Category: Uncategorized

Don’t get on that scale

Several companies (like this one) are being sued for selling COVID-19 “at-home” tests or “virucides” that can’t deliver on their promises (or aren’t delivered at all). This type of behavior happens with every crisis. And every time, our conscience is shocked by those willing to prey on the scared and vulnerable.

Somehow, our conscience is not as troubled when someone similarly takes from the rich and powerful. Even less so when the goal is to give to the poor and helpless.

If we continue down that scale, we get to most of us. We work for reputable companies, making good products and charging fair prices. And then, one day at quarter-end, we risk missing our numbers (and our bonus), so we decide to ship the lot without inspecting all the parts as required. Perhaps nothing will happen. Perhaps no one will know.

But you will know. And it will gnaw at your conscience for a very long time. Long enough that you’ll wish you didn’t find yourself anywhere on that sliding scale.

Acting on empathy

Empathy without action risks reinforcing the status quo

Jacqueline Novogratz, in Manifesto for a Moral Revolution

Our employees have struggles, hopes and dreams. So do our customers, suppliers and the communities where we do business.

If we put profit at the center of what we do, there is little room for human connections. It’s only when we bring people at the center that we truly thrive.

Today, let empathy guide you to a specific action – and take it.

Triple bottom line

People, planet and profit, otherwise known as the triple bottom line.

Think of the leadership messages in your company before the pandemic. What percentages were devoted to people, planet and profit?

And now?

In most companies, there’s been a significant shift. And not just in percentages but also in sincerity.

Here’s to hoping that when the pandemic fades, our caring for others doesn’t.

Time to spice things up

We are out of oregano at my house. So are the local grocery stores. This has forced us to try new spices and discover new flavors. A lack of oregano has literally added spice to our life.

My company doesn’t allow any in-person meetings right now. This has forced us to try video calls and discover its benefits. Because of Teams and WebEx and Zoom, teams will work better going forward.

And so it goes for everything else, including our E&C programs. The types of training and communications and audits that we long thought unworthy – are they really?

We won’t get another disruption like this any time soon. It’s our chance to look at everything with new eyes.

Better

Tomorrow I will start the online course “The Path of Moral Leadership: Hard-Edged Skills to Start Building a Better World.”

Some people feel that our world is sorely broken and in dire need of fixing. Others believe that, all things considered, things have never been better.

Wherever one falls on this spectrum, we can all agree that our world isn’t perfect. And, while it will never be, an alternative to perfect might be better.

Imagine if we all made the world a little bit better today. All 7 billion of us.

Educational benefit

The US Federal Reserve is expected to release a survey today showing that 40% of workers in households making less than $40,000/year lost a job in March.

In other words, the less you can afford to lose a job, the more likely you are to lose it during this pandemic.

We’ve always known that a higher education leads to a higher salary. Now we see that a higher salary leads to a higher job security.

For employers who truly care about their employees and aren’t sure how to protect them from future downturns, consider a tuition-reimbursement program. This type of benefit will attract better candidates, increase retention, and boost loyalty and performance. More importantly, your employees will be better prepared for the next crisis (and there will be one).

An educated workforce is a stronger workforce.

Advice to graduates

In his post today, Seth Godin makes us see that there are different kinds of imaginations.

People dream of sinking a hole-in-one (sport imagination) or becoming a millionaire (wealth imagination) or becoming lean and strong (health imagination). These imaginations are fueled by our current culture and stoked by the media.

How many people instead have moral imagination, fueled by a desire to make things better? Plenty of people, it turns out. But most work for organizations that are driven by the profit imagination, and the organization’s dreams usually win.

For those about to graduate and enter this turbulent workplace, I offer this advice: join an organization whose imagination aligns with yours.

People first

During this pandemic, many of us are learning that a shortcut to happiness is to make others happy. Let’s hope that this is another reality that survives the pandemic.

Sure, it’s fun to hope that employers will let us work from home a bit more in the future. Or that we might be able to dress a bit more casually. But it’s a lot more exciting to imagine a world where leaders are genuinely concerned about their employees’ wellbeing, even if only because they realize that it’s the only way to maximize performance.

When there is no need to protect employees from the virus anymore, there will be other needs to fill.