Category: Uncategorized

The questions we don’t ask

Most organizations believe that you can’t improve what you don’t measure.

Which means everything gets measured.

Or almost everything.

When it comes to corporate values, the absence of metrics is almost shocking.

After launching a policy and training employees on it, we could survey them and ask “Does this new policy make you feel more or less trusted as an employee?” But we don’t ask.

After interviewing the source and the subject of an investigation, we could ask each if they felt respected in the process. But we don’t ask.

After a big commercial win, we could gather the team and ask “Did we win this the right way? Did we walk the talk?” But we don’t ask.

Is it because it’s hard? Is it because we are afraid of the answer? Is it because we don’t care? Other good questions that don’t get asked.

Beautegrity

At Mekong Capital, this made-up word embodies a value and its outcome. The word elevates an over-used value by depicting a desirable future.

In the coming years, companies will furiously create or beef-up their ethics and compliance programs. They will rush to adopt what others have done or sign big checks to newly-minted consultants cashing in on the new gold rush. Despite all the DOJ warnings (that they haven’t read), they will create paper programs.

You can’t get the right ethical culture without expressing it in terms of what makes your organization unique. You can’t just download a code of ethics template from the internet. You need to know who you are and who you want to be. You need a story – your story. And having your own jargon can help.

So go ahead, create new words to express your culture. But don’t use beautegrity.

Speed = Value

When a financial goal is set at the top, it travels at the speed of light all the way down to the frontline manager, who immediately feels accountable for her part in reaching this goal.

But when the CEO speaks of the importance of business ethics, the news doesn’t travel as fast. No one leaves the meeting with an urgent desire to share the boss’ latest wisdom on the value of doing the right thing.

Why is that?

Clearly because it is not seen as important as financial results, even when it’s clear that unethical practices hurt financial results in the long term. And there you have it: the age-old discussion about the short-term outlook of corporations. Which suggests that a CEO’s job is not simply to talk about business ethics but to talk specifically about the importance of sacrificing short-term gains if ethical compromises are necessary.

The speed at which information travels tells you the value of that information for the organization.

The need to fit in

People want to fit in.

For centuries, if we didn’t fit in with the tribe, we could not survive. We lost access to food, shelter and fire. We had to fit in or die.

This instinct is still with us. And so we want to fit in with our family, with our friends, with our colleagues. This means that we’ll sometimes do things we don’t believe in just to be accepted.

This heightens the importance of corporate culture. If the culture tolerates small acts of cheating, lying and stealing, newcomers will soon understand what they need to do to fit in. Add the snowball effect, and eventually you have big acts of dishonesty.

Why not create a culture of trust, respect and integrity instead?

It’s the how, not the what.

People know what to do but they often struggle with the how.

The employee who is harassed by her supervisor knows she needs to report it but she struggles with how to do it without suffering more. The employee who can’t reach his sales target knows he can’t cheat but doesn’t see any other way around.

The ethical leader understands and gets ahead of this. She shares her commander’s intent with her team, makes it explicit that she wants to hear from them if she deviates from it, and points to HR or the hotline if subordinates do not feel comfortable speaking with her directly. And, whenever something bad happens in another part of the company (or in another company), she’ll take five minutes at the staff meeting and ask “how would we deal with this if it happened to us?”

There’s little value in telling people to do the right thing because they already know. It’s better to show them how to do it.

1,000 true fans

Kevin Kelly showed us that we could make a living with 1,000 true fans. If 1,000 people are willing to spend only $100/year on what we make (songs, paintings, books – and the ancillary t-shirts sales), then we will survive. More importantly, these 1,000 fans will tell everyone they know about us, generating additional income.

Kelly’s advice was aimed at artists and creators. I believe it applies to ethics & compliance professionals as well. If we can find enough true fans among the employees we serve, they will share our message with everyone they know. They key is to be good enough and to identify the right people.

Walking the talk

The recent US college scandal only revealed the end of a long bribery scheme.

The same type of parental behavior exists with preschoolers. After all, the best way to get into Harvard is to first get into the “right” prep school. And for that, you need to get into the “right” middle school. And so on, so forth. Bribes are paid at every stage.

In your corporation, what “clubs” are employees dying to get into? A rotation program? Expat assignments? Executive ranks? What are they willing to do to get in there?

I’m sure the parents involved spent a lot of time telling their children about the importance of telling the truth. Just like corporations spend a lot of time communicating their values. But did any of them really mean it?

Does it spark joy?

The KonMari method for decluttering a home or an office requires that we hold every item in our hands and ask ourselves if it sparks joy. If it doesn’t, we throw it out.

We can do the same for corporate culture. We can hold every process in our mind and ask ourselves if it creates the culture we want. Because that’s what processes do. And if a process creates the wrong cultural outcome, we must throw it out.

What is your promise?

What is the ultimate promise of an airline?

Comfort? On-time departures? Direct flights? Low prices?

As Ann Skeet reminds us, it’s safety (of course).

In order to create the right corporate culture, an organization must first get its priorities straight.

This is also true of groups within an organization. What is the ultimate promise of finance, legal, HR, etc.?

And what of ethics & compliance?

Once we have the answer, we can get to work.