| Do you consider your organization to be ethical? | | | | statement that excites and empowers other |
| Many organizations have a moral foundation that | | | | employees. To be successful, the social good must |
| enables them to make ethically sound decisions even | | | | be presented in a way that creates a sense of honor |
| when faced with adverse short-term consequences. | | | | and dignity (i.e., fair process). It must also cause |
| However, as has recently been seen on Wall Street | | | | people to naturally visualize themselves as having the |
| and in other places (e.g., Toyota) too many | | | | same personal standards and commitment as the |
| organizations are quick to put immediate economic | | | | positive deviants (i.e., positive visualization). When |
| gain before ethics. While the unethical actions may be | | | | these occur, people quickly embrace the positive |
| expedient, they ultimately contaminate both the | | | | deviants' perspectives, improving the ethics of the |
| employees and the organization. Maintaining high | | | | entire organization. |
| ethical standards is the only way to produce | | | | 3. Sustain Ethics |
| sustainable success. | | | | Next, ensure that the commitment to ethics is |
| Do you want your organization to be consistently | | | | sustainable, even in the face of contrary pressures. |
| ethical? Using recent scientific breakthroughs, it is | | | | True ethical behavior is profound and long term. It is |
| now possible to efficiently enhance the ethics of | | | | a way of doing business that is so engrained in the |
| almost any organization. A simple process of setting a | | | | organization that people cannot imagine functioning |
| goal and then motivating, sustaining, and scaling | | | | any other way. |
| ethical behaviors has produced numerous success | | | | The most effective means of generating this depth |
| stories like these:o Pharmacy managers in a large | | | | of commitment comes from the neuroscience |
| retail chain think of themselves as "a critical part of | | | | principle "neurons that fire together wire together." All |
| the family emergency response system," going out | | | | profound learning is a change to the underlying neural |
| of their way to ensure that their patients get the | | | | structure of the brain that occurs when neurons fire |
| correct medicines and care (instead of just selling | | | | together around consistent concepts. If the concepts |
| prescriptions).o Sales people in an advertising firm | | | | are focused around the positive deviant ethics, new |
| that serves small and medium businesses see | | | | learning occurs that can be so complete that people |
| themselves as "helping customers achieve their | | | | do not even recognize they were ever any other |
| personal life goals" (instead of just selling advertising). | | | | way. |
| So how can an organization create the ethical | | | | What makes neurons fire together? The key to |
| foundation that inspires this type of response? | | | | achieve this organizational depth is simple -- practice, |
| 1. Set the Bar | | | | practice, practice. Everything the organization does |
| First, use your organization's "positive deviants" to | | | | needs to exercise and reinforce the mental |
| establish a clear, specific standard of ethical values, | | | | commitment to ethics. |
| attitudes and behaviors. Positive deviants are highly | | | | 4. Scale Ethics |
| respected individuals who are consistent top | | | | Finally, engage a critical mass of the organization |
| performers and can typically be identified simply by | | | | quickly to ensure that ethics pervades all aspects of |
| asking management who stands out. They model the | | | | the organization and becomes a true reflection of the |
| ideal ethical attitudes and best practices all others | | | | organization as a whole. At the same time, individuals |
| should achieve and are therefore the primary | | | | must display ethical behaviors in ways that are unique |
| creators and preservers of an organization's ethics. | | | | to their function and personality. |
| Positive deviants are motivated by a commitment to | | | | Persuasive technology -- technology designed to |
| ethically creating a "social good" for their customers | | | | "change what people believe and do" -- that |
| and for their organization. | | | | incorporates the principle of mass customization can |
| 2. Motivate Ethics | | | | facilitate widespread commitment to an organization's |
| Second, guide all personnel to firmly embrace the goal | | | | ethics. Because this type of technology can touch |
| of ethically achieving the positive deviant's social | | | | many people simultaneously, individuals function more |
| good. When a positive deviant's social good, or the | | | | ethically and the organization as a whole builds a |
| inspiration behind their work, is presented to others in | | | | lasting foundation for ethical behavior. |
| an empowering manner, it can be contagious for an | | | | Contributing to Success |
| organization. It naturally and organically spreads the | | | | The notion of an ethical organization may seem |
| commitment to the social good, and its ethical | | | | abstract, yet people who work in an organization |
| foundation, quickly and efficiently. | | | | with healthy ethics absolutely know it. They love |
| More specifically, once a strong understanding of the | | | | their work, and they ultimately create better, more |
| positive deviants' social good has been established, it | | | | successful institutions. |
| can be packaged into a short, emotionally powerful | | | | |