In a prior post, I identified one of the options when dealing with an ethics issue is to “Stay and Do Something.”
This will not be easy.
Confronting an ethics issue is likely to be viewed as an attack on the organization’s culture – on “the work tribe.”
Attacks on the tribe are not appreciated.
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When you find yourself in the midst of an ethical dilemma at work, you often face the decision whether to stay or to go.
This is not a simple decision nor is it the only decision you need to make.
You also need to decide if you are going to do something about the situation.
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On a recent road trip through Georgia, I stopped at an orchard store outside of Ellijay. Among my purchases was a half bushel of apples I couldn’t resist buying. They were this year’s crop and delicious. About a week later as I was selecting apples to make my Mom’s honey apple cake,
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A colleague recently introduced me to the concept of the “Never Now” list.
This consists of the items on your to-do list that you never get to. It is the list of projects that you know deep down you won’t complete, yet you rationalize you will….someday. Unfortunately, this is a someday that rarely comes.
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One of the realities of working is that, at some point in your career, you will be in a job you hate.
Sometimes, it is a job you can’t leave. At least not immediately. As much as you may fantasize about it, you can’t say, “Take this job and shove it.”
Yet simply surviving is often not enough.
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There is currently a lot of finger pointing going on about who is right and who is wrong in responding to the COVID-19 epidemic. On July 12, 2020, the Trump administration circulated a list of statements to prove Dr. Anthony Fauci was “wrong” about the virus.
This is a clear example of Hindsight Bias – evaluating the correctness of a past statement or position based on a future outcome.
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One of the real dangers of the digital age is the illusion of knowledge.
We think we “know” more than we actually do. This is promoted by the accessibility of information on the internet and the ability to “Ask Alexa” (or “Ask Goggle”) any question as a moment’s notice.
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Last Christmas, I gave my husband Steve a page-a-day calendar with Insights from the Dalai Lama. Occasionally, Steve shares one of these daily insights with me.
One page he shared with me recently was:
Ultimately, any system, set of laws or procedures, can only be as effective as the individuals responsible for its implementation.
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One of the interesting results of the digital age is the proliferation of “franken-documents.” This is documentation created by combining together bits and pieces of other people’s documents.
The creation of documents based on the work of others has become commonplace in many companies. The practice of borrowing and reusing content is even expected in some organizations.
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Obfuscation is one of those interesting words that sounds like it means – to make obscure.
Obfuscation is often associated with excessive wordiness and the use of technical jargon that is meaningful to “insiders” but not to others.
Obfuscation is almost synonymous with politics. It has become so commonplace that it is often hard to determine the actual truth.
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