I know I’m out of my depth as a movie critic, but I am venturing into this new territory because there’s so much criticism about Hollywood that we don’t always give ample credit for the substantial number of truly wonderful movies that teach, move, and inspire, as well as entertain. And from my narrow perspective as an ethicist, I am grateful …
COMMENTARY: Good Ethics is More Than Good Business 759.2
Ethics is a popular topic at corporate meetings today because managers correctly see the benefits. Good things tend to happen to companies that consistently do the right thing, and bad things tend to happen to those that even occasionally do the wrong thing. Being ethical is playing the odds. Ethical companies have a competitive edge because people prefer to deal …
OBSERVATION: “Our moral obligations and the expectations people have of us do not go away just because we ignore them.” – Michael Josephson
I once saw a cartoon depicting a CEO speaking to assembled management team at a conference table: “We have some difficult issues to resolve today. Before we begin, Ms. Gladstone, will you please hand out the moral blinders?” It may make the decision easier but it doesn’t make it better. We can’t escape moral responsibility through legal loopholes — our conduct will …
QUOTE: You can dodge your responsibilities, but you can’t dodge the consequences of dodging your responsibilities.
Whether it’s in our personal lives or work lives, there are always things we need to do, and we always have to do them ethically. We fail to do so at our peril — to our relationships, our reputations, and the esteem of those we care about.
QUIZ: What should you do when your best salesperson is a jerk?
You are a regional sales manager, and, despite your admonitions, your highest producing salesperson regularly verbally abuses clerical help, stretches the truth, and ignores other company policies. Business is bad and this person accounts for about 20% of your business. You feel certain that if you are too harsh, or if you fire her, she will go to work for …
WORTH READING: Heart of Change by John P. Kotter and Dan S. Cohen
Professors John Kotter and Dan Cohen’s 2002 book The Heart of Change focuses on organizational change, and provides research support for many of the claims and theories in later books. A significant insight is that in almost all successful change efforts, the sequence of change is not ANALYZE — THINK — CHANGE, as is normally assumed by those who believe …
COMMENTARY: How to Change Attitudes and Behavior — “I Can Do It and It’s Worth It.” 758.6
In yesterday’s commentary, I talked about a teacher named Shavonne who was at wits end with several students, including Leon, whose lack of self-control when he became angry or frustrated constantly created trouble. She was certain that nothing short of intense therapy could change his behavior. Changing Leon’s behavior will be a challenge, but it has to start with changing …
WORTH READING: “For fourteen years, I have personally grown with Michael, learning to summon the moral courage to choose the road less traveled and to build my character day by day, decision by decision.” – Essay contest winner David Williams, high school teacher
In the fall, about 80 listeners to Michael Josephson’s radio commentaries submitted essays describing how his daily messages affected their lives. Ten finalists were selected, and a vote of readers of Michael’s newsletter and this blog selected the winners. Here is the entry of one of the five winners, David Williams. I confess that I keep a secret list of influential people …
WORTH READING: “Michael’s words have changed my world and I have transcended his words into my actions.” — Essay contest winner Jim Uhl , police officer and professor
In the fall, about 80 listeners to Michael Josephson’s radio commentaries submitted essays describing how his daily messages affected their lives. Ten finalists were selected, and a vote of readers of Michael’s newsletter and this blog selected the winners. Here is the entry of one of the five winners, Jim Uhl. St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the gospel at all times; …
WORTH READING: “‘The road to achievement and fulfillment is dotted with hazards and tragedies that can wound us, frighten us, and slow us down. But afflictions and misfortunes can stop us only if we surrender.’ These words by Michael Josephson made me courageous!” – Essay contest winner Denise Osier-Bell, teacher for at-risk kids in Reseda, California
In the fall, about 80 listeners to Michael Josephson’s radio commentaries submitted essays describing how his daily messages affected their lives. Ten finalists were selected, and a vote of readers of Michael’s newsletter and this blog selected the winners. Here is the entry of one of the five winners, Denise Osier-Bell. I left the Sheriff’s Department to go back to college to …
WORTH READING: “Think about what kind of family you are going to be.” — Essay contest winner Pat Chambers, La Crenta California Presbyterian Center for Children
In the fall, about 80 listeners to Michael Josephson’s radio commentaries submitted essays describing how his daily messages affected their lives. Ten finalists were selected, and a vote of readers of Michael’s newsletter and this blog selected the winners. Here is the entry of one of the five winners, Pat Chambers. I can’t remember the exact year, but I remember the experience. I …
WORTH READING: “There is no radio broadcaster who has had a greater impact on my life than Michael Josephson.”– Essay contest winner Suzanne Carter, high school teacher
