Grappling with the Gray

Are we engineering our way toward disaster?

That's the question that drives the conversation when Catherine Fitzgerald, Stewart Wiggins, and K Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray.

Here is our topic:

The tragic air crash of January 29 over Washington, DC, followed two days later by a second crash over Philadelphia, has left us all feeling both heartbroken and decidedly less safe.

According to the Associated Press, National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman expressed frustration that accidents like these occur, noting that the board has made “several hundred” recommendations to improve aviation that have not been acted upon.

Understaffing may have contributed to the disaster. The FAA has long struggled with a shortage of air traffic controllers. Responding to reports that the helicopter was flying 100 feet higher than regulations allow, President Donald Trump declared that diversity initiatives have left air traffic control understaffed and underqualified, thereby compromising air safety.

According to some reports, airlines have indeed lowered standards to meet a pilot shortage. Others argue that the shortage of applicants has nothing to do with DEI. Either way, there does seem to be a looming crisis concerning air travel safety.

And it’s not only pilots. Police, firefighting, healthcare work, and teaching are all facing potential staffing shortages. Reasons include poor pay, unsafe working conditions, and unreasonable demands on the job.

The problem seems obvious, and the potential consequences seem clear. So what are we doing about it? Is it possible that DEI is a contributing factor? Even if it is, is the topic so polarizing that it interferes with our addressing other root causes that won’t be dealt with because of political acrimony?

Meet this week’s panel:

Catherine Fitzgerald is a speaker, writer, certified coach, and founder of BrassTacksWithHeart - Executive Coaching. She works with founders and their leaders as they navigate the choppy waters of aligning people, performance, and profits.

Stewart Wiggins joins us from Paris. He is Chief Advisor at Induna Advisors, working to significantly increase company revenue by developing positive client reports and establishing solid business relationships.

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski is Founder of KSP Partnership, providing project management and project leadership courses and workshops to improve team dynamics and communications.

#ethics 

#culture 

#accountability 

#leadership

When we know what the problem is and we know how to fix it, why isn't it getting fixed?

That's the question that drives the conversation when Sam Ardery, ☘️Mark O'Brien, and Kelly Paxton - Pink Collar Crime Expert join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray.

Here is our topic:

The horror of California wildfires has seized attention all across the country. Over 40,000 acres burned, over 12,000 homes and buildings destroyed, two dozen deaths, families displaced, and lives shattered.

Adding to the tragedy is how many of the homes lost were uninsured. The combination of over-valued real estate in high risk areas and government imposed premium caps compelled many insurance carriers to cancel homeowner policies, in some cases just a week before the fires ravaged the county.

Those seeking to cast blame have pointed to systemic water and forestry mismanagement, as well as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass approving $18 million in cuts to the fire department budget.

What seems not to have been a factor was the government’s policy of diverting water to protect endangered fish. The reports of dumping water into the ocean when it could have been used for agriculture sparked considerable debate earlier this year. But this apparently contributed in no way to the current crisis, despite the claims of Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris reportedly condemned insurance companies for refusing to honor current policies, a claim that seems equally unfounded.

The first order of business is fighting the fires, protecting those in danger, and supporting the victims in rebuilding their lives. After that, however, the question becomes how to prevent future tragedies. Considering how these fires are becoming more and more frequent, why have the root causes not been better addressed? Just as bad, what are we to make of well-intentioned policies that make matters worse?

What drives leaders to ignore the real issues while disseminating misinformation? And what should we be doing about it?

Meet this week’s panel:

Sam Ardery is a national mediator, trial lawyer, consultant, speaker, and author. He teaches negotiation at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law and is author of Positively Conflicted: Engaging with Courage, Compassion and Wisdom in a Combative World.

Mark O’Brien is founder and principal of O’Brien Communications Group, a B2B brand-management and marketing-communications firm — and host of The Anxious Voyage, a syndicated radio show about life’s trials and triumphs.

Kelly Paxton is a Certified Fraud Examiner, former Private Investigator, Professional Speaker, Podcast Host, and author of Embezzlement: How to Prevent, Detect and Investigate Pink-Collar Crime.

#ethics 

#leadership 

#accountability 

#culture 

#mindset

It’s been said that history is written by the winners.
Today, however, history is more likely to be written by ideologues.

This is the issue that drives the discussion when 🟦 Jeff Ikler, S. Scott Mason, and • Sue Tinnish, PhD join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray.

Here is our topic:

On one extreme, self-styled patriots seek to whitewash the human elements of heroic figures by censoring faults and flaws.  On the other extreme, historical revisionists cast heroes as villains and villains as heroes.  Instructors also have to contend with the severely limited time they have to teach the highlights of history to students who struggle to appreciate its relevance to their lives.

