Ethics-To-Go©
This presentation targets what seems to be generally lacking in our lives. Those of us in business, or the professions, know how little time is actually devoted to the pursuit, understanding and practical application of ethical principles to our relationships and transactions. In fact, in the professions, mandatory continuing education allocates but the tiniest fraction of time in pursuit of educating their members in sound ethical behavior. Yet, a strong ethical foundation is required in order to create, maintain and even repair healthy, successful, long-term relationships whether professionally or personally.
Ethics-To-Go© presents 7 ethical principles and explores the meaning and application of each. The 7 principles are:
1. Honoring is acknowledging and respecting both yourself and others.
2. Trusting is seeing the other in the most favorable light by allowing others the benefit of the doubt before we judge and, prematurely, react.
3. Suffering is understanding that it’s a “team sport” and that whenever harmony moves into disharmony, everyone suffers, even if they do it by different means.
4. Listening is being open to the spoken and unspoken words, actions, and needs of others.
5. Composting is taking the negative aspects of your experiences and providing them with adequate “light” or understanding in order to turn them into fertile soil, in which you can plant new seeds for the future of your relationships.
6. Releasing is knowing and accepting when growth (expansion) has ceased, and at that point being able to honor progress without perfection.
7. Valuing is the expression of gratitude for the good in your life and realistically assessing what it would cost in economic and non-economic terms to replace it.
The Ethics-To-Go© system is summarized with one sentence that acts as a reminder to help easily recall and apply the 7 Ethical Principles to everyday professional and personal interactions. The sentence is:
How True Service Lastingly Creates Real Vitality
The key, or mnemonic, can be found by taking the first letter of each of the 7 words in the sentence to recall the underlying Principle: For example, H for Honoring, T for Trusting, etc.
True service, devoting your energies to the needs of something or someone outside of yourself, is the one certain and most expeditious path to achieving success, satisfaction and peace of mind in both work and relationships.