Why is it that this phrase is the modus operandi for so many people when making serious and important decisions? Why is it that people settle for the lesser of two evils? Is the lesser of two evils an ethical decision?
It seems that we have been conditioned to choose based on who or what would cause less damage, or evil, knowing and accepting the fact that indeed damage or evil would be done. Why is it that looking for ”a good” does not seem to be a consideration ? Is it too much work, is a “good” is not available or is that it really isn’t that important for us personally to be vested in any decision or situation that would cause us to be challenged, particularly if the decision would not affect me directly?
Don’t a significant number of voters vote for “the lesser of two evils?” How many times have each of us made a decision on “the lesser of two evils?”
Searching for a “good” option is the ideal, but it takes time, discernment and commitment for personal follow through. Searching for a “good” option is the ethical quest for the values based person. It reflects an attitude that each decision is indeed, important and needs to be made in the context of personal accountability.
Maybe your people should be ethically educated to choose the greater of two goods!
I wonder what that would look like ?
fbucaro
Like you, business ethics and ethical leadership expert, Frank Bucaro has seen the challenges and problems of corporate leadership, particularly over the past few years in regards to poor decision-making, SEC violations, and record breaking financial settlements in a number of different industries.
With over two decades of executive training, speaking, writing and with real life experiences, his view and approach to ethics in the workplace is uniquely different. He emphasizes that ethics is a moment-to-moment choice and has little to do with position, titles, personalities or education. Ethics is everybody’s responsibility from the top down.
His goal is to help organizations to:
a. Strengthen their ethics training initiatives in order to significantly decrease the odds of an ethical/compliance violation.
b. Energize, train and motivate employees to understand the value of consistent “high road” behavior as a business advantage.
c. Support individuals and thereby the organization by contributing to its success by quality, ongoing values based leadership development.
Frank is known for his very practical, slightly irreverent, yet somewhat humorous approach to ethics and leadership development. His conversational style and real life stories connect with his audience in a personal, intense and practical level.
Companies such as Bayer Healthcare, BP, ReMax International, EnMax Energy, Danone, etc. have partnered with Frank when they want to proactively stress the message, tools, insights and practical applications that good ethics IS good for business!
