COMMENTARY 762.3: The True Meaning of Love – Love Is Not A Mirage

If we can get beyond the corny red heart clichés and commercialism surrounding Valentine’s Day, there’s real value in celebrating the idea of love. Okay, love doesn’t always conquer all and it’s rarely forever, but I worry that the hearts and souls of a whole generation are being corrupted by images that mock and trivialize the beauty and sanctity of …

WORTH WATCHING: The tender and beautiful naivete of young love

“A bell is no bell ’til you ring it, A song is no song ’til you sing it, And love in your heart Wasn’t put there to stay Love isn’t love ‘Til you give it away.” — “I am 16 going on 17” from The Sound of Music,  one of the great songs about young love, by Rodgers and Hammerstein

COMMENTARY 762.1: Self-Control

A frazzled mother with a fussy child caught the eye of a grocery store manager. He overheard her say, “Lily, you can do this. We just have to get a few things.” Moments later, when the child became more upset, the mother said calmly, “It’s okay, Lily. We’re almost done.”

COMMENTARY: The Greyhound Principle: Stretch Goals in Business 761.1

A common management strategy to spur achievement is to set aggressive performance objectives that, like the mechanical rabbits that pace racing greyhounds, push employees to maximum effort. Using “stretch goals” can be successful, but unreasonably high performance goals often spawn dishonesty and irresponsibility. Believing that “it’s a matter of survival,” a disturbing number of employees conclude that distortion, deception, and even …

COMMENTARY: Surviving Grief and Tragedy – The Spark Within 760.4

Here’s the bad news: Virtue isn’t a golden ticket to a pain-free life. Bad things happen to good people as often as they happen to bad people. It seems unfair, but in the natural order of the world, suffering is random. To expect otherwise is to sentence oneself to despondency, disillusionment, bitterness, and anger. Here’s the good news: The magic power that …

COMMENTARY 760.3 DO BAD PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE GOOD?

When she was six, my daughter Carissa asked, “Do dumb people think they’re smart?” Answering her own question, she added, “They probably do because they’re dumb.” This made me think: “Do bad people think they’re good?” I wouldn’t be surprised if most do. In fact, I think all of us are ethical in our own eyes. The human tendency to rationalize, to …

COMMENTARY 759.5: Ten Truths for the Person in Charge

Based on years of managing several organizations, including the Josephson Institute of Ethics, and on extensive consultation with large and small organizations, I’ve distilled much of what I believe and advocate into “Ten Truths.” I hope you find this list helpful. Feel free to share it with colleagues and friends. (Or print this mini-poster version of the list.) Everyone rationalizes; including you. (We’re all …

WORTH SEEING: Poster – For most of my life, my disposition toward logic and rational thinking led me to guard against and discount emotions, my own and others. I believed that feelings obstruct good decision making. I’ve come to realize this was not wise. Sometimes our hearts know what our minds haven’t discovered and sometimes following our feelings is a smarter strategy than trying to figure everything out. Non-rationally motivated decisions are not necessarily irrational or unwise. — Michael Josephson

   

COMMENTARY: Hurrah for Hollywood! This Year’s Crop is Rich in Films that Inform, Move and Inspire 759.3

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 …