One popular biography of Ulysses S. Grant provides depth and texture to a little-studied president.  But the work glosses over Grant’s drinking problem and his culpability for the Whiskey Ring scandal rather than confronting these head on.

Then there’s the 1619 Project, which makes the spurious claim that the United States was founded primarily to perpetuate the institution of slavery.  Trumpeted by the New York Times, it was scorchingly repudiated by an expose in the Atlantic, which questioned whether the architects of the project were merely incompetent or willfully misrepresentative.  And yet it is still taught in many schools.

Granted that history is not fully knowable and subject to multifarious interpretations, what steps can and should we take to provide the most comprehensive and balanced accounts possible to preserve the integrity of our collective past?  And how does our willingness to rewrite the past affect other aspects of our lives?

Meet this week’s panel:

Jeff Ikler is a certified executive career coach. He is director of Quetico Executive Career and Personal Leadership Coaching and co-host of the podcast Getting Unstuck – Educators Leading Change

Scott Mason, aka the Myth Slayer, is a speaker, podcast host, and coach working with executives and entrepreneurs to Magnetize & Monetize Professional Freedom by Dislodging Toxic Myths to Ignite the Charisma Within.

Sue Tinnish is an executive coach, employing a unique blend of soft skills and technical knowledge, as well as a Peer Leaders Group Chair with Vistage Worldwide, Inc.

#ethics 

#education 

#culture 

#accountabililty 

#leadership

Is the long arm of the law too long or not long enough?

That's the question that drives the conversation when the ethics panel convenes with Krista Crawford, Ph.D., MBA, SPHR, Diane Helbig, and Peter Winick to Grapple with the Gray.

Here is our topic:

Last week, Australia made world headlines by passing legislation to ban social media use for children under 16 years old. Many support the intent of the law, which seeks to protect children from the various ills associated with online use, including cyberbullying, invasion of privacy, depression, and addictive behavior.

However, the new law raises a slew of ethical questions. To what degree can platform providers ensure who is or isn’t using their platform? Much of the burden of enforcement will inevitably fall on parents, who may be struggling on many fronts with the stresses of raising teenagers. Would they be subject to prosecution for allowing their own children access?

Is this different from prohibition, or past laws against using marijuana? Libertarians might advocate for removing all such laws, including heroin and prostitution? Does the government have the right to make these kinds of decisions for the people?

Is it ultimately beneficial to pass laws that may be unenforceable? On the one hand, it may drive usage underground and limit it from becoming normalized. On the other hand, doesn’t passing laws likely to be violated undermine general respect for the law?

There’s a certain dark irony in China rigidly limiting access of children to social media and, in particular, TikTok, while providing access to the rest of the world. Do we have to become like China to protect ourselves from China? Or do we simply give in to the inevitable and hope for the best?

Meet this week’s panel:

Krista Crawford is a human resource consultant, adjunct instructor at Virginia Tech and Champlain College, and Group Chair with Vistage Worldwide, Inc.

Diane Helbig is Chief Improvement Catalyzer at Helbig Enterprises, providing guidance and training to business owners and leaders around the world.

Peter Winick works with individuals and organizations to build and grow revenue streams through their thought leadership platforms and is host of the Leveraging Thought Leadership podcast.

Have the critics of Cancel Culture turned on their own?

That's the question that drives the conversation when Deb Coviello The Drop In CEO™, 🟦 Melissa Hughes, Ph.D., and Jolanta Pomiotlo join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray.

Here is our topic:

FOX NFL Sunday’s special in honor of Veteran’s Day unleashed a firestorm of controversy when New York Giants legend and Fox commentator Michael Strahan failed to put his hand on his heart during the National Anthem–although he was standing respectfully throughout.

The son of a 23-year army veteran, Mr. Strahan later explained that he was “caught up in the moment… looking at all these young sailors standing there at attention before the National Anthem played, and I’m thinking to myself how incredible [it is] to be that young.” Friends from all corners have defended him as a patriot.

Nevertheless, in the days that followed, Mr. Strahan has been accused of being unpatriotic, shameful, a disgrace, and hating America, with many have called for him to be fired from his job.

From the time the Pledge of Allegiance was introduced in 1892, etiquette required you to raise your right hand, flip your palm down, and point it toward the flag in a gesture not unlike the Nazi salute. 

With the rise of fascism in Europe, the U.S. Flag Code of 1942 dispensed with the salute and substituted placing the hand over the heart. Almost as an afterthought, the Code included placing that hand over the heart for the National Anthem as well. However, common practice seems more concerned with standing respectfully and less concerned with where you place your hands.

In September, 2007, President Barack Obama was accused of not putting his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance. Fact-checkers rushed to his defense: apparently, he did have his hand over his heart for the Pledge, then lowered it during the National Anthem.

