integrity Archives - Dennis E. Gilbert

15
Apr 21
-

Bad Behavior That Works Often Multiplies

Tags : advantage bad behavior ethics integrity rewards

Is bad behavior embraced, and then multiplies? It happens, and it may be happening right now, all around you.

When a well-meaning manager sets a metric and starts to measure it, what happens? If the metric is within reach and within bounds, things may start to improve. Is there a cost connected with the improvement?

Nearly everything has a cost, a pro and con, something good and something that is a price to be paid for the goodness.

Metrics and Measurement

Pushing towards the metric is a good idea. Pushing too hard can start to threaten the ethics and integrity of the person or team.

A metric pushed too hard is often identifiable through two possible outcomes. One outcome is that people start to jump ship. The pot of water is too hot and they jump out. Another possibility is that they’ll find a way to bend the rules.

Of course, a third possibility is that they will improve their performance, that they’ll stay within the boundaries and continue with an honest pursuit.

The challenge often circles back to what is the cost? Part of the equation is also connected to the potential reward.

Bad Behavior Rewarded

It isn’t always intentional. Sometimes it is the belief that everyone is doing it.

This became painfully obvious in 2019 with a widespread college admissions scandal. A pay-to-play advantage that was outside of the rules. Was everyone doing it? No. Were some doing it successfully? Yes. Was it cheating? Absolutely.

When bad behavior is rewarded or connected to enough of an advantage to be viewed as worth the risk, someone will sign up for it.

Bad behavior often creates the illusion of a performance advantage. Drugs in sports and shady business deals quickly come to mind.

It can go deeper. In private business people often have an opportunity to build the business through relationships. It is the, “I’ll scratch your back, you scratch mine.” Other people sometimes call this the, “Good olde boy network.”

If it is private, it’s private. However, when it is government funded it may bring on a whole new twist.

Behavior that has been done in the past doesn’t mean that it is good behavior. Behavior that works to get the job done also may have ethical or legal challenges.

Size up the behavior for good and bad. Size it up for ethics, legal, and integrity.

Reward only the behavior that stays within the bounds.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

23
Mar 21
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Right Thing Costs, They Too, Add Up

Tags : costs discipline integrity long-term costs short-term gain

Doing the right thing costs. It also has value. There is a tricky intersection between doing the right thing and doing something that satisfies the circumstances right now.

If you decide to eat an ice cream cone, you may be making a trade-off between the pleasure and good taste of the sugary snack and the calories ingested beyond what you’ll use. Those excess calories go somewhere and there is a cost associated with it.

It is true for most things. More isn’t always better and sometimes neither is having immediate gratification. What delights at the moment may have a price to be paid later.

In part, this is why discipline matters. Having the discipline and integrity to sacrifice some simple pleasures that ultimately become a painful cost later.

It is true in life, in business, and it is true for your career.

Right Thing Costs

When an employee is empowered enough to make a decision that affects the customer, the decision has a price.

It may be easy to give an angry customer a replacement order of french fries when the original order was unsatisfactory. It is not so easy to change the color of a house roof when the customer’s idea of brown was several shades different from the nearly black shingles that were installed.

The french fries are low cost and the complications of dissatisfaction are only typically felt for the short-term. The house roof, of course, has a much longer shelf life and a much higher cost. The complications are much greater.

What is the right thing to do?

Everything has a cost. Some costs are short-term and satisfy the immediate, other costs feel harder to absorb but in the long run, make up for the feeling of loss.

Future Vision

The difference is often established in the vision.

Is the business owner trying to make a quick dollar and sell off, or is the business owner in it to earn a decent living and build a long-term business that will last for generations?

Employees aren’t really much different. Does the employee visualize working there for many years, or is it a stepping stone to get in, grab what you can, and get out?

What is your vision of the right thing? What is the timeline for that right thing?

Both matter and both will determine exactly what happens next.

