JS Tip 507: It Starts with Us
Last week’s case study of Cathy, her refrigerator, and her CEO drew an overwhelming response. Thank you for your comments.
Our friend John Garrett said this:
Wonderful story. Morale would be pretty amazing in such a company, especially with leaders who get their hands dirty like that.
But where would we find a company that acts like that?
This was our answer:
Our culture is in ethical crisis. Too many of the models we’ve grown up with have shown flaws, and too many people have lost faith in those models.
Religion has taken hits. Law enforcement has taken hits. Governing has taken horrible, horrible hits. (The British Lord Acton: "Power corrupts and absolute power . . . .”)
So what should we do?
Four possible steps:
Ponder. Identify the values in our lives. What do we believe in? What’s important to us? This requires thinking, and that’s not always easy. (Henry Ford said that’s why so few people do it.)
Demonstrate. Live what we believe. Walk the walk. (That’s become a cliché.) We won’t always be successful, but we must keep coming back to the values we’ve identified. When we make mistakes, we admit them, make amends, make changes, and learn lessons.
Share. Engage others in the conversation. Silence is consent. And we can’t consent to the crisis around us.
Act. Write letters. March. Demonstrate. Consider the lyrics from Les Misérables: “Do you hear the people sing? Singing the songs of angry men? It is the music of the people Who will not be slaves again!”
It starts with us.
Let us know what you think. We love this stuff. We really do.