In business, not every success is created equally.
Some victories create lasting value. Others deliver immediate results while leaving hidden costs for others to bear.
Healthy markets depend on value creation, not value extraction. Value creation occurs when businesses improve products, develop people, solve problems, and build trust. Value extraction occurs when organizations pursue short-term gains by shifting costs onto customers, employees, communities, or future stakeholders.
Economists call these hidden costs externalities.
A company might reduce expenses by cutting quality controls, delaying maintenance, or overlooking environmental responsibilities. Such decisions can improve short-term results, but the costs do not disappear. Instead, they are often transferred to others.
A well-known example of this cost is the case involving the Johns-Manville Corporation’s use of asbestos in buildings in the mid-20th century. The company became one of the largest manufacturers of asbestos products in the United States. Over time, workers, families, and communities experienced severe health consequences including mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.
As lawsuits mounted, Johns-Manville filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1982 and ultimately created a trust to compensate victims. However, the scale of the harm far exceeded early expectations, and many observers view the case as an example of how society bore significant costs from a product whose risks were not fully reflected in its market price. (Source: History – Manville Trust)
This illustrates an important economic reality: when organizations do not bear the full cost of their decisions, society often does.
The problem is not only financial. It is also about trust.
Consumers may not immediately know when corners have been cut, but they often discover it over time.
This is why the AKPsi founders came back to “square dealing” as one of their over-arching aims — and it remains relevant today.
Square dealing means acting fairly, honoring commitments, and accepting responsibility for the consequences of our decisions. It recognizes that trust, reputation, and long-term relationships are valuable assets that cannot be built through opportunism.
For students and young professionals (and experienced professionals!), long-term value creation can show up in simple ways:
- Prioritizing quality over shortcuts
- Following through on commitments
- Considering who bears the consequences of decisions
- Investing in learning and development
- Building trust before seeking immediate rewards
Short-term wins can be satisfying.
Long-term value creates lasting success and better relationships.
Organizations, careers, and economies thrive when leaders focus not only on what works today, but also on what remains sustainable tomorrow.
Values in Action
Alpha Kappa Psi was founded in 1904 on a bold idea: that business could and should be a respected profession defined by character, competence, and accountability.
This blog series is designed to recognize the principles that shape healthy markets, ethical leadership, and long-term prosperity.
The founders of Alpha Kappa Psi understood that trust and opportunity require responsibility. Principles are meaningful only when individuals are willing to uphold them, even when doing so is difficult. Accountability helps ensure that commitments are honored, standards are maintained, and organizations remain worthy of the trust placed in them.
More than a century later, this conviction remains central to AKPsi’s identity. Modern organizations operate in environments that demand transparency, responsiveness, and continuous learning. Accountability creates the foundation for each of these qualities by encouraging responsible decision-making and consistent follow-through.
Each post in this series begins with brief factual context and interprets contemporary business themes through the lens of business principles such as Accountability, Integrity, Service, Courage, and Growth.
Values in Action reflects our commitment to developing courageous and principled leaders to succeed in business and to strengthen the systems and institutions that make societal prosperity possible.
