I'm Robert M. Pritchett, a computer consultant with 30 years of experience. Over the years, I have expanded my firm by treating our consultants better than most of our competitors do, and I've found that it really works. It's amazing how productivity improves with morale.

Doing the right thing can be painful sometimes but it works out better in the long run - and sometimes even in the short run. If you treat your personnel, colleagues, vendors, and customers with respect and honesty, you'll more likely get the same in return (and if you don't, you'll know who not to deal with in the future).

I know that sometimes situations come up that can cause us to be unable to meet our obligations, but there are usually several ways to handle the situation and some ways are better than others. I'm not an expert on ethics and I'm not a lawyer or psychologist or priest or whatever, but my experience and my exposure to a variety of philosophies have given me a fairly broad view. Sometimes it helps to talk with someone who may see things a little differently. There are often ways to do things without perpetuating the "cutthroat businessman" stereotype. Perhaps I can help you decide what to do or help resolve a disagreement.

We are a member firm of the Independent Computer Consultants Association, which helps its members with a variety of issues and promotes professionalism in our industry.