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As I work with compliance professionals, and with ongoing research on leaders’ attitudes about ethics and the importance of “pure” ethics training, I share these leadership “attitudes” with my comments. 1. Leaders believe it is easy to be ethical. – If it’s so easy, why isn’t everyone ethical? – What makes one think it’s easy?…
Ethical leaders need more confidence in principles than in personalities. I was watching an older MSNBC program where they had a town meeting at Columbia University with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett and of one of the students at Columbia asked Warren Buffett was this: can ethics be taught to leaders today in business? His…
When we’re faced with those ambiguous choices where the “right” path is unclear or will produce some painful consequences, where do we turn? First and foremost, we must turn to our own code of conduct, the values and ethics we regard as important to us personally. These values are always based upon what we’ve…
“I believe that every large institution, whether it’s company, a government or a university needs to have a conscience. The conscience won’t have the answer to every question, but the conscience is a voice that needs to be heard.” Brad Smith of Microsoft Aristotle stated: “we are what we do.” That said, Thomas Aquinas stated…
Recent employment engagement surveys point out that the #1 thing leaders can do to show appreciation for their employees’ work is to say “thank you.” Why is that so hard, or is it an attitude of “that’s what they get paid for?” How many times is a day to you actually say thank you…
I’m beginning to think that organizations that are really committed to their ethics, really need to go back to basics by studying the great thinkers on ethics, i.e. Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Aquinas, as a prerequisite to ethics training. Why you may ask? For two reasons, first, if one doesn’t know the time…
I recently taught a college ethics course that meets one day a week. With my original roots in education, I am having a great time being back in the classroom, if only on a limited basis… That is probably why the buzz surrounding the new book “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses” by Richard…
I heard an interesting distinction between a coach and a consultant. A coach is one that is hired to research and ask the right questions. A consultant is one that will lead you to the right answers. In my field of ethics, I don’t know of one ethics “coach.” Here’s why from my perspective. Leaders…
A company could spend thousands on an ethics training program that has no affect on its employees. Especially in this challenging economy, people want to know, what is the ROI for an ethics training program? While the answer can be debatable, because how do you quantify the possible ethical infractions that DIDN’T happen? I certainly…
The story of the Alamo is a powerful part of Texas history. In 1836, 189 men were” holed up” in an old adobe church against thousands of seasoned Mexican soldiers under General Santa Anna. The task of leading the Alamo defenders fell to Colonel William Barrett Travis. It is difficult to imagine the range of…
