Articles and Tips
July 2009 Can Corporate Ethics Programs Do Any Good?
Lots of companies are focusing serious attention on the issues of ethics and values – and lots of people think that’s a waste of time.
The skeptics argue that you can’t teach ethics to adults. By the time they’re in the workplace, they’re either ethical or not.
It’s a plausible argument, but it misses the point.
The purpose of a corporate ethics program is not to make people ethical but to increase the likelihood that they’ll act ethically. This is definitely achievable. In today’s environment, failing to protect your company from employee misconduct is irresponsible.
The objective of such programs is to establish a business culture in which it’s easier to do the right thing than the wrong thing and where concerned coworkers and vigilant supervisors repress illegal or improper conduct that can potentially endanger or embarrass the company.
An organization can further improve its ethical track record by assuring it has clear and credible statements of values and standards of conduct. When supplemented with quality training, those values and standards can clarify expectations and reduce misconduct resulting from ignorance or misinterpretations of laws or company policies.
A firm that wants to strengthen its ethical culture hires for character and trains for skills. It takes background checks seriously, screens out employees who lack the moral compass or strength to resist temptations, and weeds out those who lack moral commitment or judgment during probation.
During performance reviews and promotions, it assesses ethical attributes like trustworthiness, responsibility, and respect. Only people who are comfortable living up to high ethical standards are retained or promoted.
— Michael Josephson
June 2009 Six Rules About Trust
I’ve talked about it lots of times before: The high cost of lying and deception by politicians, police, corporate executives, clergy, journalists, accountants, and educators has weakened every major social institution.
As each of these domains wages its separate battle to remove the cloud of suspicion and cynicism that hovers over it, there are six truths about trust that must be understood and dealt with.
First, there’s no shortcut to building trust. Rebuilding it on the rubble of lost credibility is much harder. The antidote is nothing less than scrupulous and consistent honesty – especially when the truth is costly.
Second, where trust is important, there are no small lies. Falsehoods, however small they seem, are like germs. Without the antibody of trust, they cause infections that can kill credibility.
Third, the lethal quality of lies lasts long after they’re told. Lies told years ago have an immediate poisonous effect on trust when they’re discovered. Think of all the prominent people who’ve been undone by the discovery of old trumped-up resumes.
Fourth, while honesty and forthrightness don’t always pay, dishonesty and concealment always cost. It’s true that in some settings nothing good may come of admitting wrongdoing, but it gets a lot worse when you don’t.
Fifth, lies breed other lies. It’s harder to tell just one lie than to have just one potato chip. Once you start deceiving, it takes more and more bodyguards of new lies to protect the old ones.
Finally, don’t be seduced by the “I’m just fighting fire with fire” excuse or all you’ll end up with are the ashes of your integrity. Self-justifications aside, you can’t lie to a liar or cheat a cheater without becoming a liar or a cheater.
— Michael Josephson
May 2009 Eight Laws of Leadership
Short Take:
Take a look around. Business, education, politics. If there’s one thing we don’t have enough of, it’s good leaders – men and women who have the vision and ability to change things for the better.
Former Air Force general William Cohen wrote a fine book called The Stuff of Heroes in which he identified eight laws of leadership:
1. Maintain absolute integrity.
2. Know your stuff.
3. Declare your expectations.
4. Show uncommon commitment.
5. Expect positive results.
6. Take care of your people.
7. Put duty before self.
8. Get out in front.
His laws embrace important competencies like knowledge, communication skills, commitment, optimism, caring, and a powerful sense of duty. But General Cohen also recognized that the foundation of a successful leader is character, including trustworthiness, honor, and courage.
The best leaders draw on these moral qualities to influence others through inspiration, persuasion, trust, and loyalty. They do the right thing despite the costs and risks. They do it not because it will yield approval or advantage but because it’s the right thing.
In these cynical times, it’s easy to think such leadership is unattainable; yet in every walk of life there are countless men and women – parents, teachers, coaches, civic activists – who fit this mold. What’s more important, every one of us could be among them.
June 2008
Rationalizations: A Baker's Dozen
Short Take:
To make things better, we need to do the following:
- Be more reflective about our actions.
- Be more skeptical about our rationalizations.
- Be more responsive to what Abraham Lincoln called "the better angels of our nature."
- Be more uncompromising in our expectations and demands that we and others lead lives of purpose and worth.
May 2008
The Rhetoric and Reality of Business Ethics
Short Take:
In today’s cynical environment…
- Conduct is viewed in the worst possible light.
- You will be presumed guilty until you prove your innocence.
- All companies are considered to be no better than the worst in its field.
What does your organization do to combat this cynicism?
April 2008
What are the advantages of being an ethical organization?
Short Take:
Ninety percent of American upper level executives say “good ethics is good business in the long run.” Ethics is not about what an organization says or intends, nor is it simply a written code or framed credo. It is what the organization does. How does your organization bring ethics to the forefront?