http://whatwillmatter.com Thoughts on better parenting, teaching, management, and leadership Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:24:27 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Michael Josephson is a noted radio commentator and the founder and president of the nonprofit Josephson Institute of Ethics and CHARACTER COUNTS!. Subscribers and regular visitors to his blog at WhatWillMatter.com will find written and audio versions of radio commentaries, plus quotations, observations, guest articles, videos, images, surveys, and recommendations. Michael Josephson no Michael Josephson snish@jiethics.org snish@jiethics.org (Michael Josephson) Josephson Institute Michael Josephson is a noted radio commentator and the founder and president of the nonprofit Josephson Institute of Ethics and CHARACTER COUNTS!. Subscribers and regular visitors to his blog at WhatWillMatter.com will find written and audio versions of r ethics,character,counts,michael,josephson http://whatwillmatter.com/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://whatwillmatter.com Josephson Instituteethics,character,counts,michael,josephsonSociety & Culture/Personal Journals http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhatWillMatter/~3/aFiXm9Pt1Dk/ http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/worth-seeing-poster-the-end-for-the-caterpillar-is-the-beginning-of-a-butterfly-with-or-without-your-consent-everything-changes-go-with-it-make-the-best-of-it-and-always-remember-the-best-is/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:24:27 +0000 Michael Josephson http://whatwillmatter.com/?p=15794 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/worth-seeing-poster-the-end-for-the-caterpillar-is-the-beginning-of-a-butterfly-with-or-without-your-consent-everything-changes-go-with-it-make-the-best-of-it-and-always-remember-the-best-is/feed/ 0 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/worth-seeing-poster-the-end-for-the-caterpillar-is-the-beginning-of-a-butterfly-with-or-without-your-consent-everything-changes-go-with-it-make-the-best-of-it-and-always-remember-the-best-is/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhatWillMatter/~3/JTXhJUrYU0c/ http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/observation-some-people-brighten-a-room-when-they-enter-it-others-when-they-leave-which-are-you/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:29:19 +0000 Michael Josephson http://whatwillmatter.com/?p=15788 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/observation-some-people-brighten-a-room-when-they-enter-it-others-when-they-leave-which-are-you/feed/ 0 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/observation-some-people-brighten-a-room-when-they-enter-it-others-when-they-leave-which-are-you/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhatWillMatter/~3/xZTGcCPimzg/ http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/worth-seeing-poster-there-are-always-obstacles-and-hazards-on-the-road-to-achievement-and-fulfillment-they-might-make-us-fearful-and-slow-us-down-but-fear-and-adversity-can-stop-us-only-if-we-s/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:46:52 +0000 Michael Josephson http://whatwillmatter.com/?p=15784 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/worth-seeing-poster-there-are-always-obstacles-and-hazards-on-the-road-to-achievement-and-fulfillment-they-might-make-us-fearful-and-slow-us-down-but-fear-and-adversity-can-stop-us-only-if-we-s/feed/ 0 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/worth-seeing-poster-there-are-always-obstacles-and-hazards-on-the-road-to-achievement-and-fulfillment-they-might-make-us-fearful-and-slow-us-down-but-fear-and-adversity-can-stop-us-only-if-we-s/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhatWillMatter/~3/v5c-gbhqRO4/ http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/quote-people-who-dont-believe-in-you-are-right-only-if-you-believe-them-michael-josephson/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:43:03 +0000 Michael Josephson http://whatwillmatter.com/?p=15782 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/quote-people-who-dont-believe-in-you-are-right-only-if-you-believe-them-michael-josephson/feed/ 0 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/quote-people-who-dont-believe-in-you-are-right-only-if-you-believe-them-michael-josephson/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhatWillMatter/~3/MNHMn3uKpUA/ http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/the-illusion-of-success-761-1/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:22:38 +0000 Josephson Institute http://whatwillmatter.com/?p=15777 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/the-illusion-of-success-761-1/feed/ 0 A common management strategy to spur achievement is to set aggressive