Seven Generations
This is the 8th and last article in the Ethics Series. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. We reserve the option to revisit the topic from time to time… Prologue: Buenos Aires Boarding a flight in the early 1980s, I raised an eyebrow at the Eastern Airlines vinyl on the cabin wall. […]
Squiggles, Grids & Dimensional Ethics
This is part 7 in a series designed to give you, our clients and friends, a loftier and practical look at ethics. We hope to demonstrate why and how a deeper understanding of ethical concerns can be applied in your life – both personally and professionally. “I’ve got to admit it’s getting better.A little better […]
Two Pieces of Trash
This is part 6 in a series designed to give you, our clients and friends, a loftier and practical look at ethics. We hope to demonstrate why and how a deeper understanding of ethical concerns can be applied in your life – both personally and professionally. Strolling the UC Berkeley campus with my friend Clark […]
The Shadow Knows
This is part 5 in a series designed to give you, our clients and friends, a loftier and practical look at ethics. We hope to demonstrate why and how a deeper understanding of ethical concerns can be applied in your life – both personally and professionally. “Make the greatest of gifts to your self — […]
A Hierarchy of Good
This is part 4 in a series designed to give you, our clients and friends, a loftier and practical look at ethics. We hope to demonstrate why and how a deeper understanding of ethical concerns can be applied in your life – both personally and professionally. “Don’t go marching down to the courthouse all outraged […]
Make Yourself Useful!
This is part 3 in a series designed to give you a loftier and practical look at ethics. We hope to demonstrate why and how a deeper understanding of ethical concerns can be applied in your life – both personally and professionally. “Food taken without work, is Theft.” — Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma), Indian Political […]
Codes: Written or Unwritten
This is part 2 in a series designed to give you a loftier and practical look at ethics. We hope to demonstrate why and how a deeper understanding of ethical concerns can be applied in your life – both personally and professionally. “We have a code!” — A Few Good Men Released 1992. Directed by […]
Cracking the Code
This is the first part of a series designed to give you, our clients and friends, a loftier and practical look at ethics. We hope to demonstrate why and how a deeper understanding of ethical concerns can be applied in your life – both personally and professionally. So, first thing, let’s crack the code… “You, […]
Finding Truth
“Once a person is caught by belief in a doctrine, one loses all one’s freedom. When one becomes dogmatic, that person believes his or her doctrine is the only truth and that all other doctrines are heresy. Disputes and conflicts all arise from narrow views. They can extend endlessly, wasting precious time, even lead to […]
Fusion: the Heart of a Star!
Stars and Corporations are both energized by the same force: Fusion. Our “Sun,” a “Star;” is a “Hydrogen Fusion Engine.” Fusion Formula: Take two atoms of hydrogen, agitate rapidly under titanic gravitational stress, then apply cosmic heat. Caution: Do not over-stimulate or the mixture may explode and engulf the entire solar system; but be sure […]
Making & Keeping
Stock offerings are launched by making promises. Lofty stock prices are guaranteed by keeping them! Elections are won by making promises. Legacies are secured by keeping them! Weddings are begun by making promises. Marriages are secured by keeping them! Mortgages are begun by making promises. Mortgage Backed Securities are made valuable by keeping them! […]
The Hidden Good
“It’s one thing to see the obvious bad in the world. Quite another to discover (or become) the hidden good.” —Robert Thomas Perhaps we’ve stepped through the looking glass, entering a world precisely opposite of that which we truly desire. Honesty is on the ropes. Integrity has taken a break. It may not be the […]
Wasteland or Garden?
“Every man builds his world in his own image. He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice.” —Ayn Rand (1905-1982), Russian-American Novelist, Screenwriter & Philosopher It’s a Communication Wasteland. So. Much. Noise. And a long stretch between communication moments that move you — that speak to body, […]
Creating Empty & Full
The Sales & Counselor SellingSM Series “You must empty a box before you can fill it.” —Irish Proverb Creating Emptiness: The Counselor’s Art It’s not about having something to say, but about having something to accomplish. You looked over that investment with great care, visited the firm, interviewed the management, sampled the product, evaluated the […]
Sales and Ethics
The Sales & Counselor SellingSM Series The word “Sales” can certainly conjure up a myriad of negative images and experiences. Pushy. Aggressive. Someone getting you to buy something you don’t want. Yet “Sales” in its true form, happens every day. For example, we’re selling when we ask the kids to clean their room. We’re selling when we ask our […]
This July, Think about Dependence
“We must all hang together. Or assuredly we shall all hang separately!” – Benjamin Franklin American Printer, Writer, Speaker Founding Father (1706 – 1790) Fusion is and requires a miracle.