If that was an acceptable answer for the president, why not for Michael Strahan? Have we become hypersensitive since Colin Kaepernick first took a knee rather than standing? Or is this just another case of cancel culture gone amok?

Meet this week’s panel:

Deb Coviello, aka the Drop in CEO, is an author, speaker, podcast host, and silver medalist curler who coaches C-Suite leaders of today and tomorrow to navigate challenges with confidence.

Melissa Hughes is Founder and Principal of the Andrick Group, applying recent brain research to improve employee engagement, company culture, team dynamics, and innovation.

Jolanta Pomiotlo is Vice President of Information Technology for EXSIF Worldwide who manages innovative initiatives aimed at reducing operating costs, improving profit, and growing revenue.

Is having the right words enough, or could it be part of the problem?

That's the question that drives the conversation when Sarah Kalmeta, 🟦 Mark O'Brien, and Kirsten Yurich join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray.

Here is our topic:

For those of us will be grateful when elections are over regardless of who has won or lost, here are a few recent non-partisan headlines.

From Inc.com: Science Says People With High Emotional Intelligence Use This Sentence to Instantly Turn a Painful Argument Into a Productive Conversation

From Your Tango: The Secret Word That Makes Men Commit Almost Instantly, According To A Relationship Expert

From CNBC: Use this perfect 3-word response when someone hurts your feelings

What motivates these kinds of stories? Are they teaching us to employ neuro-linguistic programming to improve the quality of our lives, or are they merely teaching us how to manipulate others?

Do they intend to help us develop our awareness and sensitivity toward other people, or are they quick-fixes so that we don’t have to expend the effort it takes to become genuinely sensitive?

Or maybe they’re nothing more than click-bait.

Sometimes, we need someone to hold our hand and walk us through the step by step until we can do it on our own. Other times, hand-holding becomes a crutch that discourages us from taking responsibility for our own actions and decisions.

Are these types of articles a necessary remediation for a society that has become increasingly needed, or are they contributing to an increasingly shallow and irresponsible culture? And if they are, what’s a better approach?

Meet this week’s panel:

Sarah Kalmeta, aka Sarah the Pivoter, is a speaker, author and relentless truthseeker. She is founder of Pivot Point International, a high performance consulting company.

Mark O’Brien is founder and principal of O’Brien Communications Group, a B2B brand-management and marketing-communications firm — and host of The Anxious Voyage, a syndicated radio show about life’s trials and triumphs.

Kirsten Yurich is an Organizational Performance Management Consultant, Peer Leaders Group Chair with Vistage Worldwide, Inc., and Adjunct Professor of Education at Felician University.

When both sides are wrong, who's right?

That's the question that drives the conversation when Amii Barnard-Bahn, JD, PCC, CCEP, Kimberly Davis, and Mary Beth Molloy join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray.

Here is our topic:

A recent article in Newsweek reported that 83 percent of Gen Z frontline workers are feeling overwhelmed and burnt out, with a third of those considering quitting their jobs.

Earlier this month, however, Forbes, Inc.com, and Euro News all ran stories about employers firing their Gen Z employees. The reasons include lack of motivation, poor communication skills, and lack of commitment to the job.

For their part, younger workers want to feel a sense of purpose at work and want to have a life outside of work.

All of which creates a kind of standoff. As much as we actively promote work-life balance, it appears that many employers from the older generation don’t really appreciate employees who demand it. On the other hand, if our culture is intended to be a meritocracy, why should employers invest in workers who justify their own lack of work ethic because they claim to feel unfulfilled in their jobs?

An ethical culture is built on principled compromise, communication, commitment, and reasonable expectations. Can older employers and younger employees find a way to meet in the middle, or is this a case where the unstoppable force has met the immovable object?

Meet this week’s panel:

Amii Barnard-Bahn is a C-suite Coach & Consultant, specializing in Ethical Workplace Culture and Leadership.

Kimberly Davis is an author, TEDx speaker, and founder of the Brave Leadership University, leading development programs world-wide, around authentic leadership, purpose, presence, and influence.

Mary Beth Molloy is a Certified Executive Coach. She is President of MBM Elevate, CEO Group Chair of Vistage Worldwide, Inc., and national board member of Per Scholas, a nonprofit that provides no-cost technical training to individuals often excluded from tech careers.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. But why?

That's the question that drives the conversation when Catherine Fitzgerald, Steven Smith, and K Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray.

Here is our topic:

One of the underlying principles of ethics is that trust forms the foundation of successful relationships and healthy communities. This simple idea explains why team building exercises have become so popular among HR departments. What it doesn’t explain is why these exercises are so hated among employees.

Unfortunately, some of these activities seem designed to sow discord rather than unity. One reported exercise instructed each member to take a swig of soda then spit it into another member’s mouth. Strangely enough, some employees refused to participate.