performance objectives that, like the mechanical rabbits that pace racing greyhounds, push employees to maximum effort. Using "stretch goals" can be successful, A common management strategy to spur achievement is to set aggressive performance objectives that, like the mechanical rabbits that pace racing greyhounds, push employees to maximum effort. Using "stretch goals" can be successful, but unreasonably high performance goals often spawn dishonesty and irresponsibility. Believing that "it's a matter of survival," a disturbing number of employees conclude that distortion, deception, and even outright falsification of numbers are justified to keep their jobs and earn their bonuses. As a result, almost everyone seems to reach their stretch goals, and management congratulates itself on generating an unbroken string of double-digit growth. Organizational audits conducted by the Josephson Institute reveal that a high percentage of employees who feel pressured to achieve ever-escalating numerical goals ignore or defer problems and manipulate or falsify reports to help them "hit their numbers." The deceptive accounting tactics that caused a collapse of trust in Wall Street and the mortgage industry illustrate one coping strategy called "backing into the numbers." Look, pressure is no excuse for cheating, but it is a frequent cause. Responsible management needs to take into account the propensity of employees to tell them what they want to hear. There's nothing wrong with aggressive growth and profit goals, but if organizations do not place an even higher value on character in their hiring, training, promotion, compensation, and discipline practices, all they will achieve is the illusion of success. This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.   Michael Josephson no 1:37 ethics,character,counts,michael,josephsonhttp://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/the-illusion-of-success-761-1/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhatWillMatter/~3/h9xs1TI-LWM/ http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/worth-seeing-poster-pretty-isnt-beauty-pretty-is-how-you-look-beauty-is-who-you-are-pretty-is-in-the-face-and-body-beauty-is-in-the-heart-mind-and-soul-pretty-fades-beauty-grows/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:12:02 +0000 Michael Josephson http://whatwillmatter.com/?p=15768 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/worth-seeing-poster-pretty-isnt-beauty-pretty-is-how-you-look-beauty-is-who-you-are-pretty-is-in-the-face-and-body-beauty-is-in-the-heart-mind-and-soul-pretty-fades-beauty-grows/feed/ 0 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/worth-seeing-poster-pretty-isnt-beauty-pretty-is-how-you-look-beauty-is-who-you-are-pretty-is-in-the-face-and-body-beauty-is-in-the-heart-mind-and-soul-pretty-fades-beauty-grows/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhatWillMatter/~3/XHM2gv7G3To/ http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/theres-no-such-thing-as-business-ethics-760-5/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:28:35 +0000 Josephson Institute http://whatwillmatter.com/?p=15763 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/theres-no-such-thing-as-business-ethics-760-5/feed/ 3 Some years ago, a senior executive at a Fortune 100 company objected when I asserted that corporations have an ethical, as well as a legal obligation to keep promises and honor their contracts. He said that the decision to live up to or ignore contract... Some years ago, a senior executive at a Fortune 100 company objected when I asserted that corporations have an ethical, as well as a legal obligation to keep promises and honor their contracts. He said that the decision to live up to or ignore contractual commitments is a business decision, not an ethical one. The other party has legal remedies, he said, and therefore responsible managers have a duty to evaluate whether it's in the company's best interest to honor or breach contracts. The decision should be based on a simple cost/benefit analysis. Ethics has nothing to do with it. Disturbingly common, this claim of moral immunity is based on the erroneous idea that in business the only thing to consider is self-interest. The theory that expediency, not ethics, should control decision making flourishes because many people compartmentalize their lives into personal and business domains, assuming each is governed by different standards of ethics. In business, the argument goes, ethical principles are simply factors to be taken into account; they're not moral obligations. As a result, fundamentally good people who would never lie, cheat or break a promise in their personal lives delude themselves into thinking that they can properly do so in business. Nonsense! There's no such thing as "business ethics" -- there's only ethics. Fundamental standards of right and wrong like trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and good citizenship do not become irrelevant when we enter the workplace. And it doesn't matter how many people think otherwise.  