Eight Spinning Plates
Balance is not “Binary” (The Dismissal of Artificial Goals) “Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some, and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.” — Robert Fulghum, American Author Contemporary Culture, with its politically correct and dogmatic standards and expectations for every aspect of life, has rendered […]
No Excuses
“I’m hopeful that the reforms that the secretary and the administration are undertaking will resolve the flaws in the current system that I inherited.” – S. Elizabeth Birnbaum Outgoing Director of the Minerals Management Service Was the “First high-profile government official to resign in connection with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of […]
What We Believe and Why
1. We believe a human being to be a composite of mind, body and spirit — so our work is not limited to physical skills; but instead connects with the whole being — and the whole company — enhancing skills, enlarging ideas and elevating intentions. 2. We believe that ethics (and integrity) are the missing […]
Candor (by Degrees)
Candor – definition can•dor (kæn dər) Noun: the state, quality or capability of being open, frank and honest. from Middle English, Old French and Latin, from Candēre, to shine. Ever known someone who just can’t stop telling the truth (as they see it?). Usually, someone takes pity on the organization, and shows this dweeb the […]
By Another Door
“Some answers come not by thinking, but by feeling.” — J. R. StJohn So, you’ve come a long way, spent the night in the hotel across the street, put on your serious suit and the good tie. Walked in a caravan with your computers, gear, and handouts. Hung your coats, laid out the materials and organized the […]
Noblesse Oblige
(The Obligations of Nobility) If not Me, Who? If not Here, Where? If not Now, When? Hillel’s Challenge On a high hill, in a stone castle with his wife, lived a wealthy nobleman. In the castle’s great bedchamber were two strong boxes, bound in iron and faced with leather, filled with all manner of riches, […]
The Guru at the Dining Room Table
“Guru Maharaj Ji. There can be no biography of him. Facts are few, stories many. As he said, he was ‘nobody.’ He gave no discourses; the briefest, simplest stories were his teachings. Sometimes he sat in silence, but bliss and peace poured down on us. He said one can reach God while fulfilling his or […]
Cracking the Code
“You, who are on the road; must have a code that you can live by. And so, become yourself because the past is just a goodbye. Teach your children well, their father’s hell did slowly go by. And feed them on your dreams, the one’s they picked, the one’s you’ll know by.” “Teach Your Children” […]
What is Culture?
What is culture, but the way we live — together? Culture is defined by the things we do together, and the ways in which we do them “in the commons.” Some things are accepted, and acceptable. Others aren’t. First we experiment, then we form personal habits which morph into shared customs, then – over time… […]
Madness & The Moon
“The sage points at the moon. The student sees only the finger.” —Taoist Proverb “I don’t wish to go among mad people!” said Alice, “You really can’t help that,” said the Cheshire Cat, “because most everyone is.” — Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) We hold certain virtues and achievements in high […]
Light Emerges from Darkness
“There is a field beyond all notions of right and wrong. Come, meet me there.” — Rumi Sufi Poet and Mystic 1207 – 1273 Lots of people are upset about lots of things — some, with actual reason. On reflection, it seems to come down to being Critical of Ourselves or Critical of Others.
The Hidden Good
“It’s one thing to see the obvious bad in the world. Quite another to discover (or become) the hidden good.” —Robert Thomas Perhaps we’ve stepped through the looking glass, entering a world precisely opposite of that which we truly desire. Honesty is on the ropes. Integrity has taken a break. It may not be the […]
Creating Empty & Full
The Sales & Counselor Selling Series “You must empty a box before you can fill it.” —Irish Proverb Creating Emptiness: The Counselor’s Art
“The Beginning of Wisdom is the Definition of Terms”
—Socrates Greek Philosopher who wrote nothing down but was immortalized in Plato’s dialogues (470-399 BCE) What if there was a discipline, simple really, that would direct our communication practice? Love. One little word. One big question. Whether it’s loving your work, your spouse, that ‘67 Mustang convertible, or even the environment – everyone defines it […]
Poised for Outrage
The Sales & Counselor Selling Series “Don’t understand me so quickly!” –Yul Brynner as Chris in “The Magnificent Seven” Have you noticed that people are “Poised for outrage”? Cutting you off halfway through a sentence? That they see you as “evil incarnate” before they’ve heard your entire premise? Especially when there’s an emotional charge in […]
Things Change
“People change and forget to tell each other.” —Lillian Hellman “He who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy; But he who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity’s sun rise.” —William Blake
What is Counselor SellingSM?
