This is post 600

Remember that uncle who did magic tricks when you were young?

He would find a ball behind your ear and guess what card you picked out of the deck. Every time you saw him, you focussed your attention and tried to figure out how he did it. And, eventually, you did figure it out.

Endeavoring to write a blog post every work day has forced me to focus my attention on ethics and compliance problems, and solutions, wherever they are found. Knowing that I have to write something tomorrow keeps my mind alert. It allows me to see how a new technology can improve compliance at work. Or how a behavioral science finding can nudge people into making more ethical decisions.

It’s practically magic.

You should try it.

Give help when most needed

Typhoon Kammuri is currently devastating South East Asia.

When such a disaster hits, different businesses react differently. For example, some will triple the price of their bottled water while others will choose to give it away.

Today, imagine an unfortunate event that could greatly benefit your organization in the short term. How could you react to this event to provide short-term help to those in need and create long-term benefits for your organization?

Umbrellas are 50% off at Ikea when it rains.

With thanks

During the last Thanksgiving holiday, 90% of Americans spent the day with family and friends.

In many households, everyone took turn expressing gratitude for something or someone in their lives. Simple blessings were most commonly mentioned. Spirits were lifted.

Imagine a world where we do this every day. Not just at home but also at work. Gratitude needs not be expressed out loud. A private thought can make a difference.

One and done?

Which is more effective? A business school that offers a separate business ethics class or one where business ethics is weaved into every topic of every class?

The answer is obvious.

Similarly, an organization that provides an annual business ethics training session is not nearly as strong as one where leaders share the ethical considerations of every decision.

As a leader, you will make at least one decision today. That decision will either be in line with your organization’s values or it won’t. Talk about it with your team.

And then do it again tomorrow.

That donut sure looks yummy

We all know someone who carries an unhealthy amount of excess weight. Despite all the warnings from the media, doctors and loved ones, they don’t change their habits. And then, inevitably, a health crisis hits and they are forced to change.

A similar thing happens in an organization with a poor culture. Despite all the warnings from the media, ethics officers and employees, they don’t change how they do things. And then, inevitably, a compliance crisis hits and they are forced to change.

Yes, that jelly donut looks yummy. Yes, that jerk of a CEO drives profit.

Is it our life’s mission to eat donuts or promote jerks?

Surely we can do better.

The only constant

You worked hard to create your Code of Conduct, your policies, your training, your controls, and your investigative and disciplinary guidelines.

But yesterday the world changed.

Oh, it was nothing big like 9/11 or Enron. It wasn’t a festering issue suddenly emerging on social media like #metoo or #okboomer.

But the world changed.

Were you paying attention? Because now you need to change your program accordingly. And do so while the world is changing, again.

Find the others

Seth Godin often encourages us to “find the others.”

If we want to do something significant, we can rarely do it on our own. Changing the culture at work, for example, is not something that any single individual can do on her own, not even if she’s the CEO.

We need to find the others. Not just a supporting boss, but others in different departments, functions, countries and companies. We need to share a clear vision* and mission with others and welcome those with whom it resonates.

How many do we need? As long as the change we seek is yet to be, we need more.

* I define vision as “what the world will look like when the mission is accomplished.”

Ethical answers are in your pen (or keyboard)

I met with a small class of 7th graders yesterday to discuss ethics.

One student shared that when she does something wrong at home, she often writes an apology letter at night and leaves it on her parents’ bed before going to sleep.

It reminded me of the power of putting thoughts to paper. Not only after an event but also before we take action. There is magic in writing things down. What we know to be true surfaces.

When you face your next ethical dilemma, consider writing about it. Privately or publicly. The truth will more readily show itself.