Most likely the most memorable, enjoyable, and insightful class I’ve ever taken (as an Electrical Engineering undergrad at Purdue, an Electrical and Computer Engineering grad student at Hopkins, and now an MBA student at Hopkins) was a Carey Business School (JHU) course titled, “Business Leadership and Human Values”, taught by Kevin Lanagan in the Spring of 2019.
The course was an outstanding series of thematic conversations about human values and one’s responsibilities as an emerging / aspiring business leader.
No traditional textbook, but much reading to introduce a broad range of perspectives and ethical issues, it involved a plethora of student-led discussion, personal anecdotes, and challenging but inspiring dialogue.
As an assignment, we had to write a “Moral Compass Essay”, in which we articulated our personal values framework for business leadership.
As I was doing some “summer cleaning” today, I found a hard copy of this essay, and in light of the tremendous change in the world these days (e.g., COVID-19, George Floyd), this articulation seemed appropriate, as a way to anchor myself.
Without any more introduction, here is my Moral Compass Essay (written in April 2019):
“Life cannot be reduced to an algorithm, as much as an electrical engineer like myself (who develops algorithms in my day job) would like to believe.
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an unambiguous specification of how to solve a class of problems [Ref. 1].
I believe strongly that life is dynamic, fluid, and both a beautiful art and fascinating science: something that cannot be captured perfectly nor cleanly in a mathematical equation. How much easier (but less interesting) life would be, if it could be written down on a piece of paper and solved with a formal proof!
My personal morality, similarly, cannot be reduced to an algorithm, nor a catchy bumper-sticker phrase. This is not to say that I do not have a moral compass that guides me in my life with direction (where should I go?), but rather: it is difficult to articulate and to fully know.
Indeed, in my case, my moral compass is under constant discernment, evolution, and at times revolution, as I uncover and assimilate new experiences and potential challenges to my (pre)conceived notions and ideals for what is (most) right and (most) wrong.
My non-algorithmic personal morality notwithstanding, knowing how to interpret, act, and re-act to ethical dilemmas is critical for navigating the murky waters of life and balancing complex, competing values and priorities in social and corporate situations.
Knowing who you are and what you stand for is of the utmost importance. As the saying goes, “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything” [Ref. 5].
It is not an exaggeration to say that every decision, whether inside or outside of business, is predicated on a judgment of values and prioritization of the relative worthiness of options.
How do I decide whether or not to forgive someone who broke a rule (particularly if I’m the rule enforcer)? How do I decide when, or how much, to consume (now), versus invest (for the future)?
My sense of morality has unquestionably been influenced heavily by my parents and my childhood experiences. My parents are both very generous, compassionate people, both in their personal and professional lives, and that concern with others and desire to help and give to others has always been a recurring (albeit sometimes waning!) theme in my life and personality.
Additionally, I have always had a thirst for adventure and discovery— intellectual or otherwise.
My commitment to join the Peace Corps straight out of college and ‘serve’ my nation and help (altruistically or egotistically) those in underserved areas around the world, I believe, was an end result of both my parents’ inculcated values of compassion and generosity, but also my own unique (among my siblings) desire for adventure and travel to unknown places.
My parents were strong role models and consistently upheld the innate moral foundations of valuing care over harm, fairness over cheating, loyalty over betrayal, authority over subversion, sanctity over degradation, and liberty over oppression.
As I’ve “grown up”, however, and experienced more in life; thought deeply about the variety of cultures, ideas, and ways of life around the world; my worldview – indeed my morality – has also changed.
I grew up going to a Christian, evangelical / non-denominational church, but beginning in my later high school years, I began questioning what I found to be an overly dogmatic and rigid value system. Consequently, through the years, I’ve developed more of a secular-rational value system, vice a traditional, religion-derived value system. I value independence of thought (critical thinking is invaluable these days) and opinion and consequently prefer self-expression over survival value systems.
The Wisdom Tradition that resonates most deeply with me today is humanistic, virtue ethics. I like that virtue ethics is concerned with the whole of a person’s life, rather than particular episodes or actions. It also posits that morality is independent of theology.
The virtue ethicist Alasdair MacIntyre proposed three questions as being the heart of moral thinking: Who am I? Who ought I to become? How ought I to get there? [Ref. 2].
Felix Adler, religious leader and social reformer who founded the Ethical Culture movement, appears to exhibit many of the values that I hold dear to my heart, intuitively. He believed that self-reform should go in lock step with social reform [Ref. 3]. His Supreme Ethical Rule, to “Act So As To Elicit the Best in Others and Thereby in Thy Self”, is a powerful reminder that we should all act in order to improve all parties involved and enable us to unleash our unique potentials and best selves.
