Killebrew’s Book Reviews: The Power of Ethical Management

Posted On April 20, 2020

The Power of Ethical Management is a fun little book that details how to make decisions most ethically. There are a ton of great nuggets from the text published in 1988 by Kenneth Blanchard (One Minute Manager) and Norman Vincent Peale (Power of Positive Thinking). I was interested in this book because I think that ethics in business is a serious problem that faces American companies today. In a world of scale, huge valuations and profit optional balance sheets, I think that operating within an ethical code is not valued as much as it should be.

In the book, the authors utilize story-telling to share lessons that are both quickly consumed but also memorable. It reminds me of the life lesson stories your grandparents would tell. Usually, a punchline was involved. The authors also put together practical, ethical strategies to drive long term success. There are a set of tools that, upon reading, are immediately applicable. From the 3-step “Ethics Check” to the “Five P’s” of ethical behavior you learn to evaluate any action and clarify your purpose. 

“There is no right way to do a wrong thing.”

3 Ethics Check Questions

The premise of the book is to eliminate the doubt that is brought on by the grey area in decisions. The process they discuss, questions the very nature of there being a grey area. The authors do that by telling a story. There was a position opening for a sales job, and there was a candidate that was far and away from the next best option. That candidate was about to get hired when he explained that he brought along with him confidential information regarding a competitor. The hiring manager was suddenly conflicted with the fact that he was a great hire but now felt like he would be condoning unethical behavior. The authors then explain and go through the exercise of the “Ethics Check Questions.”

1. Is it legal?

2. Is it balanced?

3. How will it make me feel about myself?

When asking is it legal you want to decide if you will be breaking any company policies or civil laws. To continue the story it is pretty easily seen that this candidate was not following company policies or civil law by releasing proprietary details.

Balance is looking for a win-win relationship. Asking is it fair to all concerned parties. Now, this is a tricky one in my mind. I don’t like competing. I love dominating. That means I want to secure a massive win. Following this guideline though is crucial to ensure ethics remains. You have to make sure how you win is fair, and you are not using that competition as an excuse to put ethics to the side. This question should be asked to test if it is a short-cut. I view the problem as ” how would you feel if the other party did this to you? Would you feel cheated?”

The third question is the clincher. My consciousness is the guiding force that allows me to sleep soundly or anxiously lay awake. When a decision is not sitting well with me, I have to come clean and make moves to rectify it if I plan on sleeping. Some variations of this question are “Would I feel good if my decision was published in the newspaper” or “Would I feel good if my family knew about it?”

“If we have to cheat to win, then we’d better think twice about what we’re doing.”

The 3 questions help decide what is right but when it comes to doing the right thing there is a whole other set of problems. I believe that identifying what is right and what is wrong is not the most difficult part of being ethical but rather doing what is right.

The land without problems

With the sales department at Waitr, we have a core belief that problems lead to opportunities. We believe that each issue that arises is an opportunity to strengthen our position.

The authors of this book tell a story about a downtrodden individual who was focused solely on his problems. He was looking for an answer to remove all of his problems in life, and his advisor had a solution. His advisor told him of a place where there were no problems and that thousands resided there. Ecstatic about the prospects, the individual demanded to know where this place is.

“I’ll be happy to take you tomorrow to Woodlawn Cemetery because the only people I know who don’t have problems are dead.”

These are the author’s five core principles of ethical behavior

Purpose

Values, hopes, and vision guide us. There is a significant difference between a goal and a purpose. A goal is something attainable that can be accomplished and checked off. A purpose goes well beyond that. It’s about being able to look in the mirror feel good about yourself. Check out The Man in the Glass poem by Dale Wimbrow to understand the importance of taking a hard look at yourself and your decisions.

Pride

Does the behavior allow us to feel good about ourselves? We don’t let our desire to be accepted to influence our decisions.

“People with humility don’t think less of themselves… They just think about themselves less”

Patience

Long term success is worth the wait. One does not have to cheat get to the finish line first. The best business men are running an entirely different race. Often times leaders lead with the short term benefits guiding their decisions and don’t have the patience to wait out for the bigger picture.

Persistence

Stick to your purpose. Your behavior is consistent with your intentions. Winston Churchill once agreed to give a speech to the prep school that he attended as a boy. Obviously, everyone was excited about this great speaker was going to say. When he got up to the podium he took a slow breath and said:

Never! Never! Never! Never! Give up!

Winston Churchill

Then sat back down.

Perspective

Take time to reflect and evaluate in order to stay focused. Evaluate where you are, where you are going and determine how you are going to get there. Oftentimes the act of reflecting upon your past accomplishments can help ground you in all that has been accomplished, helping you gain perspective to where you are going if you feel that you aren’t moving anywhere.

Overall Rating: 3.1/5

This book was very fun to read. Easy to digest, filled with memorable stories and quotes that allow you to be able to recall the lessons of this book very easily. I had found this book at a second-hand shop and turned out to be a really good find. While nothing revolutionary, it helps articulate a strategy to not get lost in the world of business. To not deviate from the ethical bounds of yourself in search of success or profits is a constant battle in business. It is a lesson I feel that many have to guard themselves with or else you will fall trap to the world’s way of leading towards a life of unethical decisions for personal gain. The Power of Ethical Management provides the framework and straightforward guidance to be able to evaluate your management decisions in order to protect yourself from such fallacy.

You can pick up a copy of this book here: https://www.kenblanchard.com/Store/Power-of-Ethical-Management