In an article titled, “Why Ethical People Make Unethical Choices,” the Harvard Business Review highlighted five ways that organizations needlessly provoke good people to make unethical choices. The second way mentioned is “Excessive Pressure to Perform.” The author discovered that when there’s too much pressure on staff to reach company goals, staff will often cut corners or lie about their ...
While working construction during college, my boss asked me to pick up Dennis on my way to the job site. When I arrived at Dennis’ house, Dennis was smoking dope. On our way to the job site, Dennis asked me to stop at a convenience store. He returned with a six pack of beer and began drinking. That day, while ...
In my book, “Unconventional Business,” I highlight four marketing challenges that many of us face in the marketplace in trying to do marketing with truth and love. The third challenge is “Purity.” The “Correct Craft” boat company realized that many of their competitors advertised their boats with sexy ads, but God led them to take a different direction. For the ...
During 1894, to enhance profits the Pullman Palace Car Company slashed the wages of its employees while requiring them to work 16 hour days. Pullman also controlled housing and necessities through their ownership of the local town. When George Pullman refused to listen to his employees concerns, the situation escalated into a national shutdown of the railroad system. Federal troops ...
In the early 1900s workplace conditions were dismal. Many industries were unsafe, paid less than a living wage, and required 12-hour days, 7 days a week. In 1909, with these unjust conditions as a backdrop, Labor Sunday was launched as a day when pastors preached on the value and dignity of work. This led to a federation of churches identifying ...
Many Christian CEOs desire to influence their organization with God’s Word while being sensitive to the team members who may not embrace the Christian faith. One of the best ways to shape a culture is to focus on values. Since many of the values we commonly embrace come right out of the Bible, it’s a non-threatening way to communicate God’s ...
In my new book, “Unconventional Business,” I identify five steps towards developing a healthy ethical culture. Step four is to “Communicate, communicate, communicate.” If you don’t constantly communicate your values and vision for the future, they will be easily forgotten. Some creative leaders host events focused on company values. Others use TV screens with their values scrolling on the screen, ...
Del Tackett, creator of the Truth Project, played a video at a conference I attended that revealed how ridiculous tolerance has become. A 5 foot 9 inch white man told college students that he was a 6 foot 5 inch Chinese woman to see if he could get any students to correct his lie. Instead, each person virtually affirmed his ...
Years ago, I introduced Gary and Dean to each other. Gary was a business owner looking for investors, and Dean was a potential investor. At the introductory meeting, Dean, the investor, said to Gary, “I will research you and your business. If, at any point in time you lie to me, we’re done! I will assume that if you lie ...
Years ago, we hosted Michael Franzese as one of our event speakers. Michael spent nine years in prison as a result of following his own code of ethics. As an ex-member of the Mafia, Michael believed in, and followed, the Machiavellian code of ethics until his spiritual conversion. Machiavelli taught that anything is acceptable for pursuing self-interest and personal gain. If ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
