June 11, 2003
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-- 25 Trends That Will Change the Way You Do Business
-- Integrity and Ethics Survey Results
-- Sharing Values, Judging Negatively
-- Managing the Generation Mix(tm)
-- A few truths about truths
-- Competency ID was never easier!
-- Testing and Assessments: An Employer's Guide to Best Practices
-- Rule #1 of good employee behavior - Show up for work!
-- Stop Guessing, Start Knowing - August 20, 2003 at The Lancaster Chamber
-- Pocket Guides for Managers As Low as $9.95
-- What is Your Interviewing IQ

How uncanny! On the eve of the release of our "Report on Integrity and Ethics", the longtime chairman and CEO of Freddie Mac, the president and COO, and the CFO were asked to step aside. Why? Lack of "cooperation and candor" and "management misjudgements"!

Don't miss reading survey respondents viewpoints on holding back information. And remember - this was taken before the Freddie Mac firings and resignations.

Don't miss the 25 Trends That Will Change the Way You Do Business as published in Workforce Magazine, June 2003.

Don't miss Trend #16 - Ira S. Wolfe, editor of The Total View and founder of Success Performance Solutions looked into his crystal ball and talked to Todd Raphael, online editor of Workforce about mergers.

25 Trends That Will Change the Way You Do Business
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>From e-mail to health care, and from artificial intelligence to the end of HR as we know it, here are forecasts of how different the world of workforce management will be 10 years from now.

To read 25 Trends that will change your business, click here.

Integrity and Ethics Survey Results
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The next time you are sitting between two other co- workers or two friends, look to your right and look to your left.

Assuming you believe yourself to be honest, ethical and live your life by the highest moral standards, you may find, based on our recent Integrity and Ethics survey, that one of your two cohorts may be less credible than you would like and expect.

Our survey concluded at noon on June 10, 2003. We had 203 respondents complete the survey - anonymously and confidentially - over a two week period. There was no reason for respondents to lie, or fake good, other than to fool themselves that they were better than they really are. Of course, the flip side of this is also true. There was no reason for anyone to do what we call 'faking bad", or being harder on themselves than necessary. Based on this assumption, we believe the results to be a true reflection of how people are responding to difficult choices in the workplace.

A summary of the results follows and by clicking on the link below you can view the complete survey.

Who can you trust? Excluding yourself, one out of two other people!

One of the most striking conclusions was that it appears to be difficult for many people to keep a secret. When asked if he or she "shared with someone information that was told must be confidential", 35 percent said yes! So much for keeping a secret.

For those 65 percent who kept the information in confidence, we would like to think that they do so out of respect for the source, whether it be their friend, colleague or boss. But when asked if they ever " held back information that was important because they didn't think it was their position to say something", 63 percent said yes.

If this trend is accurate, individuals who keep information confidential may not be doing so out of integrity but because they don't want to be the bearer of bad news or the whistleblower. This paradoxically raises the question of ethics and values. If you withhold information for whatever reason that might be valuable to someone or the organization, is this a breach of integrity or ethics?

A Dog-eat-Dog world. Well, one-third of the respondents admitted to withholding important information "because saying something might risk my position or injure my reputation with colleagues." This was somewhat confirmed when 29 percent admitted to playing hard even if it meant someone else might look bad." When it comes down to protecting oneself verses winning one for the Gipper, apparently winning at all costs triumphs for at least 34 percent of the people who admitted to "holding back information because saying something might risk their position or injure their reputation". As I said earlier, if it's not you, then one of two of your closest colleagues may not be there to catch you when you need them the most.

Life is full of difficult choices. Standing up for what is right or defending a controversial viewpoint takes guts. Standing up for your principles apparently isn't that important for 28 percent of the people. They chose "just doing their job" to doing what's right when asked if they have ever "justified a difficult decision because they were just doing their job although they knew the decision was wrong".

That is all fine and good I guess unless it's a job they don't want to do. Then it's okay to pass the buck. Twenty percent of the respondents admitted to "having used someone else to do a difficult task to avoid personal embarrassment or confrontation."

Have you ever embellished the truth to be heard or sell an idea? We all know people who do. Eventually you learn to take what they say with a grain of salt. Whatever they try to sell you then becomes too good to be true or the advice screams Chicken Little. Even when their advice is good and accurate, you don't endorse it. The result is that you bypass good opportunities or ignore warning signs of imminent danger.

Fifty-three percent have made statements that pushed their viewpoint to an extreme just to make a point. How extreme? Twenty-nine percent embellished the facts to make a sale or get their point across. Hmmm. When does selling cross the line into "nothing personal, it's just business?"

For complete details on the Integrity and Ethics report, click below.

Click here to see the complete results of the Integrity and Ethics Survey.

Sharing Values, Judging Negatively
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Although we like to - and do - attach value to each of the situations presented in the Integrity and Ethics Survey, the truth is that there are no right or wrong answers. It is individual viewpoints that places positive value on everyday choices and judges other negatively.

Every organization is trying or at least thinking about trying to develop a code of ethics. But trying to define integrity and ethics within any organization is as much a virtuous activity as a formidable challenge. Establishing your cardinal rules for conducting business without fully understanding individual value systems and how they drive individual behaviors is foolhardy and risky.

For example, team playing is all the buzz these days. Recruitment is focused on finding individuals who will work for the good of the organization. But a mixed message by senior management often times is "play hard" and do what it takes to bring home the business.

How hard is hard? If a customer agrees to your price but you know it's more than it needs to be, do you offer a discount or refund? Is preserving a large profit margin "just business" or is getting what the market will bear unethical or dishonest? Whichever choice you make, nearly 50 percent of the population will view your decision as possibly lacking integrity and ethics.

Understanding values starts here. Contact us today.

Managing the Generation Mix(tm)
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Are you managing age diversity? Understand the four generations in the workplace today - each at different life stages, ech with conflicting perspectives, expectations, and needs. Learn best practices to foster understanding, leverage strengths, avoid clashes, improve productivity, and maximize teamwork. Turn diversity into a strategic advantage.

Managing the Generation Mix is a complete, customizable, off-the-shelf training program based on the principles contained in Bruce Tulgan and Dr. Carolyn A. Martin's popular book. Pricing includes an unlimited license and the following training materials on a single CD-R: