Lance Armstrong Ethics Test
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A discussion about using hypothetical ethical scenarios to test alignment between business partners, specifically using the Lance Armstrong doping case as an example.
The Lance Armstrong Test
- Used as a moral alignment check between potential business partners
- Scenario: "It's 1999, everyone's cheating, you have to cheat to win - what do you do?"
- No right/wrong answer, but reveals how people approach ethical dilemmas
- Helps understand partner's values and decision-making process
Purpose of Ethical Scenario Testing
- Reveals fundamental values and decision-making approaches
- Helps identify potential conflicts before partnership begins
- Tests alignment on handling difficult moral choices
- Shows how partners might react in high-pressure situations
Broader Partnership Alignment Process
- Write down individual goals and values separately
- Compare what success looks like in 10 years
- Identify what each person is willing to give up
- Discuss day-to-day values and approaches
- Review scenarios that could create conflicts
- Get potential issues out in the open early
Why This Matters
- Business partnerships are like marriages but harder to end
- Bad partnerships can be irreversible without significant cost
- Cap table issues are particularly difficult to fix
- Early alignment prevents future conflicts
- Better to identify misalignment early than deal with it later
Key Questions to Discuss
- What does success look like to you?
- What are you willing to give up?
- How do you want to get there?
- What are your day-to-day values?
- How do you approach ethical dilemmas?
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.