In the fall, about 80 listeners to Michael Josephson’s radio commentaries submitted essays describing how his daily messages affected their lives. Ten finalists were selected, and a vote of readers of Michael’s newsletter and this blog selected the winners. Here is the entry of one of the five winners, Suzanne Carter. There is no radio broadcaster who has had a greater impact …
COMMENTARY: Changing Self-Limiting Beliefs and Bad Behavior 758.5
Shavonne, a third-grade teacher, was at the end of her rope with disciplinary problems, but she wasn’t enthusiastic when she was told that her school had adopted the CHARACTER COUNTS! program. Now she was expected to explicitly seek to instill and enhance in her students core ethical values like honesty, respect, and responsibility, and to help them develop positive social …
COMMENTARY 758.4 CHANGING THE WORLD ONE BITE AT A TIME
About twenty-five years ago, I founded the Joseph & Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics in honor of my parents because I wanted to change the world for the better. My goal and strategy to achieve change is captured in a short mission statement: “To improve the ethical quality of society by changing personal and organizational decision making and behavior.” I …
COMMENTARY:The Wisdom and Philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 758.3
For a man who never reached the age of 40, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., left a powerful and important body of thought. He was a preacher and orator, so rather than writing in the form of books or treatises, Dr. King spoke to the world in sermons and speeches and a few articles. His impact and image as a …
COMMENTARY: Why Martin Luther King is a Hero 758.2
The dictionary defines a hero as “a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life.” A “personal hero” is someone you or I hold in especially high esteem. For me, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is both a national and personal hero. I have no illusions that …
OBSERVATION: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on Violence
The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence
COMMENTARY: Making Good Decisions 757.4
More often than we like, most of us are faced with choices that can have serious and lasting impact on our lives. Do we go along with the crowd? Do we tell someone off, quit a job, end a relationship? Unfortunately, these decisions are not preceded by a drumroll warning us that the stakes are high and, even worse, we …
COMMENTARY: True Friends 757.3
So what are the qualities of a true friend? True friends are good companions, people you enjoy doing things with, but they are also people you just enjoy being with. In true friendships the activity is incidental – it doesn’t matter much what you are doing together as long as you are together. True friends are people you want to …
COMMENTARY: The Treasure of Old Friends 757.2
In my lifetime, I’ve had the good fortune of having a handful of good friends. Each of my four teenage daughters have many hundreds. At least that what they call every Facebook connection they collect like trophies. The list of those kinds of friends includes people they barely know, some they don’t know at all and even some people they …
COMMENTARY: Living a Life That Matters 757.1
I saw a cartoon showing an old king checking in at the gates of heaven. He introduced himself as “Edward The Good.” The gatekeeper with a large book in front of him said, “Well, Eddie, we’ll be the judge of that.” The point is that, in the end, generous self-appraisals won’t matter. Our epitaphs will be written and eulogies delivered …
COMMENTARY: A Mother’s Message About Bullying: Hang in There. It Will Get better. 756.5
While researching the bullying issue for a CHARACTER COUNTS! seminar, I came across Vicky Bell’s blog, where she posted a letter to her daughter in college. I think her advice moving and wise. Here’s an abridged version: Hello my girl. . . You may have heard about the NJ college student who killed himself because his roommate posted a videotape …
Bullying
There are lots of resources dealing with bullying. Here are some especially useful ones.Are your kids at risk? Three online surveys to determine whether one’s child is being bullied, whether one’s child is a bully, and whether parents are doing all they can to prevent bullying, can be found at CHARACTER COUNTS!’s Bully Quiz. Also, check out these other anti-bullying resources …
OBSERVATION: According to a 2010 study by the Josephson Institute of Ethics, half of all high school students admit they bullied someone in the past year, and nearly as many, 47 percent, say they were bullied, teased, or taunted in a way that seriously upset them in the past year. That’s an awful lot of kids who are inflicting and suffering serious emotional injuries, some so serious as to cause deep depression and even suicide.
Read the Josephson Institute’s 2010 study here. At the root of all this misery is the willingness of our sons and daughters to say and do mean and awful things that humiliate, embarrass, intimidate, or degrade others. Most of the perpetrators of all this pain are not brutish thugs with severe self-esteem issues. Many are intelligent, highly confident teens good at …
COMMENTARY: Stars Above and Stars Within 756.4
According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, two-thirds of the world’s population, including almost everyone in the continental United States and Europe, no longer see a starry sky where they live. The reason: City lights prevent us from seeing much more than a canopy of gray shadows. What a pity. In rural or remote areas with little or …