Doing the right thing isn’t always about the price paid right now. Often, it has a close relationship with the price you’ll pay later.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

18
Aug 20
-

Friendly Competition, Is It Really Friendly?

Tags : competition culture friendly integrity rules

Are you up for a little friendly competition? Will everyone play by the rules?

In the workplace, sales teams will sometimes do this.

Who is having the best day, week, or month in sales? Sell the most and you win a trip, get a special parking spot, or maybe you receive a nice bonus.

It works for other areas too. Safety records, attendance, or any key performance indicators that are measured for improvement.

A little friendly competition can certainly be motivating, challenging, and break new ground. It can spice things up and achieve some great results.

Is friendly competition truly friendly or are there rule-breakers, guideline manipulators, and short-cut takers?

Would you consider that to be part of the competition?

Friendly Competition

The desire to compete, to win, to prove excellence or highest performance motivates many.

Competition can also invite pressure, the pressure for greater performance or to get recognized as above average.

Pressure might imply pushing. Getting pushed, being pushed, or risking it all for victory.

We often use the word push. Push harder, do more, get better, or stronger. Conceptually, pull is a better method.

When the pressure to achieve becomes so overwhelming a win at all costs might develop. Sometimes, people believe they need to risk it all to achieve.

They try short-cuts, end runs, and they may try to cheat.

Cheating isn’t friendly competition. It shouldn’t be part of the process.

Your highest integrity and most loyal team members won’t sacrifice their character or reputation by resorting to cheating. Unless of course, the possibility of better results outweighs the risk of getting caught.

Competition and cheating have been around for a long time.

Do you want a culture of integrity?

When you start the competition, what will be the rules? How will the rules be monitored and enforced?

Promoting competition with “no rules” means you may be weakening the integrity of your organzation.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

20
Jan 20
-

Winning Vision for the Work You Do

Tags : ethics integrity leadership vision workplace culture

Nearly everyone believes they have a winning vision. Except for those who willingly admit that they really don’t have a vision at all.

Organizational or career vision often comes in two distinct flavors. Short-term or long-term. Sure, there are variants of either and some visionary behaviors may exist somewhere in the middle.

What is your vision and is it winning?

Short-term vision

On the short-term side people strive to win at all costs and do it as quickly as possible.

They’re often looking for the shortcut, the corners to cut, and the fast track. This angle exists, sometimes, but it also has residues or side effects from the behavior that drives it. Often, it is analyzed (or scrutinized) through the continuum of ethics.

More pressure driven by short-term goals or immediate gratification push people towards the high-risk side of ethical behavior. Trust is tested or harmed and the underground climate often appears more corrupt than it does transparent.

Long-term Vision

The other side of course, is a longer-term path. This path also recognizes the constraints of time, but on this path, time is viewed as more of an asset than it is an expense.

This scenario often wins because it is more patient and calculated with less irresponsible risk. Urgency is as much about doing things right as it as about how long it takes.

This climate is typically well respected and is tastefully seasoned with integrity.

Winning Vision

Fifty-two sprints are not equal to a marathon. The thought may be, what we can do fast must be better than what we can endure.

It’s unlikely.

The vision you have for your career, your team, or the entire organization will have outcomes based on the cultural aspects created by leadership.

How do you apply cultural values to your vision?

You can lead. There is still room for more leadership.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

23
Oct 19
-

Workplace Quick Study and the Factor of Time

Tags : acceleration ethics fast results integrity quick study

Have you ever been a workplace quick study? Have you witnessed fast-trackers, corner cutters, or a minion at work? Could any of these apply to you or someone you know?

Successful workplace performance often depends on the metric. How is the performance measured? Is it a straight forward objective measurement such as sales revenue per month, or is more subjective such as, “Ensure the team is bought-in for change.”

Almost always, measurement and metrics connect with time. Time is a constant for everyone. As such, efficiency, productivity, and even success are often measured across time.

When the measurement or expectation creates enough pressure for performance people start to look for ways to improve, or taken too far, they try to beat the system.

