I am watching the situation in Ukraine unfold in horror. Many times I find myself in tears, watching people clutching their few belongings and leaving their home by any means possible, including walking across the borders to neighboring countries. I am astounded by the generosity and kindness of those neighbors and of people all around the world doing what they can to support the Ukrainians. To be fair, I also feel badly for the Russian people, whom I believe do not have accurate information about the war and who do not want this war but are tortured if they speak out against it. In part my heart aches because this was my family’s story many, many years ago. My mom →
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This is a tale of a leader amassing too much power in an organization and the ethical consequences that shattered people, organization, and the public trust, just to “please the boss”. Ah, you thought I was finally going to enter the political arena, right? Sorry to disappoint. On the few occasions where I did write or discuss something political I got nasty, ugly, mean-spirited comments. I refuse to print those comments but let’s just say I choose my words carefully and my friends and clients even more carefully as a lesson learned from these experiences. Although there are parallels to be drawn with the current state of American politics, I’m talking in this article about Carlos Ghosn, former CEO of →
I finally have a name for how I write. It’s called “writing in reverse”. Yeah, it’s a thing apparently, something I didn’t even know had a name. I just do it instinctively after years and years of carefully crafting memos to supervisors who didn’t want to hear the truth about their monthly results. I finally found the name for it after reading an article I found through SmartBriefs, written by Justin Bariso for Inc. Magazine. Here is the link if you want to read it yourself. To summarize, it’s about writing your message from the point of view of your audience. It helps you avoid emotional diatribes that are too long and fail to be helpful or informative for your →
It occurred to me as I watched the results of the Presidential Election that I needed to capture my thoughts. It’s a historic day, one of a very few in a person’s lifetime. I find myself getting emotional and this reaction is a mystery to me. I suppose it is partly a feeling of profound relief that the decision is finally made and we can now get on with the business of living. But It is so much more than this. And I appear not to be alone in getting emotional. Whatever side of the fence you are on, this is a momentous occasion. Every Presidential election is, really. This one more than most because of the extreme divisions in →
First and foremost, I hope you are staying safe, staying home, washing your hands, and taking care of your health. Do not underestimate the danger of the Corona-virus. It is important – and could be a life or death decision for you and/or someone you love. As I got on the airplane to take me home to take care of my dad, I thought how quickly the world has changed. For the first time I recognized the consequences of my own actions, in this case actions that could cause someone else to get sick or die. I weighed the options of whether or not to get on the plane and decided that my family needed me more at this time →
If you’re looking for insights as a result of my latest newsletter, thank you! For those of you who are here because you found me on the web somehow, I thank you as well. This blog is a continuation of my story about how I became a whistle-blower, and this is the part of the story I don’t often share. Those of you who have heard me speak publicly have probably heard my story. At least part of it. What I don’t usually tell people is the process by which I decided to report what I’d learned to the company… or the feeling I had when I found myself staring down the wrong end of the barrel of a gun. →
These are troubling times for ethical people. Especially in light of the history we are watching unfold before our eyes. Last week we watched a live Senate hearing for a sitting Judge who was accused of sexual assault. The Senate Judicial Committee is trying to determine if Judge Brett Kavanaugh is suitable to be confirmed to the Supreme Court – the highest court in the land. This court was created to provide checks and balances – a division of power between the other two branches of government. As such it is expected to have Justices who can impartially judge cases and apply the law objectively. We witnessed a miracle: Compromise from our elected officials. It is a Rare thing to →
Someone recently told me a story about getting into trouble because he was “too good” at his job. As a new hire to the company, he set about doing his job effectively, conscientiously making an effort to reduce errors, complete tasks as quickly as possible and streamline procedures. He was politely pulled aside by one of his new colleagues and told that he was making everyone else look bad by being so good at his job. He was asked to slow it down. So here is the ethical dilemma. Would you lower your standard of quality to “fit into the team” or would you continue performing to the best of your ability? Maybe this is an unfair question because you →
Our children spoke today – 3/24/2018. 1 million children descended on Washington DC to protest gun violence and demand that our elected officials take action to change the law. Were you listening? There were more people marching today compared to President Trump’s inauguration day. And the children didn’t just march in D.C. They marched in New York, Chicago, Florida, Los Angeles, and even here in Phoenix. Their voices screamed “Enough is Enough”. And they are right. As one young person said, it’s not a legal issue, it’s a moral issue. The children are demanding change. And they’re calling BS on anyone who is failing to do their jobs and represent the will of the people. We’ve been dealing with gun →
Below is a copy of a campaign to stop the FCC from ending net neutrality. Why should you care? Because, if ended, the big internet providers like Comcast, Verizon, AT&T and others will be able to block your content, prevent you from getting access to information, and charge you fees for “premium” access or services. An example of the consequences we could see if net neutrality is eliminated was reported about TripAdvisor, who blocked negative comments about women who were sexually assaulted at certain resorts in Mexico. This came to light when one woman posted information on social media about a particular hotel because her comments kept being removed by TripAdvisor. Dozens of women came forward to let her know →