Remember, ethics is not a description of the way people actually behave. It's a prescription for how they ought to behave. This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts. Michael Josephson no 1:30 ethics,character,counts,michael,josephsonhttp://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/theres-no-such-thing-as-business-ethics-760-5/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhatWillMatter/~3/DuYijmnvgWo/ http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/commentary-760-4-surviving-grief-and-tragedy-the-spark-within/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:32:46 +0000 Michael Josephson http://whatwillmatter.com/?p=15755 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/commentary-760-4-surviving-grief-and-tragedy-the-spark-within/feed/ 4 courage,fortitude,grief,hope,inner strength,spark within,tragedy Here’s the bad news: - Virtue isn't a golden ticket to a pain-free life. Bad things happen to good people as often as they happen to bad people. - It seems unfair, but in the natural order of the world, suffering is random. Here’s the bad news: Virtue isn't a golden ticket to a pain-free life. Bad things happen to good people as often as they happen to bad people. It seems unfair, but in the natural order of the world, suffering is random. To expect otherwise is to sentence oneself to despondency, disillusionment, bitterness, and anger. Here’s the good news: The magic power that comes with our humanity isn’t a shield protecting us from misfortune but an inner strength that helps us deal with it, overcome it, and learn from it so we can still find love, laughter, and joy despite it. At our darkest moments, we can't see and often don't believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes we think the tunnel is our life. This is when we need to have faith in our inner strength and summon the moral courage to find the spark within that, with just a puff of hope, will become a flame bright enough to show us the way out. But what can we do if despair is feeding on the soul of someone we love? We can’t carry their burdens or make their pain or grief go away, but we can be a friend so they don’t suffer or grieve alone. Simply by being there – with a shared tear, a kind hug, or an outstretched hand – we can be a living answer to despair’s dark question: “How can I go on?” In the midst of despair, being reminded that tomorrow is another day provides no comfort because it’s hard to believe tomorrow will be any better. But it will be. Tomorrow is the doorway to the future, and that’s where we’ll live the rest of our lives. This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts. Michael Josephson no 1:32 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/commentary-760-4-surviving-grief-and-tragedy-the-spark-within/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhatWillMatter/~3/twBKexw6sGQ/ http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/quote-ralph-waldo-emerson-urged-us-to-find-the-spark-within-what-lies-behind-us-and-what-lies-before-us-are-tiny-matters-compared-to-what-lies-within-us/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:22:08 +0000 Michael Josephson http://whatwillmatter.com/?p=15753 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/quote-ralph-waldo-emerson-urged-us-to-find-the-spark-within-what-lies-behind-us-and-what-lies-before-us-are-tiny-matters-compared-to-what-lies-within-us/feed/ 0 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/quote-ralph-waldo-emerson-urged-us-to-find-the-spark-within-what-lies-behind-us-and-what-lies-before-us-are-tiny-matters-compared-to-what-lies-within-us/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhatWillMatter/~3/NFbu1nADjgw/ http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/worth-seeing-poster-if-you-are-not-loved-for-who-you-truly-are-you-are-not-truly-loved-michael-josephson/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:37:13 +0000 Michael Josephson http://whatwillmatter.com/?p=15745 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/worth-seeing-poster-if-you-are-not-loved-for-who-you-truly-are-you-are-not-truly-loved-michael-josephson/feed/ 0 http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/02/worth-seeing-poster-if-you-are-not-loved-for-who-you-truly-are-you-are-not-truly-loved-michael-josephson/ Michael JosephsonnonadultMichael Josephson is a noted radio commentator and the founder and president of the nonprofit Josephson Institute of Ethics and CHARACTER COUNTS!. Subscribers and regular visitors to his blog at WhatWillMatter.com will find written and audio versions of r