Another activity required each person to go around the room and tell everyone else what they didn’t like about them. One participant described the result as cascades of tears and mutual loathing.

And just this past August, an employee was left behind by coworkers hiking in the Colorado mountains and spent the night exposed to high winds and freezing rain before rescue teams found him the next morning.

We all get wacky ideas from time to time, but how do we explain the lack of a vetting process, competent decision-making, and executive accountability that all have to coalesce to produce these kinds of horror stories? And how do we go about fixing a problem that’s so obvious that it shouldn’t be a problem in the first place?

Meet this week’s panel:

Catherine Fitzgerald is a speaker, writer, certified coach, and founder of BrassTacksWithHeart - Executive Coaching. She works with founders and their leaders as they navigate the choppy waters of aligning people, performance, and profits.

Steve Smith is president of Great Castle Partners, Inc, group chair for Vistage Worldwide Inc, and business builder of cloud based, supply chain solutions for distribution and specialty retail industries

Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski is Founder of KSP Partnership, providing project management and project leadership courses and workshops to improve team dynamics and communications.

#ethics #culture #accountability #leadership #grappling

Do two wrongs make a right? How about one-and-a-half wrongs?

That's the question that drives the conversation when Mark Herschberg, Sven Lauch, and Stewart Wiggins join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray.

Here is our topic:

Late last year, a senior German policeman was convicted of threatening a suspect with torture to extract information about the whereabouts of an abducted boy. Wolfgang Daschner received a warning instead of jail time, in addition to a fine of about $18,000.

Although many Germans sided with Daschner for choosing the lesser of two evils, the presiding judge, Barbel Stock, said that, "Respect for human rights is a foundation of our constitutional state ... Information cannot be forced from someone even if one is seeking to avert danger." 

Amnesty International welcomed the verdict, saying it upheld an absolute ban on the use of torture, and Germany's police union said the ruling was understandable. The case has particular resonance in Germany, where the Gestapo and the Stasi routinely trampled on detainees' rights during the Third Reich and under Soviet style government.

Daschner's defense was partly based on his view at the time that the abducted boy might still have been alive, and that the suspect had to be made to talk to find the victim. Tragically, the suspect had already murdered the boy, although he did lead police to the body. The police's interrogation tactics, once they came to light, threatened to derail the trial, although ultimately, the defendant was sentenced to life in prison.

Whether torture is excusable to exact information that might save lives has been a particularly hot topic of debate since 9/11. But what are the ethical angles involved in the threat of torture? 

Meet this week’s panel:

Mark Herschberg is Chief Technology Officer and Chief Product Officer of Zereo.ai. He is a professional speaker and creator of Brain Bump, a free app that helps consumers of non-fiction content better access and retain what they learn.

Sven Lauch comes to us from Plymouth, England. He is Director of Eyes Up Training Limited, which offers a holistic approach to implementing organizational change with emphasis on developing transferable skills that anyone can learn.

Stewart Wiggins joins us from Paris. He is Chief Advisor at Induna Advisors, working to significantly increase company revenue by developing positive client reports and establishing solid business relationships.

#ethics #culture #values #greatergood #grappling

What price do we pay for convenience?

That's the question that drives the conversation when Christopher Bauer, PhD, CSP, CFS, Jennifer H. Elder, CSP, CPA, and Paul Glover join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray.

Here is our topic:

Is Amazon taking over the world? It certainly seems that way, especially after Jeff Bezos bought his half a billion dollar sailing yacht.

I have no problem with people making money honestly and spending it as they wish. But the stories coming out of Amazon are deeply disturbing. Working conditions have been questioned and high turnover is reportedly part of the business plan. Policies make it easy for the customer but prove onerous for retailers, who end up with razor slim profit margins and are seemingly with no option but to comply if they want to compete in the marketplace.

Presumably, these assertions have merit, since the company has been sued by the FTC for antitrust violations and stands accused of bullying partners and vendors.

There are a number of alternatives to online shopping, such as Etsy, bookshop.com, Uncommongoods, and Shopify, as well as online ordering from Costco, Walmart, and Target.

But Amazon is so darn easy and convenient. That’s why I keep using it.

So I’m calling myself out. If I find Amazon’s business conduct odious, do I have any good excuse for using it? Or am I just being lazy?

Meet this week’s panel:

Christopher Bauer is a Speaker, Author, and Consultant on Ethics, Compliance, and Accountability.

Jennifer Elder is a CPA and Certified Speaking Professional who helps leaders future-proof their businesses by making smart decisions and staying ethical.

Paul Glover is the No B.S. Leadership Coach - Guiding Leaders on Their Journey to Their Mountaintop. He is a TEDx speaker and author of Work Quake: Making the Seismic Shift to a "Knowledge Economy"