On the final day, my leadership and ethics segment focused on leadership heroes and villains, and reflected on our strengths and weaknesses. The ethics section has become a snapshot into the heartbeat of ethics in small business in South Africa. This year, it felt to me that corruption has become a noticeably greater challenge.

The spectre of “brown paper bags” seems endemic for small businesses dealing with the government, with many entrepreneurs reporting persistent challenges around the expectation of payment for work, especially in municipalities.

The discussion that followed centred around ethics as a personal responsibility and how one seemingly unimportant wrong dealing can result in a lifetime impact on family, friends as well as business.

Those who are dealing with corrupt officials have a choice to say no and report it, walk away from it, or find another market where corruption is not required. For many, this seems to be a difficult decision, yet ultimately, corruption is a personal responsibility we must accept if we are to change South Africa for the better.

My own definition of ethics is that if you have to hide anything – from your partner, your children, the taxman or the law, then what you are doing is not ethical.

Wishing you a blessed week, and for those who are facing the nightmare of corruption, may you have the strength to do what you know is right.