Many E&C programs attempt to do more than they are capable of given the allocated resources. So we end up with mediocre results. Mediocre training, mediocre risk assessments, mediocre communications, etc.

The fix is to do a few things very well and to forget the rest. What’s the point of posting flashy corporate videos on YouTube to attract talent if we don’t first communicate well with our existing employees?

Jerry Maguire was alluding to this when he wrote “Fewer clients. Less money. More attention.” He was remembering his mentor’s advice about being a good sports agent: “The key to this business is personal relationships.” And that is also the case with E&C.

More attention usually means going deep, not wide. We need to identify activities that are mission-critical and execute flawlessly. Once we have this nailed down, we can look to expand.

In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey talks about the emotional bank account. He explains that when people do things, their behavior results in either a deposit or a withdrawal in someone else’s account. When the account balance is high, there is trust. When it is low – or overdrawn, the relationship is strained.

There’s another expression that goes like this: “You are only as good as your last at-bat.” Under this rule, it matters not what your account balance is. If you mess up, you are withdrawing everything at once.

The two metaphors are not incompatible. In real life, positive behavior seems to result in small deposits while negative behavior results in large – very large withdrawals.

Scary? You bet. The good news is that a sincere apology following a mistake or wrongdoing can go a long way in replenishing the account.

Oddly enough, apologies can result in the largest deposits.

Do you believe that your corporate culture will never improve?

If you do, that belief can sabotage all your efforts.

You may not know how things will ever get better. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have faith that one day they will.

Believing that change is possible is a prerequisite to change.

Believe.

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Plato

Many organizations judge the effectiveness of their ethics & compliance program by the absence of major violations. This is the surest way to end up with a major violation.

It’s much better to assess the quality of our program on a regular basis. This can be done with the help of a consultant or with a new self-assessment tool by the ECI. The tool is based on the ECI’s Blue Ribbon Panel Report on Principles & Practices of High Quality Ethics & Compliance Programs.

The report itself is the most helpful compendium of best practices I have ever read. Its companion tool gives us a clear sense of where we stand among high quality programs.

We should think of it as our organization’s annual health checkup.

Organizations are made of people, so just like people they occasionally stumble and fall. For example, an organization will say that it treats its employees fairly but then, one day, it doesn’t. Now what?

The ethics officer’s job is to help the organization rectify the situation and ensure that apologies are made. Sometimes, this is not easy. Often, it takes time. In those situations, we must resist the temptation to rush to action, lest we inflict further injuries in the process (including injuries to ourselves).

When an organization makes a mistake, it is often because it did not involve the right people in making the original decision. The ethical leader does not repeat this same mistake when trying to correct the situation. She will, of course, proceed with all due speed but she will first make sure to include the right people, who will ask our two critical questions:

“Can we?” and “Should we?”

It may only take a second to know that something must be done, or even what precisely must be done. This doesn’t mean that it must be done immediately.

Today is a work holiday in the U.S.

Some people will work anyway.

Some because they love what they do and want to do it.

Some because their services are essential, like emergency responders.

Some because they have no real choice, like those working for a national chain who decided that the extra revenue is worth paying overtime and denying family time (see this chain for a better philosophy).

Some because they think they are expected to work and will be rewarded for it, even though their organization is officially closed for the day. This  speaks to the culture of the organization, or “how things are really done around here.” It matters not what the policy says; employees know what the real rule is.

If we work in an organization that is officially closed today and still receive a call or an email from a subordinate, one that could have waited a day, we must pause and ask “what is it about us that makes our people think they have to work on a holiday?” And let’s not be too quick to blame the subordinate, to deflect responsibility. At the very least, we can do a few things:

• Tell our subordinate that she should enjoy the day off, relax, recharge, and return to work with new energy
• Follow up with her in the coming days to assess her workload
• On the eve of the next holiday, set clear expectation of rest for your team. A short email thanking them for their work and wishing them a nice break can go a long way in creating the right culture.