It is through the ordinary that humans have the opportunity to become extraordinary. The ordinary consists of the DNA we all possess; the contents are nothing more than the values we emulate and live by. The ordinary is the interaction humans have with each other that helps us gel or become disconnected. I was fortunate enough this weekend to view the […]

Our world puts a premium on achieving results vs. how to conduct our lives purposefully. It is time to drop the anvil; declaring this premium to be misguided and wrong. I watched the Winter Olympic Games with great interest. While the participants were overjoyed at winning various medals, I was mesmerized by the stories of certain athletes who […]

Scan any given profession or field and locate the most successful people. These high impact individuals seem to embrace and understand the essence of now. While easy to think ahead or glance over our shoulders, the most important question is how to be in the moment or what I call the essence of now. Before we delve […]

Every day we face challenges and none are more formidable than testing the strength of our ethics. Whether in our personal or business lives, ethics describes our human conduct and specifically recognizing the difference between what is right or wrong. The biggest temptations often come in the smallest sizes offering us choices. My friend Leslie Sekerka, Professor of […]

We all have expectations and just maybe that bar is too high. Why do people whip themselves into a frenzy regarding how others should be? I don’t have the succinct and clear answer for you. “When expectations are high it is an invitation for heartbreak and disappointment.” The American writer Laura Ingalls Wilder said, “Persons appear to […]

Regardless of the industry, winning teams are glued together by values. You can hire the best talent, throw gobs of money at them, and provide all sorts of freedoms. Yet, without a core set of values that act like super glue the chances of any team holding together very long and succeeding is slim to none. What seems […]

Human conduct can infinitely improve if we are conscious of our words and corresponding deeds. There are few places where this places out more than daily human interaction and the civility in play. Unfortunately, at a local convenience store a few blocks from home I witnessed human conduct at its worst. Having pumped gas at one of the […]

We all have to take stock and measure conduct in our personal and business lives. That means being responsible and accountable every day. I have many heroes from yesterday and present that command serious attention in my life. One of my favorites is Saint Joan of Arc. She elaborated on this subject in a clear and thoughtful […]

There are many ways to build ethical cultures and they deserve to identified and discussed. Due to the sheer magnitude and scope of what constitutes an ethical culture and the processes/initiatives/training that need to be fully in play, I thought we could start outlining some important areas that are relevant for all of us. Consider the following: 1) Have […]

I have a simple theory that is tested and personally experienced: you cannot have business ethics without personal ethics in place. While sounding logical and simple, the challenges facing Ethics and Compliance leaders are nothing but that. In fact, creating values based cultures that are honest, accountable, and responsible is akin to learning how to pole vault. The barriers are high […]