You Can’t Beat the System

When the demand for financial performance in the board room gets too intense, executives contemplate ethical and integrity decisions. Risk versus reward, or survive for a little longer versus revealing the reality.

If the small non-profit encounters extreme financial pressures, the Executive Director or internal accounting person may look for creative ways to channel the money.

In worse case scenarios, a person in charge of oversight for business finances who also faces personal financial struggles considers risks that are beyond legal boundaries. Theft, fraud, and deception charges may follow.

Time is the constant. Most measurement is working against the pressure of time.

Workplace Quick Study

These simple principles apply to the workplace quick study too. There are not any shortcuts. Patience is what prevails.

The next time you’re looking for ways to beat the system, change the pace of political currents, or cut corners remember that there is an opposite force.

Often the fast-tracker, corner cutter, or minion appear to exceed expectations until time catches up with them.

A quick study isn’t about cutting corners or violating ethics and integrity. It is about more hard work, more of the time.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

02
Aug 19
-

Good Deals Should Be For Your Best Customers

Tags : customer service good deals integrity sales selling

How are you treating your best customers? Are they acknowledged through cleverly branded rewards programs? Are they getting good deals?

How are repeat customers treated as compared with the on-boarding of new customers?

Switch your lease from one car brand to a different car brand and you’ll get a discount.

Sign up for cable or satellite television and we’ll give you a lower bill for 12 months.

Why do some businesses feel the need to punish their best and most loyal customers by offering better deals to brand new customers?

About the Data

Data driven analysis and decisions are certainly valuable. Data driven decisions are also sometimes supported by assumptions.

The existing customer base will continue to spend as much this quarter as they did last quarter.

Our best customers can afford to pay a higher margin.

Our high-volume customers will never notice.

While this may seem silly, almost ridiculous, it is a popular path for many businesses. The quest for growth or the quest to stop the bleeding allow assumption-based leadership decisions to punish the best customers.

Who Cares?

There is at least one other assumption. The assumption that the customer doesn’t care.

Just smile and talk really nice, ask about their children, grandchildren, or pets. Chat it up a bit. It isn’t their money.

Have them use their corporate credit card. Remind them that they get personal points on dollars spent.

We could certainly bring up integrity and ethics, but many believe that is just the way corporate America rolls. It all works, until it doesn’t.

Good Deals

Like many things in life and in society, someone is paying. Free stuff or free deals are sometimes good for one party while a different party is paying.

Are you truly appreciating and rewarding your best customers, or are they being punished?

Who is really paying?

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

22
Jul 19
-

Are You Working Today?

Tags : ethics integrity motivation teamwork winning

Life is about choices. Often so is the work that we do. If you are working today, what is your motivation?

In the United States sports are big business. One sport or another many people show up to cheer on a team or curse an opponent.

We see it in many places, American Football, Soccer, Baseball, and even various forms of Motorsports.

Have you stopped to think about, “What is the goal?”

Often it is the collective enthusiasm of beating the opponent, the competition, or winning the championship.

What is the talk in the locker room? Do you think anyone in professional sports is talking about how they will lose?

Are they talking about the controversy among the team? The mistake from two weeks ago? How a couple of seasons ago there was a bad decision?

Unlikely, unless they have a twist on those aspects to increase motivation.

Working Today?

Your job and the work that you contribute to may be similar to professional sports. Are you arriving with a plan to win?

Today I’m going to close the sale.

Let’s be sure to ship 150 packages today.

Let’s build today without any mistakes or errors. Total quality.

One aspect that is always true about sports and our work, winning today (short run) is important but winning the championship (long run) is a collection of on-going wins.

Employees cannot sacrifice integrity just to win the game.

Maintain Integrity

Closing the sale in the system in the final hours of the day with the hope that the customer will buy tomorrow doesn’t work.

Throwing a few extra packages on the truck that will ultimately be refused at the customer site isn’t winning.

Fudging a little on quality to say, “We finished it, ship it.” will come back to harm your future reputation.

