and trafficking of illegal weapons, narcotics, or other substances banned by international law; enterprises engaged in money laundering or the financing of illegal activities.

• Instruction for Incompatible Activities: If our business is engaged in these activities, the Logos Ethica framework is not a tool for optimization; it is a call for cessation and divestment. The only path to alignment is to exit the incompatible activity. A fundamentally destructive business model cannot be made "ethical" through better processes; its core purpose is misaligned with the principle of creating multi-stakeholder value.

• Challenging Business Models: For industries where the core product is legitimate but the methods have created significant negative externalities, the framework can be applied, but it must be used as a roadmap for fundamental transformation.

• Detailed List of Challenging Business Models:

• Fossil Fuels: The core product (energy) is essential, but the primary method of production has severe negative impacts on the environmental stakeholder.

• Fast Fashion: The core product (apparel) is legitimate, but the dominant business model often relies on exploitative labor practices in the supply chain and creates significant environmental waste.

• Industrial Agriculture (certain forms): While providing food, some models rely on practices that can lead to environmental degradation, poor labor conditions, and negative impacts on animal welfare.

• Social Media Platforms: While connecting people, some business models rely on algorithms that can promote addiction, misinformation, and social harm.

• Gig Economy Platforms: While providing flexible services, some business models can create precarious and low-paid work conditions for the "provider" stakeholder, blurring the lines of employment and responsibility.

• Instruction for Challenging Business Models: If our business operates within a challenging model, a commitment to Logos Ethica is a commitment to lead the industry in transformation. This requires a profound and sincere pledge from the leadership team and board to:

1. Acknowledge the Harm: Openly and honestly acknowledge the negative externalities created by the current business model in public reporting and stakeholder communications.

2. Commit to a New Vision: Use the Integrated Impact Strategy Workshop (IISW) to define a new, more sustainable and ethical vision for the company's future (e.g., to become a "renewable energy company," a "circular apparel brand," or a "platform for healthy connection").

3. Invest in Transformation: Allocate significant and non-negotiable capital, R&D, and human resources to shift the core business model over a defined and public timeline.

4. Be Transparent About the Journey: Communicate openly with all stakeholders about the transformation strategy, including the challenges, setbacks, and milestones.

• Our Readiness Question:

• Do we affirm that our core business model is fundamentally constructive and creates sustainable value for our key stakeholders? If we are in a challenging industry, are we genuinely committed to a fundamental transformation of our business model?

2. The Commitment to Senior Leadership Sponsorship

• The Principle: The ethical character of our organization is a direct reflection of its most senior leaders. This work cannot be delegated. The CEO must be the active, visible, and unwavering champion of this journey. Any perceived lack of commitment from the top will be interpreted by the organization as permission to ignore the initiative. Employees are experts at discerning the gap between a leader's words and their actions; if this work is not a clear priority for the CEO, it will not be a priority for anyone else.

• What This Looks Like in Practice:

• Committed Leader: The CEO personally kicks off the key workshops and speaks about the importance of integrity in all-hands meetings. They use the language of the framework in their decision-making, asking questions like, "How does this decision align with our values?" or "What is the long-term impact on our stakeholders?" They allocate budget and resources to support the key initiatives.

• Uncommitted Leader: The CEO introduces the initiative and then delegates it to a subordinate, rarely mentioning it again. They continue to make decisions based on purely short-term financial metrics, and their questions remain focused solely on revenue and cost, signaling to the organization what truly matters. This creates cynicism and ensures the initiative fails.

• Our Readiness Questions:

• As CEO, am I prepared to be the primary, personal champion for this work, consistently communicating its importance and modeling the desired behaviors?

• As a leadership team, are we prepared to hold each other accountable for modeling these principles in our own departments, even when it is difficult?

3. The Commitment to a Long-Term Orientation

• The Principle: The core value proposition of Logos Ethica is that integrity drives sustainable, long-term performance. This often requires the courage to sacrifice easy short-term gains to protect the long-term assets of trust and reputation. A focus on short-term results at all costs is the root cause of most major ethical failures, as it creates immense pressure to cut corners, bend rules, and prioritize immediate wins over lasting relationships.

• What This Looks Like in Practice:

• Committed Leader: When faced with a choice between hitting a quarterly target by shipping a product with a known flaw, or missing the target to uphold a quality standard, the leader chooses quality and transparently explains the decision to the board and investors as an investment in long-term customer trust.

• Uncommitted Leader: The leader pressures the team to "do whatever it takes" to hit the quarterly number, implicitly signaling that the company's stated values are secondary to its financial targets. This teaches the organization that integrity is negotiable when profits are on the line.

• Our Readiness Questions:

• Are we, as a leadership team, genuinely prepared to make decisions that prioritize long-term trust and resilience, even if it means accepting short-term financial costs or explaining a dip in quarterly performance?

• Are we prepared to have a conversation with our board and key investors to align them on this long-term approach, and to redefine our shared definition of success beyond the next quarter?

4. The Commitment to Courageous Transparency

• The Principle: Trust cannot exist without transparency. This framework requires a profound willingness to be open and honest—first with ourselves and each other, then with our employees, and finally with our external stakeholders. This means embracing uncomfortable truths and seeing feedback and criticism as a gift, not a threat. Transparency builds psychological safety, which in turn unlocks the innovation and risk-taking necessary for growth.

• What This Looks Like in Practice:

• Committed Leader: When a diagnostic tool reveals a low score in an area like psychological safety, the leader shares the results with the company, takes accountability ("This is on us as leaders"), and publicly commits to an action plan. They see the data as a valuable tool for improvement.

• Uncommitted Leader: The leader keeps the negative results confidential, shares only the positive findings, or questions the validity of the data to avoid having to address the problem. This signals that the organization is not serious about learning or improving, and that it is safer to hide problems than to surface them.

• Our Readiness Questions:

• Are we prepared to create a culture where the truth is told, where we confront uncomfortable realities, and where we communicate with our stakeholders with a level of honesty that may feel uncomfortable at first?

• Are we prepared to hear and act on difficult feedback, even when it challenges our own assumptions or performance?

Our Commitment:

By proceeding with the Logos Ethica framework, we, the undersigned leaders, affirm our shared commitment to these four foundational principles. We understand the profound nature of this commitment and undertake this work with a shared sense of purpose and accountability.