IRIS Technologies CEO, Jerry Salandro, is Keynote Speaker at the American Business Ethics Awards in Pittsburgh

Mr. Salandro stresses moral quality, traditional values, and corporate responsibility.

Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) October 28, 2004 --- At Saturday nights American Business Ethics Award at the Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh, Jerry Salandro, CEO and President of IRIS Technologies, delivered the keynote address. Several hundred people attended the event to honor those companies whose achievements and civic duties stand as a testament to honor and responsibility.

Mr. Salandro began his address by emphasizing the importance of values in our nation. Today our society has changed. We are driven more by personality than we are character. It began to change after World War II. The personality society, where if it feels good, do it. How to win friends and influence people, how to have a positive attitude is the priority in our America today, but I suggest that that should not be the priority. I suggest that principles come first...principles like honesty, integrity and industry (working hard). How many in here would like their children to grow up with a great personality, but be dishonest? I have never talked to anyone in my life that they want their child to grow up and be dishonest, not a hard worker and have no integrity. I dont know anyone. And Id bet you if we go to anywhere else in the world, we wont have anybody who wants their child to grow up like that, because those are the principles that are universal. They mean the same to me as they do to you."

Mr. Salandro continued his address by reminding the audience of the human-value in a company or corporation. We have a group of companies here today and employees who work for them. So I ask you all this, what is a company? Think about that... To me, I hear things like... the company and its managers and its leaders as... they or them ... as if the company were somewhat inhuman. But, you know what, the company is human. Its made up of you, its made up of me. We make the company everything. If a company has great integrity, its because we as individuals have great integrity, and we apply it to our workplace. If our company is known to be honest, its because we as individuals are honest, first. And if we are good at serving our customer, its because we as individuals are good at serving others, not only in our work, but in our communities and in our homes. We make the company everything. Its not the company. We are the company."

He continued, Then I thought, what is this company thats run by people, by CEOs and managers and vice presidents and employees? But what is a good employee? What is a good leader? To me, a good leader is a person who is first good to people. But before you can be good to people, you have to be good with people. To be good with people, you must understand them. To understand them, you have to understand yourself first. Before you can understand yourself, you have to know two rules.

First, there is another principle that guides us all, and I would suggest that we are all so similar in this room that you would agree with me. That one rule is that theres probably a great chance that theres someone higher than us who has created us that we will report to someday. I call it the 'Spiritual CEO. Second, its the most important rule. Its the golden rule. Do unto others what youd have done unto you. It sounds simple.

Do unto others as youd have done unto you. Imagine if you thought that way, and I thought that way, both at the same time. Imagine, if you thought that way and your company thought that way both at the same time while coming to work everyday. Imagine if your company thought that way, its vendors and suppliers thought that way, all while doing business together in our world, in the American dream world. Imagine the effect we would have on ourselves, on the company and the lives in our community.

We are the CEOs, the managers, the vice presidents, the line coordinators, the bosses, the owners. We owe it to those people who have come before us to run our companies with dignity, to set good examples of great principles, like honesty and frugality and being industrious. They look at us as the mentor. We owe it to people to create an environment where people love coming to work, because work is the most important thing to an American. It allows us to put our kids through school, to buy that new car, to get that new mortgage, to do things that no other country dreams of. And we owe it to those people to take pride, but to also fight the war. People have died for our right to have freedom, peace and love. We can fight the war.

I pledged that I would fight the war when I was spared from going to Vietnam. I could fight the war in a simpler way. Fight the war on poverty of the mind, mediocrity and apathy in the workplace, the bullies that will take the passion out of great kids coming out of school starting their career. We make the company everything. So when we get to the end of our career someday, or we get to the end of our life, maybe our spiritual CEO will say, 'Great job, my good and faithful servant."

About Jerry Salandro

An entrepreneur, inventor and innovator of video technology software, Jerry Salandro founded IRIS Technologies in 1987. An expert with more than thirty years of experience using video technology to teach students, athletes and professionals, Jerry holds nearly 56 patent claims on video devices that are being used across the country in places like the Pentagon, NASA and Comcast as well as in colleges and high schools from New Hampshire to California. He speaks to students, coaches and businesses across the country on, How leaders can create work environments where people will love coming to work".

Contact:

Jerry Salandro

724-832-9855

jsalandro@iristech.com

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