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The Economist

5 mins | May 13, 2020

Why fair play pays

David Bodanis's book, “The Art of Fairness”, argues that decency pays off in business as well as in life. "Public projects also require management skills. When Danny Boyle, a film director, was asked to organise the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, he faced the tough task of keeping the details secret when the project required thousands of volunteers. The conventional approach would have been to make the volunteers sign a non-disclosure agreement. Instead, he asked them to keep the surprise — and trusted them to do so. They did, thanks to the grown-up way he treated them. He listened to their ideas for improving parts of the ceremony and ensured (by threatening to resign) that the volunteers did not have to pay for their costumes." The Economist takes a closer look.