Are you working today?

Go do work that matters, work you are proud of, and work that will win the championship.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

09
Jan 19
2

Digital Age Stereotypes and The Challenge for Integrity

Tags : digital age integrity risk stereotypes

How do you manage cold calls? Do you take them? Ever? Do you know who is on the other end of the call? What is the opportunity cost? Have digital age stereotypes contributed the challenge of sales or integrity?

Recently, I spoke with a client about the aspect of selling consulting or training services through cold calling. We chuckled a bit about how things have changed across the years. Things are much different now.

Digital Age Stereotypes

Once upon a time there wasn’t caller ID, there wasn’t voicemail, and it seemed like there was more time to politely address callers. Any caller.

Today it is the agony, I believe, that keeps us away from answering cold calls. The agony of trained callers who are not permitted to accept “No,” as an answer. They just keep pushing, and so it is easier to avoid the call.

It’s a stereotype. “All callers we don’t know are pushy sales people.”

Challenge for Integrity

Put up a website, create an eBay store, or sell on Amazon. There are basically not any rules of engagement or integrity.

If the website looks decent, and the content is compelling, we may buy. If the picture of the eBay item looks reasonable and there is evidence of a “good seller” we may place a bid.

Amazon is selling lots of product that never makes it to a retail shelf. We can argue that is good. It means more opportunity.

We can also argue that it is bad because what is being sold may be junk.

Social media channels are broadcasting get rich quick schemes, work from home and make easy money, or try this new diet with our eight-week meal plan.

Integrity and Risk

Digital age stereotypes have extended our feeling of risk.

It is true for the job seekers (and employers) who find themselves buried in the pool of thousands of candidates. It is true for the unknown caller, and it is true for the online shopper.

Remember, it may be a new age, but your integrity at every level still matters. Build a good brand.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

07
Jan 16
-

3 Leadership Traits For Every Generation

Tags : communication generational differences honesty integrity leadership

If you believe great leaders are made, and not born, then you probably would also quickly agree that leadership is about choice. Choice would include a decision to constantly hone and develop your knowledge, skills, and abilities to demonstrate a greater leadership presence. While there are many skills that exemplify leadership and while in practice a very broad skillset may be necessary to tackle the demands of being a high performing leader, there are at least three that are universal for any leader of any workplace generation.

Integrity. People who are serious about high performance know that a lack of integrity at any level can quickly derail success. Like ethics some definitions of integrity may be subjective, but individuals who fail to connect with a like mindset for integrity will be less likely to engage and stay committed to future efforts.

Honesty. Can you trust someone who is dishonest? Trust is the lifeblood of any organized effort. Fear may sometimes (inappropriately) temporarily overcome all obstacles but most group efforts will fall short of expectations when there is a lack of trust. Often the root cause of mistrust can be directly linked to dishonesty.

Communication. You cannot lead without effective communication. Keep in mind that even the most effective communicator will face difficulty if they do not have integrity and they are dishonest. Remember that communication is not always the spoken or written word; it is sometimes gestures, actions, or even attitude that makes a statement.

Regardless of the workplace generation you represent or the breadth of generations you may be responsible to lead, having a solid skillset and constantly honing your craft as a leader will be critical for continued success.

Make the right choice. Decide to lead.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker, and coach that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is the author of the newly released book, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at DennisEGilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

Tag Archives: integrity

Apr 21

-

Metrics and Measurement

Bad Behavior Rewarded

Mar 21

-

Right Thing Costs

Future Vision

Aug 20

-

Friendly Competition

Jan 20

-

Short-term vision

Long-term Vision

Winning Vision

Oct 19

-

You Can’t Beat the System

Workplace Quick Study

Aug 19

-

About the Data

Who Cares?

Good Deals

Jul 19

-

Working Today?

Maintain Integrity

Jan 19

Digital Age Stereotypes

Challenge for Integrity

Integrity and Risk

Jan 16

-

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