An Ethical History

Beginning with our founder in 1951, Tony LeCesse, LECESSE has operated with high integrity. Mr. LeCesse established this upfront and it has continued to this day. Mr. LeCesse made it personal. Simply put it was his family name that hung over the door of this business. His pride in his work and how that reflected on his family name set the standard. Doing the right thing started when he was a foreman working on “the wall” as a mason. It later became a message he delivered in both action and word. He would encourage a young estimator and project manager to “slow down, think and choose the right thing” often counseling that “it will likely not be the easy thing . . . “

Prior to any written Ethics Code any long time LECESSE employee would tell you, “We are expected to do what is fair and right.” It’s that simple. It has always been that way. We are always expected to do the right thing.”

How We Operate

Each employee at LECESSE is expected to complete his or her own work as if they were working to build or remodel their own personal home. This sense of ownership endorses “doing the right thing at every stage of the process”.

Our mission statement “From concept to completion we build it as if it’s our own”, guides us if we are struggling with a decision. In fact, when a team is meeting and is having difficulty coming to a conclusion, pulling the mission statement plaque off the hallway wall and bringing it into the conference room is often a reminder that moves the group forward.

Treating all with respect

All employees at LECESSE are expected to treat each other in a respectful and professional manner. As a Company, we value individuality as well as diversity. All of our employees and constituents deserve an environment that is free of any type of harassment, discrimination or mean spiritedness. Respect, fair treatment and professionalism is expected and required in all situations.

Our President’s Advice

When an employee approaches the President with a question such as, “What should I tell the owner?” his reply is consistently, “When in doubt, do the right thing”. He said this back when he was a Senior Project Manager and continues to say it today. “When assessing a situation that may be unclear or confusing, know that the truth won’t ever work against you here at LECESSE.” When someone is afraid of telling the story, or unsure of what to say Andy responds with “Tell the truth; plainly, simply and immediately.”

Confronting an Ethical Dilemma

Any time an employee is faced with an ethical dilemma, he or she is encouraged to immediately disclose it to management for a timely resolution. We strongly urge employees to avoid procrastination so as not to worsen an outcome. Engage your supervisor or senior management at the earliest possible stage for the best possible resolution.

When debating an ethical situation, please consider the following:

If this situation or decision were printed in an article on the front page of the local newspaper for your family to read, would you be embarrassed?
If the owner of the project found out how you handled this (ethical) dilemma, would he or she be displeased?
If the dilemma includes a gift from a subcontractor, would a competing subcontractor be displeased with the fact that you accepted it? Would an owner?
Is this decision going to hurt LECESSE in the long-run?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then most likely it is not going to be the ethical thing to do.

In Summary

Our ethical standard is not simply to obey the law. We hold ourselves to a standard that is above and beyond the minimum requirements. We strive for ethical excellence in all that we do. We are guided by the following principles: honesty, responsibility, respect, transparency and ethical excellence.