Like Felix Adler, I agree that “the moral improvement of the nations and their individual components has not kept pace with the march of intellect and the advance of industry.”
I believe that being moral is a practice, something that grows with concerted effort and practice. As Adler wrote: “the moral order never is, but is ever becoming. It grows with our growth.”
Finally, I believe that: “Man is like a tree, with the mighty trunk of intellect, the spreading branches of imagination, and the roots of the lower instincts that bind him to the earth. The moral life, however, is the fruit he bears; in it his true nature is revealed” [Ref. 4].
The most important values to me today in 2019, that shape my worldview and day-to-day decisions and interactions, are authenticity (say what you mean and mean what you say), honesty (don’t cheat or steal), integrity (let principles, vice emotion, guide your actions), adventure (be bold and explore), and self-discipline (keep control over your mind and body).
In a similar vein, If I were to get a tattoo on my arm of three aspirational values / words to help calibrate my value system and ethical foundation, they would be Courage, Discovery, and Service.
I aspire to courageously discover new insights and understandings of how the world works (as it is, not necessarily how we wish it to be), in the service of others, so that others may live better.
In my free time, I am an avid endurance runner and enjoy yoga. These two activities help my sense of self-discipline, self-regulatory capacity, and the (fluctuating) ability to take notice, and modulate my thoughts, moods, or emotions. An analogy that I have taken a liking to, that was mentioned in some of the course readings, was the idea of having a “strong and flexible spine.” This spine, however, also needs to be coupled with the stamina to endure and persevere through moral challenges, in order to build moral resilience. This moral resilience is what I believe creates a strong, effective business leader.
Having a strong spine (through knowing resolutely what one stands for) helps one avoid moral complacency (not caring enough to take ethical action or make improvements) and dampened moral sensitivity (reduced ability to notice ethical dilemmas) [Ref. 6].
As I know intuitively through training, if you don’t practice something, you almost always get worse at it.
I believe that being moral, wanting and caring enough to do the right thing, even if in challenging, ambiguous circumstances, is a choice that requires diligence and continual practice.
Just as I attempt to increase my aerobic fitness and stamina through running, I aim to increase my moral fitness and endurance in the face of challenging ethical situations – transforming what could be distressing experiences into growth-producing transformations [Ref. 6].
However, I must remain humble and open-minded enough to accept my own imperfections / limitations and resist the tempting conclusion that there is only one correct (ethical) solution / reaction to a given dilemma.
Because there is no algorithm, there is no single output for a given input.
As a future business leader, I want to use my moral compass, guided by authentic courage and bold service to others, to principally empower others (beyond mere financial compensation) and strengthen communities.
I believe that capitalism, overall and on balance, is a powerful force for good, as it leverages the innate human desire for growth and imagination to innovate beyond the status quo and so-called reality. However, leaders of business must take the “big picture” in mind – taking profit, people, and the planet all into consideration.
A company is much more than its employees, or its shareholders.
Taking care of an employee is much more than merely providing a salary: it is also providing an optimal working environment, respecting the “work / life” balance, and supporting staff development through training and growth opportunities.
Like the Ethical Culture movement, “deed before creed” is a salient reminder that actually living ethically and doing good (as a company / collectively, and as individuals) is far more important than (potentially empty or divisive) declarations of creed or symbolic statements of professed belief.
As a future leader, it is my full intention – through moral diligence, discernment, and applying feedback from lessons learned – to consistently encourage and develop virtuous and principled actions (deeds), applied with integrity, and to have the moral resilience (through training) to remain calm and ethically grounded in the midst of challenging circumstances.
May my spine of the future be stronger and more flexible than today.”
Bibliography:
1) Algorithm. (2019, April 11). Retrieved April 12, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithm
2) Ethics - Introduction to ethics: Virtue ethics. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2019, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/virtue.shtml
3) Felix Adler (professor). (2019, February 10). Retrieved April 12, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Adler_(professor)
4) Felix Adler. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2019, from https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Felix_Adler
5) Garson. (n.d.). If You Don't Stand for Something, You'll Fall for Anything. Retrieved April 12, 2019, from https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/02/18/stand-fall/
6) Rushton, C.H. Moral Resilience: A Capacity for Navigating Moral Distress in Critical Care, AACN Advanced Critical Care, Vol. 27, Number 1, pp. 111-119, 2016.