The Sales & Counselor Selling Series “Listen. Serve. Repeat.” —Jennifer StJohn Editor’s Note: If you’re not a salesperson you may be wondering if the ‘Sales & Counselor Selling Series’ applies to you. We suggest Yes! As the series unfolds, consider ways you can apply the concepts to how you conduct your business meetings, your […]
Creating Empty & Full
The Sales & Counselor Selling Series “You must empty a box before you can fill it.” —Irish Proverb Creating Emptiness: The Counselor’s Art It’s not about having something to say, but about having something to accomplish. You looked over that investment with great care, visited the firm, interviewed the management, sampled the product, evaluated […]
Sales and Ethics
The Sales & Counselor Selling Series The word “Sales” can certainly conjure up a myriad of negative images and experiences. Pushy. Aggressive. Someone getting you to buy something you don’t want. Yet “Sales” in its true form, happens every day. For example, we’re selling when we ask the kids to clean their room. We’re selling when we ask […]
Let Your Aim…
The “Back to Basics” Series All world cultures recognize that we have a responsibility to do more than look out for ourselves. The ability to genuinely engage and perhaps influence another human being is truly a gift – which carries grave responsibility – that of service. Reaching for a lofty or even noble purpose demands […]
Walking Your Talk
The “Back to Basics” Series “The neck bone connected to the back bone, The back bone connected to the thigh bone, The thigh bone connected to the knee bone, The knee bone connected to the leg bone, The leg bone connected to the foot bone Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk a-roun’!” Excerpted from “Dem […]
Tearing Ourselves Apart
Disintegrate Definition: 1. To separate into parts or lose intactness or solidness; to break up, deteriorate; 2. To decay; 3. To reduce to particles, fragments or parts; break up or destroy the cohesion of. We have reached a critical point in our cultural evolution where it is standard practice to commit “crimes of the […]
Fish and Privilege
The Ethics Series “A fish examines everything but the water in which it swims.” — Marshall McLuhan We simply aren’t fully aware of the privileged life we live in the office. It’s part of the day to day woof and warp which we cruise through without noticing or thinking about it. Soap? It’s right […]
Asking Too Much?
Asking Too Much? “Stop me if I get shrill!” – Editorial Team Admonition Ethics requires neither an Axe nor a Scale. It simply takes things as they are and seeks continuous incremental improvement. It’s not about “Right or Wrong” but “Optimum.” How can we make this company more functional? How can […]
Broken Compass
“Look Within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will bubble up if thou wilt ever dig!” – Marcus Aurelius The Indications GM, McKinsey, Volkswagen. All part of the international economic firmament; and each one undergoing painful ethics audits and self-evaluation. GM for installing faulty ignition switches implicated in more than sixteen deaths and […]
By Another Door
“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” – William Bruce Cameron “Some answers come not by thinking, but by feeling.” – J. R. StJohn So you’ve come a long way, spent the night in the hotel across the street, put on your serious suit and the killer […]
Instant Karma
“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” -The BeatlesBritish Pop Music Group“The End”From: Abbey RoadApple Records, London,1969George Martin, Producer “What goes around, comes around!” -American Colloquial Phrase “If you wait by the river long enough, you’ll see the body of your enemy floating by.” -Japanese Proverb “Do […]
Tearing Ourselves Apart
Disintegrate Definition: 1. To separate into parts or lose intactness or solidness; to break up, deteriorate. 2. To decay. 3. To reduce to particles, fragments or parts, break up or destroy the cohesion of. We have reached a critical point in our cultural evolution where it is standard practice to commit “crimes of the heart” […]
