Ethics

Recently there was a commercial about Guinness starring Joe Montana, the famous football great. Unless you're a football fan, you might not even remember Joe, one of the greatest quarterbacks ever. In the commercial, Joe is sitting at the bar. And a young person beside him, unaware of his celebrity status, asks him if he used to be a tennis player. Rather than challenging the young kid about his football greatness, Montana smirks and says, "Sure, kid."

In this article, I want to talk about legacy versus impact. Many people worry about how they will be remembered once they are gone. What will their legacy be? Or how will they be remembered? Concerned about being remembered, people try to establish non-profit foundations, achieve some form of greatness, have their name on a building or company, make an endowment to a University, et cetera. But here's the problem these legacies will, for the most part, not be remembered. And I don't say this out of meanness or to discredit those that want to do something good. However, most of us will not be remembered in the long run outside of our loved ones and close friends.

Think of famous historical people. Unfortunately, some of the names you remember have a negative connotation because the people did horrible things. On the other hand, some people did beautiful things. And yet, after a short period, just like Joe Montana, people will not remember it or remember a name but have nothing else associated with it. So this doesn't mean we don't try to achieve good things for the rest of society, but I would suggest that we change our outlook and not think about how you will be remembered years from now. Think about what impact you can have today because, as we help one another, other people will start to develop thoughts and memories of their interactions with you. It will lead to one form of a legacy of helping others.

You may have had this experience when you go to a funeral of a loved one, your mom, or your dad. Somebody comes up to you and says, "Do you know there was a time when your mom or dad did this for me? It was so unique, and it impacted my life." And once we affect other people's lives, you can be assured that you will be remembered most appropriately. Contrast that with the statues and monuments that you have visited. Go back and challenge yourself. Do you know what the person stood for? Do you know what they did for society? Even today, our society is questioning our history, and people are tearing down monuments for various reasons. Those monuments were erected to honor individuals of that period. They had made a significant impact on their community, at least from the perspective of their peers. You may not be able to have a long-lasting legacy, but you can impact the lives of people today, which is more significant.


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I'm Jim Lindell of Thorsten Consulting. If your organization or association needs a speaker for a keynote or breakout session on practical business topics, please call me.
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Recall the idiom, "Practice Makes Perfect?" In society, we can see our sports heroes, political leaders and business leaders blatantly lie. It typically is a habit, refined over the years, and practiced regularly. Avoid it like the plague. #ethics #lying #cpas #controllers #cfos #leaders

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HYATTSTOWN, Md. - Coins and bills spilled from an armored truck on northbound Interstate 270 Friday morning, and passersby stopped and scooped them up. Maryland State Police are investigating how the cash came out of the truck...Police have asked motorists to return the cash they picked up. The police also stated that there was no indication of Robbery.

Unfortunately, we have lost the sense of right and wrong. The Police were correct when they said it was not a robbery, however it was THEFT. Dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/theft) defines theft as:

the act of stealing; the wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods or property of another; larceny.

The motorists that picked up the money from the Armored car and kept it for themselves are common thieves.

The State Investigator's report is out and should be read by those interested in Ethical case studies. The implications for us are numerous:

How employees react to measures and goals

How employees give in to peer pressure

How bosses abuse their power

How outsiders (parents) were willing to tolerate unethical behavior if it made their children appear more successful

How brave employees (teachers) stood up against unethical behavior

From the CL Atlanta website:
State investigators on Tuesday released the findings of a probe into the Atlanta Public Schools test-cheating scandal that tarnished the system's once-stellar reputation. Led by former Attorney General Mike Bowers and former DeKalb County District Attorney Bob Wilson, the investigative team interviewed more than 2,000 people and reviewed more than 800,000 documents. Investigators identified 178 principal and teachers who they say were involved in cheating. (Source: http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2011/07/06/atlanta-schools-cheating-investigation-full-report) Note: you can obtain the full report in 3 pdf files from this location as well.

It is important to note in Vol 3 that the investigators highlighted why cheating occurred. They identified 3 primary conditions that led to widespread cheating on the 2009 CRCT (competency tests):

The targets set by the district were often unrealistic, especially given their cumulative effect over the years. Additionally, the administration put unreasonable pressure on teachers and principals to achieve targets;

A culture of fear, intimidation and retaliation spread throughout the district; and,

Dr. Hall and her administration emphasized test results and public praise to the exclusion of integrity and ethics.

"When will we ever learn, When will we ever..... learn" from "Where have all the flowers gone"

© 2011 - Jim Lindell - Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc.

I wonder if Madoff ever considered that his actions would eventually end in the suicide of his son?

(source:http://bit.ly/gdKipF) NY Post

Bernard Madoff’s son Mark was found dead in the living room of his SoHo apartment this morning — hanging from a black dog leash on the two-year anniversary of his father’s stunning downfall, officials said.

The eldest son of Bernie, Mark was "upset" over the two-year anniversary media coverage of his father’s massive fraud and subsequent arrest on Dec. 11, 2008, the source said, noting a front-page story of the scheme and its aftermath in today’s Wall Street Journal.

"Mark was an innocent victim of his father’s monstrous crime who succumbed to two years of unrelenting pressure from false accusations and innuendo."

The stunning twist in the Madoff saga came two years to the day after Bernie Madoff was arrested for running a pyramid scheme that bilked some $65 billion from gullible investors all over the world.


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/bernie_madoff_son_andrew_found_dead_41QZ5xHZ2Ifq2IBmRtZgLK#ixzz17rCMc9kT

No amount of money is worth the loss of a son.

As we watch the sentencing of Madoff, it is easy to overlook an important lesson.  Is he guilty? Absolutely.  Will he be put away for a long time? Definitely.  Are the rest of us different from him? In our inner thoughts we reply, "Of course, well, sort of - I didn't steal millions and millions of dollars from anyone.  I didn't hurt people the way that Madoff did."  Obviously,we would all agree with one another.

However, the question to ponder is at what point does a little theft become a large theft? 

The Ethics Research Center published their National Business Ethics Survey (2007).  One of the unfortunate highlights was that ethical behavior had returned to the same level as during the Enron fiasco.  From their survey:

More than five years after Enron and other corporate ethics debacles, businesses of all size, type, and ownership show little — if any — meaningful reduction in their enterprise-wide
risk of unethical behavior. The situation is ripe for another major corporate scandal.

The survey also shared that "more than half (56 percent) of employees personally observed conduct that violated company ethics standards, policy, or the law."

The observed conduct was further described as:

- Conflicts of interest: putting one’s own interests above the
organization (observed by 23 percent of employees);

- Abusive or intimidating behavior (observed by 21 percent of employees); and

- Lying to employees (observed by 20 percent of employees).

Madoff is guilty, but as you pick up your favorite stones to cast, consider the last time that you did any of the following:  took a "mental health day" from work, listed inaccurate times on your timesheet, billed a client for an extra hour or two, brought office supplies home.  Yes -  these are all small in comparison.  However, there are very few fraud cases that do not start off as "small thefts" - many times with the intent to repay.